DYNAMIC EXECUTION CONTEXT MANAGEMENT IN HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20110083130A1
• Filed: 10/01/2009
• Published: 04/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: LAPPETELAINEN, Antti, BOLDYREV, Sergey
• Application Number:
  US12/571,575
• Publication Number:
  US 20110083130A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4856 resumption being on a different machine, e.g. task migration, virtual machine migration G06F9/5088 takes precedence

Abstract

Method, apparatus, and computer program product embodiments are disclosed for an adaptive computing platform that provides execution-in-place capability for a mobile computing device to enhance the processing power of the device as it moves from one external processor to another. In embodiments of the invention, a mobile wireless device stores one or more execution contexts in a memory of the mobile wireless device resulting from execution by a processor in the mobile wireless device of program code of an application stored in the memory. A transceiver or input/output device in the mobile wireless device detects that a stationary wireless device is within wireless communications range or detects a secure communication link with the stationary wireless device. The transceiver shares the execution context over a wireless communications medium to the stationary wireless device for continued execution-in-place of the application by the stationary wireless device. Later, the transceiver detects an external event that results in voluntary/involuntary closing of the secure communication link with the stationary wireless device. In response, the transceiver receives one or more execution contexts from the stationary wireless device over the wireless communications medium for continued execution-in-place of the application by the processor in the mobile wireless device. The continued execution-in-place of the application includes shared execution sessions between the mobile wireless device and the stationary wireless device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

storing one or more execution contexts in a memory of a first device resulting from execution in the first device of program code of an application stored in the memory;

detecting that a second device may be communicated with over a communications medium;

sharing the execution context over a communications connection in the communications medium with the second device for continued execution-in-place of the application by the second device;

detecting an external event that will result in closing the communication connection with the second device; and

receiving, before closing of the communication connection, updated execution context from the second device over the communications connection for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications medium is a wireless communications medium or a virtual communications medium.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing of the execution context is managed by a virtual run-time environment that enables at least one of shared execution sessions between the first device and the second device, or aggregation of user and application context information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing of the execution context with the second device is managed by a virtual run-time environment that enables scheduling of execution-in-place of the application by both the first device the second device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing of the execution context with the second device is managed by a virtual run-time environment that enables changes to be made to one or more execution contexts, wherein said changes are drawn from the group consisting of changes to starting, executing, scheduling, dispersing, and aggregating of operating system processes or tasks.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing of the execution context with the second device is managed by a virtual run-time environment that performs code and data dispersion and aggregation by selective fetching driven by a recovery-conscious scheduler.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing of the execution context with the second device is managed by a virtual run-time environment that dynamically assigns execution context and allocates the execution context according to operating system task management.

22. The method of claim 1, which further comprises:

receiving, before closing of the communication connection, an initial portion of the updated execution context from the second device over a first wireless communications connection having a first range and receiving a remaining portion of the updated execution context from the second device over a second wireless communications connection having a longer range than said first range, for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor in a first device;

a memory in the first device configured to store one or more execution contexts resulting from execution by the processor of program code of an application stored in the memory;

an input/output device configured to detect a secure communication link with a second device over a communications medium;

said input/output device configured to share one or more execution contexts over a communications connection in the communications medium with the second device for continued execution-in-place of the application by the second device;

said input/output device configured to detect an external event that will result in closing the communication connection with the second device; and

said input/output device configured to receive, before closing of the communication connection, an updated execution context from the second device over the communications connection for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the communications medium is a wireless communications medium or a virtual communications medium.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sharing of the execution context is managed by a virtual run-time environment that enables shared execution sessions between the first device and the second wireless device.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sharing of the execution context with the second device is managed by a virtual run-time environment that enables aggregation of user and application context information.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sharing of the execution context with the second device is managed by a virtual run-time environment that enables scheduling of execution-in-place of the application by both the first device the second device.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sharing of the execution context with the second device is managed by a virtual run-time environment that enables changes to be made to one or more execution contexts, wherein said changes are drawn from the group consisting of changes to starting, executing, scheduling, dispersing, and aggregating of operating system processes or tasks.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sharing of the execution context with the second device is managed by a virtual run-time environment that performs code and data dispersion and aggregation by selective fetching driven by a recovery-conscious scheduler.

15. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sharing of the execution context with the second device is managed by a virtual run-time environment that dynamically assigns execution context and allocates the execution context according to operating system task management.

23. The apparatus of claim 8, which further comprises:

a first transceiver configured to receive, before closing of the communication connection, an initial portion of the updated execution context from the second device over a first wireless communications connection having a first range;

a second transceiver configured to receive, before closing of the communication connection, a remaining portion of the updated execution context from the second device over a first wireless communications connection having a first range, for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.

16. A computer readable medium, comprising:

a computer readable medium having computer program code therein;

program code in said computer readable medium, for storing one or more execution contexts in a memory of a first device resulting from execution in the first device of program code of an application stored in the memory;

program code in said computer readable medium, for detecting that a second device may be communicated with over a communications medium;

program code in said computer readable medium, for sharing the execution context over a communications connection in the communications medium with the second device for continued execution-in-place of the application by the second device;

program code in said computer readable medium, for detecting an external event that will result in closing the communication connection with the second device;

program code in said computer readable medium, for receiving, before closing of the communication connection, updated execution context from the second device over the communications connection for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.

17. A method, comprising:

receiving one or more execution contexts in a second device over a communications medium from a first device resulting from execution in the first device of program code of an application stored in the first device;

executing-in-place the application by the second device;

determining an external event that will result in closing a secure communication link with the second device; and

sharing, before closing of the communication connection, one or more execution contexts from the second device over the communications medium for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the communications medium is a wireless communications medium or a virtual communications medium.

24. The method of claim 17, which further comprises:

sharing, before closing of the communication connection, an initial portion of the updated execution context from the second device over a first wireless communications connection having a first range and sharing a remaining portion of the updated execution context from the second device over a second wireless communications connection having a longer range than said first range, for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

an input/output device in a second device configured to receive one or more execution contexts over a communications medium from a first device resulting from execution in the first device of program code of an application stored in the first device;

a processor and memory in the second device configured to execute-in-place the application;

said processor configured to determine an external event that will result in closing a secure communication link with the second device; and

said input/output device configured to share, before closing of the communication connection, one or more execution contexts with the first device over the communications medium for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the communications medium is a wireless communications medium or a virtual communications medium.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, which further comprises:

a first transceiver configured to share, before closing of the communication connection, an initial portion of the updated execution context with the first device over a first wireless communications connection having a first range;

a second transceiver configured to share, before closing of the communication connection, a remaining portion of the updated execution context with the first device over a first wireless communications connection having a first range, for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.

21. A computer readable medium, comprising:

a computer readable medium having computer program code therein;

program code in said computer readable medium, for receiving one or more execution contexts in a second device over a communications medium from a first device resulting from execution in the first device of program code of an application stored in the first device;

program code in said computer readable medium, for executing-in-place the application by the second device;

program code in said computer readable medium, for determining an external event that will result in closing a secure communication link with the second device; and

program code in said computer readable medium, for sharing, before closing of the communication connection, one or more execution contexts from the second device over the communications medium for continued execution-in-place of the application by the first device.