EXTENDING THE CAPABILITY OF COMPUTING DEVICES BY USING DYNAMICALLY SCALABLE EXTERNAL RESOURCES

• US 20100131590A1
• Filed: 09/14/2009
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Cheng, Doreen, Gibbs, Simon J., Zhang, Xinwen, Coleman, Victoria S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,052,958 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/509 Offload
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5044 considering hardware capabilities

Abstract

Techniques for extending the capabilities of computing environments and/or systems are disclosed. A scalable and dynamic external computing resource can be used in order to effectively extend the internal computing capabilities of a computing environment or system. The scalable and dynamic external computing resource can provide computing resources that far exceed the internal computing resources, and provide the services as needed, and in a dynamic manner at execution time. As a result, a computing device may function with relatively limited and/or reduced computing resources (e.g., processing power, memory) but have the ability to effectively provide as much computing services as may be needed, and provide the services when needed, on demand, and dynamically during the execution time.

Claims

1. A computing system, comprising:

one or more internal computing resources; and

wherein said computing system is operable to;

determine, during runtime of executable computer code, whether to execute, or continue to execute, one or more portions of said executable computer code by effectively using one or more resources including a dynamically scalable computing resource, thereby dynamically determining during runtime, relative extent of allocation of execution of said executable computer code between said internal computing resources of said computing system and said external computing resources; and

effectively use said external computing resources for execution of said one or more portions of said executable computer code when said determining determines to execute said one or more portions of executable computer code by effectively using said one or more external computing resources.

2. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said determining determines whether to execute said one or more portions of executable computer code when one or more of the following occurs:

one or more portions of said executable computer code is to be loaded for execution,

one or more portions of said executable computer code is to be executed,

one or more portions of said executable computer code is being executed by one or more of said internal computing resources of said device, and

one or more portions of said executable computer code is being executed by said external computing resources of said device.

3. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said determining determines whether to execute said one or more portions of executable computer code, without requiring user input, thereby automatically determining said relative extent of allocation of execution of said executable computer code between said one or more internal computing resources and said one or more external resources.

4. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said determining determines whether to execute said one or more portions of executable computer code is based on one or more criteria including one or more of the following:

said internal computing resources, said external computing resources, communication between said internal computing resources and said external computing resources, physical resources associated with said computing system, environmental factors including physical location of said computing system, said executable computer code.

5. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to:

increase and/or decrease extent of said effective use of said one or more external resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource.

6. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to:

increase and/or decrease extent of said use of said one or more external resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource during runtime of said executable computer code, thereby dynamically executing more or fewer portions of said executable computer code using said external resources during runtime of said executable computer code.

7. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said one or more portions of said executable computer code are one or more re-locatable code portions, and wherein said computing system is further operable to effectively relocate said one or more re-locatable code portions from said computing system to said dynamically scalable computing resource, or vice versa, during runtime of said executable computer code.

8. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said one or more portions of said executable computer code are one or more replicable code portions.

9. A computing system of claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to cause execution of at least two portions of said executable code respectively on two nodes of said dynamically scalable computing resource.

10. A computing system of claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to cause execution of at least two processes associated with said executable computer code respectively on two separate computing nodes of said dynamically scalable computing resource.

11. A computing system of claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to effectively extend said effective use of said external resources to extent that said dynamically scalable computing resource can make computing resources available to said computing system.

12. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to:

cause execution of said one or more portions of executable computer code by said one or more external resources without copying any operating environment of said computing system operable to execute said one or more portions of said one or more portions of executable computer code on said computing system.

13. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to:

effectively coordinate execution of a first portion of said executable computer code with execution of at least a second portion of said executable computer code by using said external computing resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource, thereby effectively using both internal and external computing resources to execute said executable computer code in a coordinated manner.

14. A computing system as recited in claim 13, wherein said computing system is further operable to:

generate first data based on execution of said first portion by said internal computing resources; and

obtain second output data as a result of said execution of said second portion of said executable computer code, thereby making available on said computing system both said first and second data as a collective result of execution of said first and second portions of said executable computer code.

15. A computing system as recited in claim 1,

wherein said dynamically scalable computing resource is an abstract and dynamically scalable computing resource, and

wherein said computing system is further operable to effectively facilitate, initiate, cause and/or resume execution of a second portion of said executable computer code by a specific external computing resource of said abstract and dynamically scalable computing resource without specifically addressing said specific external computing resource.

16. A computing system as recited in claim 1,

wherein said dynamically scalable computing resource is operable to provide said one or more external computing resources on demand and as needed to allow execution of at least first and second portions of said executable computer code;

and

wherein said computing system is further operable to;

to execute a first portion of said executable computer code using said one or more internal computing resources; and

cause execution of a second portion of said executable computer code by said dynamically scalable computing resource.

