Data processing system having a plurality of processors and operating systems

• US 8,219,992 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2008
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
• Inventors: Otsuki, Norimasa, Saito, Yasuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Puente, Emerson
• Assistant Examiner(s): KESSLER, GREGORY AARON
• Application Number:
  US11/970,505
• Publication Number:
  US 20080184243A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,646 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 718/102
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services

Abstract

Management programs for concealing differences in hardware configuration and OS are operated and stayed resident every OS. A database manipulated by the management programs is prepared. The database defines correspondences between tasks for hardware control and software processing, which are processed under the control of the OSs and their attached OSs, over the OSs. When the corresponding management program detects a startup request of a task, the management program extracts an entry corresponding to the task from the database. If an attached OS owned by the extracted entry is its own OS, then the task is processed under the control of the corresponding OS. If the attached OS owned by the extracted entry is other OS, then the startup request is passed to a processor of the other OS, where the task is processed.

Claims

1. A data processing system, comprising:

a plurality of processors configured to execute a plurality of operating systems (OSs);

a database having a plurality of database entries each defining a correspondence between a task and an attached OS,

wherein said OSs are configured to operate a plurality of management programs,

wherein when a startup of a task is requested, a first processor of said plurality of processors that executes a first one of the management programs under control of a first one of the OSs, retrieves a database entry corresponding to said requested task from the database and determines whether the attached OS of the database entry selected by the retrieval is said first one of the OSs,

wherein when said attached OS of the selected database entry is said first one of the OSs, the first processor processes a task defined by the selected database entry under the control of said first one of the OSs, and

wherein when the attached OS of the selected database entry is a second one of the OSs configured to operate a second one of the management programs, the first processor passes necessary information to a second processor of said plurality of processors that executes said second one of the management programs and said second processor processes said task defined by the selected database entry under the control of the second one of the OSs.

2. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein the first processor that executes the first one of the management programs is capable of interactive communication with the second processor that executes said second one of the management programs.

3. The data processing system according to claim 2,

wherein the database entries respectively include areas which respectively store therein global task IDs for distinguishing a plurality of tasks of a plurality of OSs from one another respectively, global task names, attached OSs of the tasks, task IDs of the tasks allocated by the attached OSs, and execution statuses of the tasks, and

wherein the areas that store the task IDs and the task'"'"'s execution statuses therein respectively are areas rewritable by the management programs.

4. The data processing system according to claim 3, wherein each of the database entries further includes an area for storing therein task protection information which restricts a task execution environment.

5. The data processing system according to claim 4, wherein the database entries further include areas for storing therein buffer size information which define buffer sizes used in the interactive communication.

6. The data processing system according to claim 3, wherein a processor executes the corresponding management program under the OS started up in response to initialization instructions of the system thereby to set initialization of a variable area of the database, and each management task processed by its corresponding management program is defined as a resident task and resides in the corresponding processor operated under the OS.

7. The data processing system according to claim 6, wherein the management programs update variable areas of database entries to which the OS belongs.

8. The data processing system according to claim 3, wherein the global task names correspond to task names respectively, and each said processor that executes the management program retrieves the database with the task name as a retrieval key.

9. The data processing system according to claim 8,

wherein the database entries further have areas for storing priorities therein respectively, and

wherein the priorities designated at the priority storage areas are different between a plurality of database entries different in global task ID and identical in global task name.

10. The data processing system according to claim 9, wherein said each processor that executes the management program selects a database entry highest in priority, which is specified in priority storage areas, where operable tasks exist in plural form when the plural database entries are selected by the retrieval.

11. The data processing system according to claim 10, wherein among a plurality of tasks specified within database entries different in global task ID and identical in global task name, a first task is defined as a task that utilizes hardware-based processing and a second task is defined as task that substitutes the hardware-based processing of first task with processing based on software of the corresponding processor.

12. The data processing system according to claim 10, wherein a first task and a second task are different in attached OS among a plurality of tasks specified within said database entries different in global task ID and identical in global task name.

13. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein at least said first and said second processors of said plurality of processors are formed in a single chip.

14. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein at least said first and said second processors of said plurality of processors are formed in a plurality of chips, respectively.

15. A data processing system, comprising:

a plurality of processors configured to execute a plurality of operating systems (OSs);

a database having a plurality of database entries each defining a correspondence between a task and an attached OS,

wherein said OSs are configured to operate a plurality of management programs,

wherein the database entries respectively include areas which respectively store therein global task IDs for distinguishing a plurality of tasks of a plurality of OSs from one another respectively, global task names, attached OSs of the tasks, task IDs of the tasks allocated by the attached OSs, execution statuses of the tasks, and priorities of the tasks, each said database entry having distinct areas separately storing the global task ID and the global task name,

wherein among a plurality of tasks specified within database entries different in global task ID and identical in global task name, a first task is defined as a task that utilizes hardware-based processing and a second task is defined as a task that substitutes the hardware-based processing of the first task with processing based on software of the corresponding processor,

wherein when a startup of a task is requested, the processor that executes one of the management programs retrieves a plurality of database entries corresponding to the requested task from the database, and

wherein when tasks of the database entries selected by the retrieval are said first task and said second task, the processor that executes the one management program processes a task highest in priority within operable tasks under the control of the corresponding attached OS.

16. The data processing system according to claim 15, wherein the global task names correspond to task names respectively, and each said processor that executes one or more of the management programs retrieves the database entries with the task name as a retrieval key.

17. The data processing system according to claim 16, wherein the priorities designated at the priority storage areas are different between a plurality of database entries different in global task ID and identical in global task name.

18. A data processing system, comprising:

a plurality of processors configured to execute a plurality of operating systems (OSs);

a database having a plurality of database entries each defining a correspondence between a task and an attached OS,

wherein said OSs are configured to operate a plurality of management programs,

wherein the database entries respectively include areas which respectively store therein global task IDs for distinguishing a plurality of tasks of a plurality of OSs from one another respectively, global task names, attached OSs of the tasks, task IDs of the tasks allocated by the attached OSs, execution statuses of the tasks, and priorities of the tasks, each said database entry having distinct areas separately storing the global task ID and the global task name,

wherein among a plurality of tasks specified within database entries different in global task ID and identical in global task name, a first task and a second task are different in attached OS,

wherein when startup of a task is requested, the processor that executes one of the management programs retrieves a plurality of database entries corresponding to the requested task from the database, and

wherein when tasks of the database entries selected by the retrieval are said first task and said second task, the processor that executes the one management program processes a task highest in priority within operable tasks under the control of the corresponding attached OS.

19. The data processing system according to claim 18, wherein the global task names correspond to task names, respectively, and said each processor that executes one or more of the management programs retrieves the database entries with the task name as a retrieval key.

20. The data processing system according to claim 19, wherein the priorities designated at the priority storage areas are different between a plurality of database entries different in global task ID and identical in global task name.