Automatic resource management of a guest operating system using information in data set indicating minimum system requirement

• US 7,793,288 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2005
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sameske, Volker
• Primary Examiner(s): An; Meng-Ai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chew; Brian
• Application Number:
  US11/296,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20060136913A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,735 Days
• Field of Search: 718/1, 718/104
• US Class Current: 718/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5044 considering hardware capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455

Abstract

A method for an automatic resource management of a virtual machine located as a layer between a physical hardware and at least one guest system, wherein the virtual machine provides an independent virtual hardware for each guest system running on the physical hardware. A data set is provided to the virtual machine by a guest system to be installed, comprising at least information about the minimum system requirements of the guest system. The virtual machine automatically decides, using the information comprised in the data set, if the minimum system requirements of said guest system can be provided by a virtual hardware generated by the virtual machine. At least the requested minimum system requirements of the guest system are provided by the virtual machine that fulfills at least the minimum system requirements of the guest system.

Claims

1. Method for an automatic resource management of a virtual machine located as a layer between a physical hardware and at least one guest operating system, the method comprising:

initializing a guest operating system on the physical hardware;

receiving at the virtual machine a data set from said guest operating system, the data set comprising information about minimum system requirements of said guest operating system;

automatically deciding by the virtual machine using the information in said data set, if the minimum system requirements of said guest operating system can be provided by a virtual hardware generated by said virtual machine;

generating the virtual hardware that fulfills at least the minimum system requirements of said guest operating system, the generating in response to the initializing and to determining that at least the minimum system requirements of said guest operating system can be provided by the virtual hardware;

providing said virtual hardware to said guest operating system by said virtual machine; and

starting said guest operating system on said virtual hardware.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said data set further comprises information about optimum system requirements of said guest operating system, wherein the virtual machine is provided with information about a workload of the guest operating system by the guest operating system itself and provides the virtual hardware to the guest operating system up to its optimum system requirements by generating additional virtual hardware according to the information about the optimum system requirements and adding said additional virtual hardware to the virtual hardware already provided to the guest operating system.

3. Method according to claim 2, wherein the virtual machine provides an interface for receiving information about the workload of the guest operating system.

4. Method according to claim 2, wherein the guest operating system features individual degrees of priority that are provided to the virtual machine wherein the generation of additional virtual hardware by the virtual machine to a specific guest operating system is dependant on load and priority degree of said guest operating system.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein said data set is located in an image of the guest operating system.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the data set is located in a code of the guest operating system and a pointer referring to said data set is located at a defined location in said code.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein the data set is located in a code of the guest operating system and a pointer referring to said data set is located in an image of the guest operating system.

8. Computer system comprising:

means for initializing a guest operating system on the physical hardware;

means for receiving at the virtual machine a data set from said guest operating system, the data set comprising information about minimum system requirements of said guest operating system;

means for automatically deciding by the virtual machine using the information in said data set, if the minimum system requirements of said guest operating system can be provided by a virtual hardware generated by said virtual machine;

means for generating the virtual hardware that fulfills at least the minimum system requirements of said guest operating system, the generating in response to the initializing and to determining that at least the minimum system requirements of said guest operating system can be provided by the virtual hardware;

means for providing said virtual hardware to said guest operating system by said virtual machine; and

means for starting said guest operating system on said virtual hardware.

9. Computer system according to claim 8, further comprising:

means for getting information about optimum system requirements of the guest operating system;

means for getting information about a workload of said guest operating system;

means for automatically deciding according to the workload, that the guest operating system gets additional virtual hardware up to the optimum system requirements; and

means for providing additional virtual hardware to the guest operating system.

10. Computer system according to claim 9, further comprising:

means for getting information about a degree of priority of said guest operating system; and

means for automatically deciding according to the degree of priority and according to the workload, if the guest operating system gets additional virtual hardware up to the optimum system requirements.

11. A computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer usable medium comprising computer readable program means for causing a computer to perform a method comprising:

initializing a guest operating system on physical hardware;

receiving a data set from said guest operating system, the data set comprising information about minimum system requirements of said guest operating system;

automatically deciding using said information in said data set, if said minimum system requirements of said guest operating system can be provided by a virtual hardware generated by a virtual machine;

generating said virtual hardware that fulfills at least said minimum system requirements of said guest operating system, the generating in response to the initializing and to determining that at least the minimum system requirements of said guest operating system can be provided by said virtual hardware;

providing said virtual hardware to said guest operating system; and

starting said guest operating system on said virtual hardware.