SYSTEM-ON-CHIP DEVICE, METHOD OF PERIPHERAL ACCESS AND INTEGRATED CIRCUIT

• US 20160117183A1
• Filed: 09/12/2012
• Published: 04/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Baumeister, Markus, Steinert, Frank
• Granted Patent: US 9,740,518 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2205 Multicore
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45591 Monitoring or debugging support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/526 Mutual exclusion algorithms

Abstract

A system-on-chip device comprises a core supporting a first virtual machine image and a virtual machine monitoring unit capable of communicating with the first virtual machine image. A shareable resource is also provided as well as a conflict detection unit capable of communicating with the virtual machine monitoring unit and the first virtual machine image. The conflict detection unit is arranged to detect, when in use, an access conflict caused by more than one virtual machine image attempting to access initially the shareable resource. The conflict detection unit is arranged to refer, when in use, the access conflict in response to detection thereof to the virtual machine monitoring unit for resolving of the access conflict, thereby handling the access conflict before the virtual machine monitoring unit.

Claims

1. A processing device, comprising:

at least one processor core supporting at least two virtual machine images;

a virtual machine monitoring unit capable of communicating with the virtual machine images;

a shareable resource shareable between the virtual machine images; and

a conflict detection unit capable of communicating with the virtual machine monitoring unit and the virtual machine images;

wherein

the conflict detection unit is arranged to detect, when in use, an access conflict caused by more than one virtual machine image attempting to access initially the shareable resource; and

the conflict detection unit is arranged to refer, when in use, the access conflict in response to detection thereof to the virtual machine monitoring unit for resolving the access conflict, thereby handling an access request before the virtual machine monitoring unit.

3. A device as claimed in claims 1, wherein at least one of the virtual machine images is arranged to bypass, when in use, the virtual machine monitoring unit when attempting initial access of the shareable resource.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conflict management unit is operably coupled to a memory unit for storing at least one data bit in response to receipt of an attempt to access the shareable resource, said data bit indicating the access in respect of the shareable resource.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the conflict management unit is arranged to refer to the memory unit in response to a detection of an attempt to access the shareable resource, in order to determine whether the attempted access constitutes, if permitted, the access conflict in respect of the shareable resource.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conflict management unit is arranged to generate a trap into the virtual machine monitoring unit in response to a determination that the attempted access constitutes, if permitted, the access conflict.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shareable resource comprises a register and is arranged to provide more than one image of the register.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shareable resource comprises a plurality of registers and is arranged to provide more than one image of the plurality of registers.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the access conflict is a conflict in respect of the more than one virtual machine image accessing the same register of the shareable resource via different register images.

11. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shareable resource is a peripheral device.

12. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the memory unit is arranged to store data bits to identify access of the shareable resource by a virtual machine image.

13. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shareable resource comprises a range of addresses of a register and the conflict is in respect of more than one virtual machine image accessing the same range of addresses of the shareable resource.

15. A microprocessor, comprising a device as claimed in claim 1.

2. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said at least two virtual machine images comprise a first virtual machine image and a second virtual machine image, and the device comprising at least two processor cores, of which a first processor core supports said first virtual machine image and a second processor core supports said second virtual machine image.

4. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second virtual machine image is arranged to bypass, when in use, the virtual machine monitoring unit when attempting initial access of the shareable resource.

14. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein access by the first virtual machine image and the second virtual machine image to the shareable resource is identifiable to the conflict detection unit by a first identifier and a second identifier associated with the first virtual machine image and the second virtual machine image, respectively, as opposed to by an address associated with the shareable resource.

16. A method of peripheral access for a virtual machine image, the method comprising:

supporting a first virtual machine image;

detecting an access conflict caused by more than one virtual machine image attempting to access initially a shareable resource; and

referring the access conflict in response to detection thereof to a virtual machine monitoring unit for arbitration of the access conflict, thereby handling the access conflict before the virtual machine monitoring unit.

17. a computer program product for running on a programmable apparatus, at least including code portions for performing steps of a method according to claim 16 when run on a programmable apparatus.

18. A tangible, non-transitory medium readable by a programmable apparatus provided with data representing a computer program product for running on the programmable apparatus, at least including code portions for performing steps of a method according to claim 16