17. A computing system as recited in claim 16, wherein said computing system is further operable to perform one or more of the following:

effectively use said one or more external resources of said at least one dynamically scalable computing resource to execute and/or cause execution of a third portion of said executable computer code when said first and second executable computer code are being executed by respectively using said internal computing resources and said dynamically scalable computing resource;

initiate execution of a third portion of said executable computer code when said first and second executable computer code are being executed by respectively using said internal computing resources and said dynamically scalable computing resource using said one or more internal computing resources;

effectively relocate execution of said second portion of said executable computer code from said dynamically scalable computing resource to said one or more internal computing resources; and

effectively relocate execution of said first portion of said executable computer code from said one or more internal computing resources to said dynamically scalable computing resource.

18. A computing system as recited in claim 1,

wherein said one or more internal computing resources are relatively reduced with respect to said external computing resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource, and

wherein said computing system is further operable to effectively facilitate, initiate, cause, and/or resume execution of one or more portions of said executable computer code by said dynamically scalable computing resource at runtime in a dynamic manner to effectively extend the computing capabilities of said computing system at least ten times beyond internal computing capabilities of said internal computing resources.

19. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said computing system is one or more of the following:

a Consumer Electronic (CE) device, a Consumer Electronic (CE) device with a reduced and/or specialized Operating System, a Consumer Electronic (CE) device with an Operating System (OS) specialized for browsing the Web and/or handling Web-based applications including a plurality of Weblets,

a mobile device, a mobile device with a reduced and/or specialized Operating System, a mobile device with an Operating System specialized for browsing the Web and/or for handling Web-based applications including a plurality of Weblets,

a mobile handheld device, a mobile handheld device with a reduced and/or specialized Operating System, a mobile handheld device with an Operating System specialized for browsing the Web and/or for handling Web-based applications including a plurality of Weblets, and

an electrical appliance, an electrical appliance with a reduced and/or specialized Operating System, an electrical appliance with an Operating System specialized for browsing the Web and/or for handling Web-based applications including a plurality of Weblets, a Television, a home appliance.

20. A computing system as recited in claim 1,

wherein said computing system is further operable to initiate and/or cause initiation of at least one Run Time Environment (RTE) for using said one or more external computing resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource, and

wherein said Run Time Environment (RTE) is initiate on said computing system and/or said dynamically scalable computing resource.

21. A computing system as recited in claim 20, wherein said Run Time Environment (RTE) includes a Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) on said dynamically scalable computing resource that effectively provides one or more external virtual computing resources for execution of said executable computer code.

22. A computing system as recited in claim 21, wherein said one or more virtual computing resources provide provided as:

a service, a Platform as a Service (PaaS), and/or Software as a Service (SaaS) to said computing system.

23. A computing system as recited in claim 21, wherein said one or more virtual computing resources are effectively provided over the Internet as a “

Cloud”

computing resource and/or service.

24. A computing system as recited in claim 23, wherein said “

Cloud”

computing resource and/or service is provided as a service, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and/or Software as a Service (SaaS) over the Internet using a Web-based computer application program.

25. A computing system as recited in claim 1,

wherein said one or more internal computing resources include one or more of the following:

one or more processors, memory, non-volatile memory, a computer readable storage medium, and RAM memory, and

wherein said one or more internal computing resources include one or more of the following;

one or more processors, memory, non-volatile memory, computer readable storage medium, and RAM memory.

26. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said executable computer code includes one or more of the following:

a computer application program, an Applet, a Web-based application, and a Web-based application including a plurality of Weblets.

27. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to perform one or more of the following:

effectively switch execution of a first portion of executable computer code from said one or more internal computing resources to said one or more external computing resources;

effectively switch execution of a second portion of executable computer code from said one or more internal computing resources to said one or more external computing resources; and

effectively facilitate, initiate, cause, and/or resume execution of a third portion of said executable computer code using said one or more external computing resources of said dynamically scalable resource before execution of said first or second portion has ended.

38. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said determining determines whether to execute said one or more portions of executable computer code is based on one or more of the following:

one or more capabilities of said internal computing resources, monetary cost associated with using said external resources, expected and/or expectable latency for delivering services by said external resources, network bandwidth for communication with said dynamically scalable computing resource, status of one or more physical resources, current battery power of said computing system, one or more environmental factors, physical location of the computing system, number and/or types of applications being executed on the computing system, and type of applications to be executed.

39. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to:

vary said extent of allocation during run time such that said executable code is executed using only said internal computing resources or is executed using one said external computing resources.

40. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to:

vary said extent of allocation, during run time, so that said executable computer code is executed using only said internal computing resources or is executed using both of said internal and external computing resources.

