MANAGING DATA TRANSFER

• US 20150121376A1
• Filed: 10/27/2014
• Published: 04/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Graham, Craig, Bhatia, Lovene
• Application Number:
  US14/524,952
• Publication Number:
  US 20150121376A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45583 Memory management, e.g. access or allocation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45587 Isolation or security of virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/545 where tasks reside in different layers, e.g. user- and kernel-space

Abstract

A method is provided for managing payload data transfer between a first virtual machine and a second virtual machine. The first virtual machine and the second virtual machine are supported by a host environment including a plurality of virtual machines. The method includes determining whether the payload data to be transferred from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine has a payload data size exceeding a first threshold. The method also includes selecting a transfer medium for the payload data dependent on the determination.

Claims

1. A method of managing a transfer of payload data between a first virtual machine and a second virtual machine, wherein the first virtual machine and the second virtual machine are supported by a host environment comprising a plurality of virtual machines, the method comprising:

determining whether the payload data to be transferred from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine comprises a payload data size exceeding a first threshold; and

selecting a transfer medium for the payload data dependent on the determination.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising committing the payload data to a transport packet to be transferred via a ring buffer if the payload data size does not exceed the first threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the payload data size exceeds the first threshold, the method further comprises:

comparing the payload data size to a second threshold, the second threshold being greater than the first threshold, and

if the payload data size exceeds the second threshold, allocating at least part of the payload data to a bulk transfer channel, or

if the payload data size does not exceed the second threshold, allocating at least part of the payload data to a shared heap.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising committing metadata and any payload data not allocated to the bulk transfer channel or shared heap to a transport packet to be transferred via a ring buffer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the metadata comprises a shared heap reference tag referring to the at least part of the payload data allocated to the shared heap or a bulk transfer channel reference tag referring to the at least part of the payload data allocated to the bulk transfer channel.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising committing the at least part of the payload data allocated to the shared heap to the bulk transfer channel in response to a determination that allocating to a shared heap has been unsuccessful.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the transfer medium dependent on the determination comprises allocating at least part of the payload data to a bulk transfer channel if the payload data size exceeds the first threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first threshold corresponds to a maximum amount of the payload data that is transferable in a transport packet via a ring buffer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein transfer via the ring buffer is asynchronous.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein transfer via the shared heap is asynchronous.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first virtual machine comprises an application and the second virtual machine comprises an API server.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the payload data comprises an API request.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising transferring the payload data using the selected transfer medium.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the host environment comprises a physical device having the plurality of virtual machines stored thereon.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one memory configured to store a first virtual machine and a second virtual machine supported by a host environment comprising a plurality of virtual machines;

at least one processor configured to determine whether payload data to be transferred from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine comprises a payload data size exceeds a first threshold and select a transfer medium for the payload data dependent on the determination.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising the at least one processor configured to commit the payload data to a transport packet to be transferred via a ring buffer if the payload data size does not exceed the first threshold.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, if the payload data size exceeds the first threshold, the at least one processor is further configured to:

compare the payload data size to a second threshold, the second threshold being greater than the first threshold, and

if the payload data size exceeds the second threshold, allocate at least part of the payload data to a bulk transfer channel, or

if the payload data size does not exceed the second threshold, allocate at least part of the payload data to a shared heap.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising the at least one processor configured to commit metadata and any payload data not allocated to the bulk transfer channel or shared heap to a transport packet to be transferred via a ring buffer.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the metadata comprises a shared heap reference tag referring to the at least part of the payload data allocated to the shared heap or a bulk transfer channel reference tag referring to the at least part of the payload data allocated to the bulk transfer channel.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable code, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

determine whether payload data to be transferred from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine comprises a payload data size exceeds a first threshold, the first virtual machine and the second virtual machine are supported by a host environment comprising a plurality of virtual machines; and

select a transfer medium for the payload data dependent on the determination.

21. The storage medium of claim 20 wherein a plurality of data transport mechanisms are operable on the processor.