Method and system for stealing interrupt vectors

• US 8,145,819 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2007
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kapoor, Shakti, Patrascu, Alexandru Adrian, Alapati, Sangram, Herold, Brad Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Sough, S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mudrick, Timothy A
• Application Number:
  US11/757,418
• Publication Number:
  US 20080301402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,758 Days
• Field of Search: 710/266
• US Class Current: 710/266
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4812 by interrupt, e.g. masked

Abstract

A system for stealing interrupt vectors from an operating system. Custom interrupt handler extensions are copied into an allocated block of memory from a kernel module. Also, operating system interrupt handlers are copied into a reserved space in the allocated block of memory from an interrupt vector memory location. In response to copying the operating system interrupt handlers into the reserved space in the allocated block of memory, custom interrupt handlers from the kernel module are copied over the operating system interrupt handlers in the interrupt vector memory location. The custom interrupt handlers after being copied into the interrupt vector memory location handle all interrupts received by the operating system.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for stealing interrupt vectors from an operating system, the computer implemented method comprising:

copying, by a kernel module, a plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions from the kernel module into an allocated block of memory;

copying, by the kernel module, a plurality of operating system interrupt handlers from an interrupt vector memory location into a plurality of reserved spaces in the allocated block of memory, each of the plurality of reserved spaces is located directly after each of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions within the allocated block of memory so that each of the copied plurality of operating system interrupt handlers is contiguous to its corresponding custom interrupt handler extension;

responsive to copying the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers into the plurality of reserved spaces in the allocated block of memory, copying, by the kernel module, a plurality of custom interrupt handlers from the kernel module over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers in the interrupt vector memory location, wherein the plurality of custom interrupt handlers after being copied into the interrupt vector memory location handle interrupts received by the operating system;

generating a kernel thread for each of one or more processing units to form a generated kernel thread for each of the one or more processing units;

disabling, by the kernel module, external interrupts in each generated kernel thread;

determining, by the kernel module, if a master processing unit is finished copying the plurality of custom interrupt handlers over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers; and

responsive to determining that the master processing unit is finished copying the plurality of custom interrupt handlers over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers, restoring, by the kernel module, the external interrupts.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to the operating system receiving an interrupt, branching to one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions from one of the plurality of custom interrupt handlers that is associated with the interrupt, wherein the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions corresponds with the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handlers;

determining if special processing is required by the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions;

responsive to determining that special processing is required by the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions, continuing to custom interrupt code; and

returning from the interrupt.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

responsive to determining that special processing is not required by the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions, restoring registers to a state at a time of the interrupt, wherein the registers are in the one or more processing units.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 3,

wherein the generated kernel thread of a master processing unit copies the plurality of custom interrupt handlers over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers in the interrupt vector memory location.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the custom interrupt code executes a plurality of test programs at a same time to test system resources, and wherein the custom interrupt code includes hooks to access a lowest level of system resources.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the branching, determining if special processing is required, continuing, and returning steps are performed by a custom interrupt handler.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the allocated block of memory is large enough to store the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions and the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the allocated block of memory is contained within a real memory device, and wherein the real memory device is a volatile memory device.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the allocated block of memory is a contiguous block of memory.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers are associated with a different custom interrupt handler extension.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein a superuser installs the kernel module on the operating system.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the operating system is an advanced interactive executive operating system.

13. A data processing system for stealing interrupt vectors from an operating system, comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device includes a set of instructions;

one or more processing units connected to the bus system, wherein at least one of the processing units executes the set of instructions to copy, by a kernel module, a plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions from the kernel module into an allocated block of memory;

copy, by the kernel module, a plurality of operating system interrupt handlers from an interrupt vector memory location into a plurality of reserved spaces in the allocated block of memory, each of the plurality of reserved spaces is located directly after each of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions within the allocated block of memory so that each of the copied plurality of operating system interrupt handlers is contiguous to its corresponding custom interrupt handler extension; and

copy, by the kernel module, a plurality of custom interrupt handlers from the kernel module over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers in the interrupt vector memory location in response to copying the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers into the plurality of reserved spaces in the allocated block of memory, wherein the plurality of custom interrupt handlers after being copied into the interrupt vector memory location handle interrupts received by the operating system;

a master processing unit;

wherein the at least one of the processing units executes the set of instructions to generate a kernel thread for each of the one or more processing units to form a generated kernel thread for each of the one or more processing units;

disable, by the kernel module, external interrupts in each generated kernel thread;

determine, by the kernel module, if the master processing unit is finished copying the plurality of custom interrupt handlers over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers; and

responsive to determining that the master processing unit is finished copying the plurality of custom interrupt handlers over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers, restore, by the kernel module, the external interrupts.

14. A computer program product stored on a computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied thereon that is executable by a computer for stealing interrupt vectors from an operating system, the computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code configured to copy, by a kernel module, a plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions from the kernel module into an allocated block of memory;

computer usable program code configured to copy, by the kernel module, a plurality of operating system interrupt handlers from an interrupt vector memory location into a plurality of reserved spaces in the allocated block of memory, each of the plurality of reserved spaces is located directly after each of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions within the allocated block of memory so that each of the copied plurality of operating system interrupt handlers is contiguous to its corresponding custom interrupt handler extension;

computer usable program code configured to copy, by the kernel module, a plurality of custom interrupt handlers from the kernel module over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers in the interrupt vector memory location in response to copying the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers into the plurality of reserved spaces in the allocated block of memory, wherein the plurality of custom interrupt handlers after being copied into the interrupt vector memory location handle interrupts received by the operating system;

computer usable program code configured to generate a kernel thread for each of one or more processing units to form a generated kernel thread for each of the one or more processing units;

computer usable program code configured to disable, by the kernel module, external interrupts in each generated kernel thread;

computer usable program code configured to determine, by the kernel module, if a master processing unit is finished copying the plurality of custom interrupt handlers over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers; and

responsive to determining that the master processing unit is finished copying the plurality of custom interrupt handlers over the plurality of operating system interrupt handlers, computer usable program code configured to restore, by the kernel module, the external interrupts.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to branch to one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions from one of the plurality of custom interrupt handlers that is associated with the interrupt in response to the operating system receiving the interrupt, wherein the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions corresponds with the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handlers;

computer usable program code configured to determine if special processing is required by the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions;

computer usable program code configured to continue to custom interrupt code in response to determining that special processing is required by the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions; and

computer usable program code configured to return from the interrupt.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to restore registers to a state at a time of the interrupt in response to determining that special processing is not required by the one of the plurality of custom interrupt handler extensions, wherein the registers are in the one or more processing units.