41. A computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein said computing system is further operable to:

vary said extent of allocation, during run time, between allocation stages including;

an internal allocation stage when said executable computer code is executed entirely and/or using only said internal computing resources, a split allocation stage when said executable computer code is executed using said internal and external computing resources, and an external allocation stage when said executable computer code is executed entirely and/or using only said external computing resources.

42. A computing system as recited in claim 1,

wherein said computing system is further operable to initiate and/or cause initiation of at least one Virtual Environment (VE) for using said one or more external computing resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource, and

wherein said Virtual Environment (VE) is initiated on said computing system and/or said dynamically scalable computing resource.

28. In a computing system that includes one or more internal computing resources, a method comprising:

determining, during runtime of executable computer code, whether to execute or continue to execute one or more portions of said executable computer code by effectively using a dynamically scalable computing resource instead of using said internal computing resources, thereby determining relative extent of allocation of execution of said executable computer code between said internal computing resources and one or more external computing resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource dynamically during runtime; and

effectively using said one or more external resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource to execute said one or more portions of said executable computer code when said determining determines to execute said or more portions of executable computer code by effectively using said one or more external resources.

29. A method as recited in claim 28, wherein said method further comprises:

coordinating;

(a) execution of at least a first portion of said executable computer code by or by using one or more internal computing resources of said computing system, with (b) use of said external computing resources for execution of a second portion of said executable computer code; and

generating, based on said coordinating, a collective result of said executions of said first and second portions of said executable computer code, thereby making available said collective result on said computing system.

30. A method as recited in claim 29, wherein said coordinating of said execution comprises:

generating a first output for execution of said first portion of said executable computer code; and

obtaining a second execution result as a result of execution of said second portion of said executable computer code by said one or more external computing resources.

31. A method as recited in claim 29, wherein said coordinating of said execution further comprises one or more of the following:

determining when to effectively initiate execution of said second portion of said executable computer code;

determining when to effectively initiate execution of said first portion of said executable computer code;

selecting said dynamically scalable computing resource from a set of dynamically scalable computing resource; and

selecting said one or more external resources from a set of external resources.

32. A method as recited in claim 29, wherein said coordinating of said execution further comprises one or more of the following:

determining a location for sending a request for execution of said second portion of said executable computer code;

sending to said location said request for execution of said second portion of said executable computer code; and

obtaining from said location execution result of said execution of said second portion of said executable computer code.

33. A method as recited in claim 28, wherein said effectively using external computing resources of said at least one dynamically scalable computing resource comprises:

facilitating, initiating, causing and/or resuming execution of said second portion of said executable computer code by using one or more external computing resources of said dynamically scalable resource before execution of said first portion by said one or more internal computing resources has completed, thereby allowing said computing system to effectively extend its internal computing capabilities at execution time by using external computing capabilities that can be delivered dynamically.

34. A method as recited in claim 28, wherein said computer-implemented method further comprises one or more of the following:

effectively switching execution of said first portion of executable computer code from said one or more internal computing resources to said one or more internal computing resources;

effectively switching execution of said second portion of executable computer code from said one or more internal computing resources to said one or more external computing resources; and

effectively facilitating, initiating, causing and/or resuming execution of a third portion of said executable computer code using said one or more external computing resources of said dynamically scalable resource before execution of said first portion on said one or more internal computing resources has ended.

35. A computer readable storage medium storing at least a first executable computer code that when executed by a computing system causes said computing system to:

determine, during runtime of a second executable computer code, whether to execute or continue to execute one or more portions of said second executable computer code by effectively using a dynamically scalable computing resource, thereby dynamically determining during runtime, relative extent of allocation of execution of said second executable computer code between said internal computing resources of said computing system and external computing resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource; and

effectively use said one or more external resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource for execution of said one or more portions of said second executable computer code when said determining determines to execute said one or more portions of second executable computer code by effectively using said one or more external resources.

36. A dynamically scalable computing resources operable to effectively provide a computing system one or more computing resources for execution of one or more portions of executable computer code when said computing system determines and requests, during runtime of said executable computer code, to execute, or continue to execute, said one or more portions of said executable computer code by effectively using said one or more computing resources of said dynamically scalable computing resource, thereby dynamically providing said computing system during runtime of said executable code said external computing resources to the extent determined by said computing system.

37. A communication system, comprising:

a computing system, including;

one or more internal computing resources; and

wherein said computing system is operable to;

determine, during runtime of executable computer code, whether to execute, or continue to execute, one or more portions of said executable computer code by effectively using one or more resources including a dynamically scalable computing resource, thereby dynamically determining during runtime, relative extent of allocation of execution of said executable computer code between said internal computing resources of said computing system and said external computing resources; and

effectively use said external computing resources for execution of said one or more portions of said executable computer code when said determining determines to execute said one or more portions of executable computer code by effectively using said one or more external computing resources; and

said dynamically scalable computing resource.