Metadevice driver rename/exchange technique for a computer system incorporating a plurality of independent device drivers

• US 5,802,364 A
• Filed: 04/15/1996
• Issued: 09/01/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Gittins, Robert S., Passmore, Dale R., Senator, Steven T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Oberley, Alvin E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CALDWELL, PATRICIA G
• Application Number:
  US08/632,006
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• Field of Search: 364/245.1, 364/245.4, 364/246.11, 395/726, 395/680, 395/681, 711/114
• US Class Current: 719/325
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/14 Error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in operation G06F11/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2003/0697 device management, e.g. handlers, drivers, I/O schedulers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/52 Program synchronisation; Mutual exclusion, e.g. by means of semaphores

Abstract

A metadisk driver functionally intermediate a computer operating system and one or more metadrivers and underlying layered drivers provides a driver rename/exchange function which does not depend on any particular driver having knowledge of the private data structures of any of the other drivers. The rename/exchange technique implemented thereby may be conducted while the underlying devices are on-line and comprise atomic operations which are, therefore, recoverable inasmuch as the operation will have either been completed or will not be committed in the event of any interruption.

Claims

1. A method for altering a prior-established driver hierarchy in a computer system including a plurality of drivers having individual and interrelational attributes with respect to others of said plurality of drivers, said method comprising the steps of:

providing for instructing a particular one of said drivers to alter its individual attribute;

providing for locking service to said particular one of said drivers and relatives of said particular one of said drivers;

providing for altering said individual attribute of said particular one of said drivers and said interrelational attributes of each of said relatives of said particular one of said drivers; and

providing for unlocking service to said particular one of said drivers and said relatives of said particular one of said drivers.

2. A method for altering a prior-established driver hierarchy in a computer system including a plurality of drivers having individual and interrelational attributes with respect to others of said plurality of drivers, said method comprising the steps of:

providing for designating a particular one of said drivers to be renamed;

providing for locking service to said particular one of said drivers and related drivers thereof;

providing for renaming said particular one of said drivers to constitute a renamed driver;

providing for updating said related drivers in a parental relationship to said renamed driver to reflect said renamed driver as a child driver and said related drivers in a child relationship to said renamed driver to reflect said renamed driver as a parent driver; and

providing for unlocking service to said renamed driver and said related drivers thereof.

3. A method for altering a prior-established driver hierarchy in a computer system including a plurality of drivers having individual and interrelational attributes with respect to others of said plurality of drivers, said method comprising the steps of:

providing for designating at least an unexchanged first and second of said drivers to exchange said individual attributes;

providing for locking service to said unexchanged first and second drivers and related drivers thereof;

providing for exchanging said individual attributes of said unexchanged first and second drivers to constitute said individual attributes of exchanged second and first drivers respectively;

providing for updating said related drivers in a parental relationship to said unexchanged first driver to reflect said exchanged second driver as a child driver and said related drivers in a child relationship to said unexchanged second driver to reflect said exchanged first driver as a parent driver; and

providing for unlocking service to said first and second exchanged drivers and said related drivers thereof.

4. A method for altering a prior-established driver hierarchy in a computer system including a plurality of drivers having individual and interrelational attributes with respect to others of said plurality of drivers, said method comprising the steps of:

providing for compiling a list of available services for at least a designated one of said plurality of drivers;

providing for determining an individual attribute of said designated one of said plurality of drivers and said interrelational attributes of parent and child drivers thereof;

providing for locking service for said designated one of said plurality of drivers and said parent and child drivers thereof;

providing for swapping roles of said designated one of said plurality of drivers and said parent and child drivers thereof; and

providing for unlocking service for said designated one of said plurality of drivers and said parent and child drivers thereof.

5. A computer program product comprising:

a computer useable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for altering a prior-established driver hierarchy in a computer system including a plurality of drivers having individual and interrelational attributes with respect to others of said plurality of drivers, the computer program product comprising;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect instructing a particular one of said drivers to alter its individual attribute;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect locking service to said particular one of said drivers and relatives of said particular one of said drivers;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect altering said individual attribute of said particular one of said drivers and said interrelational attributes of each of said relatives of said particular one of said drivers; and

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect unlocking service to said particular one of said drivers and said relatives of said particular one of said drivers.

6. A computer program product comprising:

a computer useable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for altering a prior-established driver hierarchy in a computer system including a plurality of drivers having individual and interrelational attributes with respect to others of said plurality of drivers, the computer program product comprising;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect designating a particular one of said drivers to be renamed;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect locking service to said a particular one of said drivers and related drivers thereof;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect renaming said particular one of said drivers to constitute a renamed driver;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect updating said related drivers in a parental relationship to said renamed driver to reflect said renamed driver as a child driver and said related drivers in a child relationship to said renamed driver to reflect said renamed driver as a parent driver; and

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect unlocking service to said renamed driver and said relatives thereof.

7. A computer program product comprising:

a computer useable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for altering a prior-established driver hierarchy in a computer system including a plurality of drivers having individual and interrelational attributes with respect to others of said plurality of drivers, the computer program product comprising;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect designating at least an unexchanged first and second of said drivers to exchange said individual attributes;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect locking service to said unexchanged first and second drivers and related drivers thereof;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect exchanging said individual attributes of said unexchanged first and second drivers to constitute said individual attributes of said exchanged second and first drivers respectively;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect updating said related drivers in a parental relationship to said unexchanged first driver to reflect said exchanged second driver as a child driver and said related drivers in a child relationship to said unexchanged second driver to reflect said exchanged first driver as a parent driver; and

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect unlocking service to said first and second exchanged drivers and said related drivers thereof.

8. A computer program product comprising:

a computer useable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for altering a prior-established driver hierarchy in a computer system including a plurality of drivers having individual and interrelational attributes with respect to others of said plurality of drivers, the computer program product comprising;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect compiling a list of available services for at least a designated one of said plurality of drivers;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect determining an individual attribute of said designated one of said plurality of drivers and said interrelational attributes of parent and child drivers thereof;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect locking service for said designated one of said plurality of drivers and said parent and child drivers thereof;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect swapping roles of said designated one of said plurality of drivers and said parent and child drivers thereof; and

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect unlocking service for said designated one of said plurality of drivers and said parent and child drivers thereof.

9. A system for altering a prior-established driver hierarchy in a computer system including a plurality of drivers having individual and interrelational attributes with respect to others of said plurality of drivers, said system comprising:

a metadisk driver coupling a computer operating system of said computer system to said plurality of drivers, said metadisk driver for causing a particular one of said drivers to alter its individual attributes; and

a lock responsive to said metadisk driver having a first state thereof for locking service to said particular one of said drivers and relatives of said particular one of said drivers and a second state thereof for unlocking service to said particular one of said drivers and relatives of said particular one of said drivers;

said metadisk driver causing said lock to enter said first state thereof while said individual attribute of said particular one of said drivers and said interrelational attributes of each of said relatives of said particular one of said drivers are altered and thereafter causing said lock to enter said second state thereof.