Provision of virtual storage resources to an operating system control program

• US 4,916,608 A
• Filed: 05/30/1986
• Issued: 04/10/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shultz, Steven S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zache, Raulfe B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fairbanks, Jonathan C.
• Application Number:
  US06/869,084
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File
• US Class Current: 718/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/455 Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5016 the resource being the memory

Abstract

Method and apparatus for dynamically providing virtual storage resources to an operating system control program in a computing complex where the control program controls the concurrent execution of multiple virtual machines confer on the control program the capacity to gain access to virtual storage resources through the creation of pseudo-virtual machine control blocks that are available only to the control program.

Claims

1. A method for dynamically providing virtual storage resources to a computer operating system control program controlling the concurrent execution of multiple virtual machines on a computing complex with a virtual storage facility shared by said virtual machines, comprising the steps of:

requesting virtual storage resources for supporting a control program processing requirement; and

in response to a control program virtual storage resource request;

establishing a non-dispatchable, pseudo-virtual machine control block including virtual storage resource linkages; and

devoting virtual storage resources to the processing requirement and connecting the devoted resources to the storage resource linkages of the devoted resources machine control block.

2. A method for dynamically providing virtual storage resources to a computer operating system control program controlling the concurrent execution of multiple virtual machines on a computing complex with a virtual storage facility shared by said virtual machines, comprising the steps of:

requesting virtual storage resources for supporting a control program processing requirement;

in response to a control program virtual storage resource request;

establishing a non-dispatchable, pseudo-virtual machine control block including virtual storage resource linkages and connecting virtual storage resources to the virtual storage resource linkages of the pseudo-virtual machine control block;

creating a list of non-dispatchable virtual machine blocks; and

attaching the pseudo-machine control block to the list.

3. The method of claim 2 further including the step of executing said processing requirement by calling said pseudo-virtual machine block.

4. A system for dynamically providing virtual storage resources to a virtual-machine computer operating system control program, comprising:

a multi-facility computer complex including a virtual storage facility;

a multi-function control program means for controlling access to the facilitates of said computer complex by a plurality of autonomous virtual machines; and

virtual buffer means in said control program means for creating a non-dispatchable, pseudo-virtual machine, resident in said computer complex and connecting said virtual storage facility with a respective control program function of said control program means, said virtual buffer means creating said non-dispatchable, pseudo-virtual in response to a requirement of said control program function for virtual machine storage resources, and said virtual buffer means linking said non-dispatchable, pseudo-virtual machine with virtual storage resources in said virtual storage facility.