Apparatus and method for managing shared resources

• US 5,894,555 A
• Filed: 06/20/1996
• Issued: 04/13/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited, PFU Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited, PFU Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Inventors: Arai, Satoru, Harada, Tetsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Geckil, Mehmet B.
• Application Number:
  US08/666,932
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.43, 395/200.33, 395/200.47, 711/147-152
• US Class Current: 709/213
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/52 Program synchronisation; Mutual exclusion, e.g. by means of semaphores

Abstract

An apparatus for managing shared resources used in common by a plurality of computer systems connected together through a network, wherein an executable unit on a particular computer having the shared resources is arranged being divided into a first executable unit which requests the input/output processing unit in the resource managing unit that directly manages the shared resources to execute the process for inputting/outputting the shared resources in response to optional executable units, and a second executable unit which, by using an identifier for identifying the first executable unit, requests the locking processing unit in the resource managing unit to execute the process for locking the shared resources in response to other optional executable units substituting for said first executable unit. The invention further provides a method of managing system resources wherein the second executable unit in the apparatus for managing system resources constituted as described above executes the process for locking the shared resources to substitute for the process of the first executable unit, by using the identifier that identifies the process of the first executable unit.

Claims

1. An apparatus for managing system resources, comprising:

a resource managing unit, provided in a particular computer system among a plurality of computer systems connected to a network, directly manages shared resources that are used in common by a plurality of executable units on the plurality of computer systems, said resource managing unit including an input/output processing unit executing an input/output process for said shared resources concerning optional executable units and a locking processing unit executing a process for locking said shared resources concerning other optional executable units;

said particular computer system further comprising a processor having;

a first executable unit including an input/output process requesting unit which requests said input/output processing unit to execute the input/output process for said shared resources in response to optional executable units on said computer systems, and

a second executable unit including a substitute locking process requesting unit which, by using an identifier for identifying said first executable unit, requests said locking processing unit to execute the process for locking said shared resources substituting for said first executable unit wherein, in order to receive requests for locking said shared resources from the executable units on a plurality of other computer systems, said second executable unit further includes an automatic identifier allocating unit to automatically allocate virtual identifiers to the requests for locking from the executable units on said other computer systems, and said second executable unit requests the process for locking said shared resources by using virtual identifiers automatically allocated to the requests for locking process from said other computer systems, in order to execute exclusive control among the optional executable units in all computer systems.

2. A managing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said identifier comprises an executable unit identifier capable of uniquely identifying said first executable unit in said particular computer system and a file identifier capable of uniquely identifying said shared resources relying on said first executable unit, and said second executable unit requests the process for locking said shared resources by using said executable unit identifier and said file identifier.

3. A managing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said process for locking said shared resources comprises designating the offset and length in said shared resources to thereby lock said shared resources and inhibiting access by other executable units to the locked region.

4. A managing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said process for locking said shared resources comprises inhibiting access by other executable units to all the shared resources in response to a designation for opening said shared resources.

5. A managing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of said first executable units that request the input/output process for said shared resources, said second independent executable unit requesting the locking process substituting for all first executable units.

6. A method of managing system resources for executing an input/output process and a locking process for shared resources in a data storage unit, provided in a particular computer system among a plurality of computer systems connected to a network, the shared resources being used in common by a variety of processes on the plurality of computer systems, said method comprising, in the particular computer system:

a first process for processing the requests for input/output processing of said shared resources sent from optional processes on said plurality of computer systems;

a second process for processing the requests for locking said shared resources wherein the second process, using an identifier that identifies said first process, executes the process for locking said shared resources, substituting for the first process; and

in order to receive requests for locking said shared resources from a plurality of other computer systems, said second process automatically allocates virtual identifiers to the requests for said locking process sent from the processes on said other computer systems, and the process for locking said shared resources is executed by using the thus allocated virtual identifiers, in order to execute exclusive control among the optional processes in all computer systems.

7. A managing method according to claim 6, wherein the process for locking said shared resources is executed by using, as the identifier, a process identifier capable of uniquely identifying said first process in said particular computer system and a file identifier capable of uniquely identifying said shared resources in said data storage unit relying upon said first process.

8. A managing method according to claim 6, wherein the process for locking said shared resources comprises designating the offset and length in said shared resources to thereby lock said shared resources and inhibiting access by other processes to the locked region.

9. A managing method according to claim 6, wherein the process for locking said shared resources comprises inhibiting access by other processes to all the shared resources in response to a designation for opening said shared resources.

10. A managing method according to claim 6, further comprising a plurality of said first processes that execute the input/output process for said shared resources, said second independent process executes the locking process substituting for all first processes.