Personal computer having operating system definition file for configuring computer system
First Claim
1. A data processing system (DPS) comprising:
- a processor having an addressable memory address space accessible by means of addresses having a number of address bits, which number defines the size of said memory address space;
said memory address space comprising a plurality of memory regions comprising a first memory region having an address range from 0 to (1 MB-1), a second memory region having an address range from 1 MB to (16 MB-1), and a third memory region having an address range from 16 MB to (4 GB-1);
non-volatile storage means for storing operating systems and operating system definition files (ODFs) which respectively defines customized operating environments supported by said operating systems;
a plurality of device adapters;
system memory located in said memory address space for storing one of said operating systems for execution by said processor, said one operating system owning and managing said system memory;
non-system memory located in said memory address space for storing adapter programs and data for interfacing with said device adapters;
said ODF containing a plurality of keywords which define said customized operating environment;
a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) for storing configuration information;
configuring means for assigning system resources and storing configuration information indicative of such assignment in said NVRAM, said configuring means comprising first means for generating proposed memory allocations; and
ODF processing means for processing said ODFs, said ODF processing means comprising third means for storing information in said NVRAM which defines said customized operating environments and fourth means for analyzing said proposed memory allocations and either accepting or rejecting each proposed allocation in accordance with said customized operating environments.
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Abstract
An operating system definition file (ODF) is provided for each operating system stored in a computer system. Each ODF contains a list of keywords that define the operating environment for the particular operating system. During setup, a set configuration program reads each ODF and produces a master record that specifies an ordering of non-system memory regions across all of the operating systems that coexist in the computer system, allowing non-system memory allocations to be made to regions that meet all operating system needs. A merge matrix is used to merge records from the ODFs into a common array allowing the records to be searched to find optimum non-system memory allocations. A memory address space topology table is also built by the set configuration program for use by the operating system during initialization and during allocation of memory.
53 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A data processing system (DPS) comprising:
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a processor having an addressable memory address space accessible by means of addresses having a number of address bits, which number defines the size of said memory address space; said memory address space comprising a plurality of memory regions comprising a first memory region having an address range from 0 to (1 MB-1), a second memory region having an address range from 1 MB to (16 MB-1), and a third memory region having an address range from 16 MB to (4 GB-1); non-volatile storage means for storing operating systems and operating system definition files (ODFs) which respectively defines customized operating environments supported by said operating systems; a plurality of device adapters; system memory located in said memory address space for storing one of said operating systems for execution by said processor, said one operating system owning and managing said system memory; non-system memory located in said memory address space for storing adapter programs and data for interfacing with said device adapters; said ODF containing a plurality of keywords which define said customized operating environment; a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) for storing configuration information; configuring means for assigning system resources and storing configuration information indicative of such assignment in said NVRAM, said configuring means comprising first means for generating proposed memory allocations; and ODF processing means for processing said ODFs, said ODF processing means comprising third means for storing information in said NVRAM which defines said customized operating environments and fourth means for analyzing said proposed memory allocations and either accepting or rejecting each proposed allocation in accordance with said customized operating environments. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A data processing system (DPS) comprising:
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a processor having an addressable memory address space accessible by means of addresses having a number of address bits, which number defines the size of said memory address space; said memory address space comprising a plurality of memory regions comprising a first memory region having an address range from 0 to (1 MB-1), a second memory region having an address range from 1 MB to (4 MB-1), and a third memory region having an address range from 16 MB to (4 GB-1); a plurality of device adapters; non-volatile storage means for storing a plurality of adapter description files (ADFs) respectively related to said device adapters and containing device adapter specific information including a plurality of choices identifying non-system memory resources needed by the related device adapter, a plurality of operating systems, and a plurality of operating system definition file (ODFs) which define customized operating environments supported by said operating systems; said ODFs containing a plurality of keywords which define a different one of said customized operating environments, said keywords comprising an OS-- Name keyword containing a name of one of said operating systems and a Non-- Sys-- Mem-- Region keyword containing a list of memory regions supported by said one operating system; system memory located in said memory address space for storing one of said operating systems for execution by said processor; non-system memory located in said memory address space for storing device adapter programs and data; a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) comprising an operating system configuration table (OSCT); configuring means for assigning system resources and storing configuration information indicative of such assignment in said NVRAM, said configuring means comprising first means for reading said ADFs and generating for each device adapter a proposed memory allocation derived from one or said choices in said related ADF, said proposed memory allocation indicating a memory space address for such allocation and an indication of whether the allocation is for system memory or non-system memory; and ODF processing means for processing said ODFs, said ODF processing means comprising third means for reading said ODFs and storing operating environment information in said OSCT, and fourth means for analyzing said proposed memory allocations and either accepting or rejecting each proposed allocation in accordance with said operating environment information stored in said OSCT. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification