HARDWARE ACCELERATION FOR REMOTE DESKTOP PROTOCOL

• US 20100131669A1
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Abdo, Nadim, Schmieder, Robert Wilhelm, Srinivas, NK
• Granted Patent: US 8,572,251 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/233
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/509 Offload
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5044 considering hardware capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/133 Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC]

Abstract

A method for offloading remote terminal services processing tasks to a peripheral device that would otherwise be performed in a computer system'"'"'s processor and memory. In one embodiment, the disclosed method is utilized in a layered network model, wherein computing tasks that are typically performed in network applications are instead offloaded to a peripheral such as a network interface card (NIC).

Claims

1. In a computing system for providing remote access to a terminal server or virtual machine wherein a transport layer interface is used to send and receive remote access data units, a method for offloading remote access processing tasks to a peripheral device, the method comprising:

determining that the peripheral device includes task offload capabilities for implementing one or more specified remote access operating tasks;

sending to the peripheral device an indication that the peripheral device is to perform the one or more operating tasks, including contextual information to be used with subsequent data units; and

causing the or more remote access operating tasks to be performed by the peripheral device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more operating tasks provide partial remote access processing.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more operating tasks provide complete remote access processing.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more operating tasks comprises bitmap compression.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more operating tasks comprises bulk compression.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more operating tasks comprises caching.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the operating task is selectively offloaded to the peripheral device depending on current needs of at least one of the computer system, a network connection type and a remote client.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising an act of enabling the task offload capabilities by setting at least one flag indicator in a task offload buffer associated with the peripheral device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the peripheral device is a network interface card (NIC).

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the data packet is transferred across a layered network model.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data packet includes network data and packet extension data.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the data packet indicates that the peripheral device is to perform a batch of operating tasks.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the packet extension data includes at least one data field indicative of at least one operating task to be performed by the peripheral device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said remote access is implemented using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

15. A system adapted to offload remote access processing tasks to a peripheral device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory communicatively coupled to said at least one processor, the memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions for;

sending to a peripheral device a data packet indicating that the device is to perform a remote access protocol operating task comprising one of bitmap compression, bulk compression, or caching; and

upon determining that the peripheral device does not include task offload capabilities for implementing the remote access protocol operating task, causing the operating task to be performed by said processor.

16. A computer readable storage medium storing thereon computer executable instructions for offloading remote access processing tasks to a peripheral device, comprising:

determining that the peripheral device includes task offload capabilities for implementing one or more specified remote access bit map processing tasks comprising;

sending to the peripheral device an indication that the peripheral device is to perform one of said operating tasks, including contextual information to be used with subsequent data units; and

causing the or more remote access operating tasks to be performed by the peripheral device.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein said bit map processing comprises caching and bulk compression.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein said task offload capabilities further comprises one of multiplexing/framing, encryption, and command order encoding.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the data packet is transferred across a layered network model.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein said remote access is implemented using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).