Input/output control apparatus, input/output control system, and input/output control method

• US 7,734,845 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2008
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Takashi, Ohta, Ken, Fujimoto, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kindred; Alford W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Abad; Farley J
• Application Number:
  US12/190,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20080307124A1
• Time in Patent Office: 665 Days
• Field of Search: 710/12, 710/36, 710/38
• US Class Current: 710/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects

Abstract

An input/output control apparatus includes: a request acceptance unit configured to accept a switch request for requesting to change an operating system occupying any one of the input device and the output device; a control information generator unit configured to generate control information including any one of input destination information and output enable information in response to the switch request; and a control information output unit configured to output any one of the input destination information and the output enable information. The input destination information includes at least information for specifying an input destination operating system to which information inputted from the input device is inputted; and the output enable information includes at least information for specifying whether or not each of the plurality of operating systems can output information to the output device.

Claims

1. An input/output control system comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one output device;

an input/output control apparatus which controls an input of the input device and an output of the output device; and

a host system including a function of simultaneously running a plurality of operating systems, each of the plurality of operating systems including input device control software and output device control software to relay input and output of information,

the input/output control apparatus including,

a request acceptance unit configured to judge whether or not to accept, based on predetermined conditions, a switch request for switching an operating system occupying any one of the input device and the output device to another one of the plurality of operating systems,

a control information generator unit configured to generate control information in response to the switch request, when the request acceptance unit accepts the switch request, the control information including any one of

input destination information including information to specify a switch destination operating system, included in the switch request, as an input destination operating system occupying an input device which is an input destination for input information received from the input device, and

output enable information including information to specify a switch destination operating system, included in the switch request, as an output enable operating system occupying an output device which is an output source of output information addressed to the output device, and

a control information output unit configured to output any one of the input destination information and the output enable information, wherein

a program, which operates on the operating system, is configured to issue a system call for the input device control software to relay the input information received from the input device to the operating system occupying the input device, via an input device controller unit, is itself specified as an input destination operating system from the input device according to the input destination information,

the program is configured to issue a system call for the output device control software to relay the output information received from the operating system, to an output device, controller unit, when the operating system itself is specified as an output destination operating system according to the output enable information,

the input destination information includes at least information for specifying the input destination information operating system for input information from the input device, and

the output enable information includes at least information for specifying whether or not each of the plurality of operating systems can output information to the output device, and

the control information generator unit is configured to determine which of the plurality of operating systems occupies any one of the input device and the output device based on a device list of input and output devices.

2. An input/output control apparatus which controls an input of an input device and an output of an output device, comprising:

a request acceptance unit configured to accept, based on predetermined conditions, a switch request for switching an operating system occupying any one of the input device and the output device to another one of a plurality of operating systems;

a control information generator unit configured to generate control information in response to the switch request, when the request acceptance unit accepts the switch request, the control information including any one of

input destination information including information to specify a switch destination operating system, included in the switch request, as an input destination operating system occupying an input device which is an input destination for input information received from the input device, and

output enable information including information to specify a switch destination operating system, included in the switch request, as an output enable operating system occupying an output device which is an output source of output information addressed to the output device; and

a control information output unit configured to output any one of the input destination information and the output enable information, wherein

a program, which operates on the operating system, is configured to issue a system call for input device control software to relay the input information received from the input device to the operating system occupying the input device, via an input device controller unit, when the operating system is itself specified as an input destination operating system from the input device according to the input destination information,

the program is configured to issue a system call for the output device control software to relay the output information received from the operating system, to an output device controller unit, when the operating system itself is specified as an output destination operating system according to the output enable information,

the input destination information includes at least information for specifying the input destination information operating system for input information from the input device, and

the output enable information includes at least information for specifying whether or not each of the plurality of operating systems can output information to the output device, and

the control information generator unit is configured to determine which of the plurality of operating systems occupies any one of the input device and the output device based on a device list of input and output devices.

3. An input/output control method to control an input of an input device and an output of an output device, comprising:

receiving, at a request acceptance unit, a switch request for switching an operating system, from a plurality of operating systems, occupying any one of the input device and the output device to another one of the plurality of operating systems;

judging, at the request acceptance unit, whether or not to accept the switch request based on predetermined conditions,

generating control information in a control information generating unit in response to the switch request when the switch request is accepted in the judging step, the control information including any one of

input destination information including information to specify a switch destination operating system, included in the switch request, as an input destination operating system occupying an input device which is an input destination for input information received from the input device, and

output enable information including information to specify a switch destination operating system, included in the switch request, as an output enable operating system occupying an output device which is an output source of output information addressed to the output device;

determining which of the plurality of operating systems occupies any one of the input device and the output device according to a device list of input and output devices; and

outputting, from a control information output unit, any one of the input destination information and the output enable information, wherein

a program, which operates on the operating system, is configured to issue a system call for input device control software to relay the input information received from the input device to the operating system occupying the input device, via an input device controller unit, when the operating system is itself specified as an input destination operating system from the input device according to the input destination information,

the program is configured to issue a system call for the output device control software to relay the output information received from the operating system, to an output device controller unit, when the operating system itself is specified as an output destination operating system according to the output enable information,

the input destination information includes at least information for specifying the input destination information operating system for input information from the input device, and

the output enable information includes at least information for specifying whether or not each of the plurality of operating systems can output information to the output device, and

determining, in the control information generator unit, which of the plurality of operating systems occupies any one of the input device and the output device based on a device list of input and output devices.