System having device driver operates in first mode for allowing concurrent access to adapter by applications and second mode for limiting access to one application
First Claim
1. An information handling system, comprising:
- at least two terminals; and
a communications means coupled to the at least two terminals for communicating information between at least two terminals in the information handling system;
wherein each of said terminals comprises;
a processor, for processing information to be communicated between the terminals;
an operating system for controlling the operation of the processor;
at least one application on the processor under control of the operating system;
a device driver having at least two modes of operation, a first mode of operation of the device driver allowing concurrent access to an adapter controlled by one or more applications, and a second mode of operation of the device driver which limits access to one application; and
a communications adapter controlled by the device driver;
each device driver further comprising;
means for testing a request for access to the communications adapter to determine if such request is for a first mode or a second mode of operation;
means for setting a mode indicator to a first state if a first mode of operation is detected;
means for setting a mode indicator to a second state if the second mode of operation is indicated; and
means for blocking access by other applications if the second mode of operation has been detected.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A data processing system gives an application running on the operating system exclusive ownership of a hardware device. The system is operable in two modes. In the first mode the application interacts with the hardware device by making use of the processing system. In this mode many layers of the processing system are involved and the interaction time with the hardware is slow and inconsistent. In the second mode, exclusive ownership of the hardware device is granted to the application by the driver. In this mode the application has direct access to the hardware device thus avoiding the involvement of the processing system layers. The application accesses and uses the driver through a low latency processor interface linked into the application program itself.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. An information handling system, comprising:
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at least two terminals; and a communications means coupled to the at least two terminals for communicating information between at least two terminals in the information handling system; wherein each of said terminals comprises; a processor, for processing information to be communicated between the terminals; an operating system for controlling the operation of the processor; at least one application on the processor under control of the operating system; a device driver having at least two modes of operation, a first mode of operation of the device driver allowing concurrent access to an adapter controlled by one or more applications, and a second mode of operation of the device driver which limits access to one application; and a communications adapter controlled by the device driver; each device driver further comprising; means for testing a request for access to the communications adapter to determine if such request is for a first mode or a second mode of operation; means for setting a mode indicator to a first state if a first mode of operation is detected; means for setting a mode indicator to a second state if the second mode of operation is indicated; and means for blocking access by other applications if the second mode of operation has been detected. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An information handling system, comprising:
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at least two terminals; a multi-node switch; and a communications means coupled to the at least two terminals and to the multi-node switch for communicating information between at least two terminals in the information handling system; wherein each of the terminals comprises; a processor, for processing information to be communicated between the terminals; storage means for storing information to be processed and communicated; an operating system for controlling the operation of the terminal; at least one application operating on the processor under control of the operating system; a device driver having at least two modes of operation, a first mode of operation of the device driver allowing concurrent access to an adapter controlled by the device driver by one or more applications, and a second mode of operation of the device driver which limits access to the controlled adapter to one application; and a communications adapter controlled by the device driver; each device driver further comprising; means for testing a request for access to the communications adapter to determine if such request is for a first mode or a second mode of operation; means for setting a mode indicator to a second state if the second mode of operation is indicated; means for blocking access by other applications if the second mode of operation has been detected.
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Specification