Synchronizing access to resources in a hybrid computing environment

• US 8,255,909 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2009
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Carey, James E., Ceason, Jeffrey M., Sanders, Philip J., Stewart, Gordon G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alrobaye, Idriss N
• Application Number:
  US12/360,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20100191711A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,308 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 718/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5016 the resource being the memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/52 Program synchronisation; Mutual exclusion, e.g. by means of semaphores
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/526 Mutual exclusion algorithms

Abstract

Synchronizing access to resources in a hybrid computing environment that includes a host computer, a plurality of accelerators, the host computer and the accelerators adapted to one another for data communications by a system level message passing module, where synchronizing access to resources includes providing in a registry, to processes executing on the accelerators and the host computer, a key associated with a resource, the key having a value; attempting, by a process, to access the resource including determining whether a current value of the key represents an unlocked state for the resource; if the current value represents an unlocked state, attempting to lock access to the resource including setting the value to a unique identification of the process; determining whether the current value is the unique identification of the process; if the current value is the unique identification accessing the resource by the process.

Claims

1. A method of synchronizing access to resources in a hybrid computing environment, the hybrid computing environment comprising a host computer having a host computer architecture, a plurality of accelerators having an accelerator architecture, the accelerator architecture optimized, with respect to the host computer architecture, for speed of execution of a particular class of computing functions, the host computer and the accelerators adapted to one another for data communications by a system level message passing module, the method comprising:

providing in a registry, by the system level messaging passing module to processes executing on the accelerators and the host computer, a key associated with a resource accessible by each of the processes, the key having a value that represents access permissions for the resource;

attempting, by a process, to access the resource including determining whether a current value of the key in the registry represents an unlocked state for the resource;

if the current value of the key in the registry represents an unlocked state for the resource, attempting, by the process, to lock access to the resource including setting the value of the key to a unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource;

determining, by the process, whether the current value of the key is the unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource;

if the current value of the key is the unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource, accessing the resource by the process; and

if the current value of the key is not the unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource, the process is not currently authorized to access the resource.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the process attempting to access the resource further comprises a process for a host application program executing on the host computer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the process attempting to access the resource further comprises a process executing on an accelerator.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, upon completing access of the resource by the process, unlocking, by the process, access to the resource including setting the value of the key to represent an unlocked state for the resource.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising locking, by the system level message passing module, all access to the resource including setting the value of the key to a value other than a unique identification of any of the processes or an unlocked state.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the host computer is adapted to each accelerator for data communications by two or more data communications fabrics of at least two different fabric types.

7. A hybrid computing environment for synchronizing access to resources, the hybrid computing environment comprising a host computer having a host computer architecture, a plurality of accelerators having an accelerator architecture, the accelerator architecture optimized, with respect to the host computer architecture, for speed of execution of a particular class of computing functions, the host computer and the accelerators adapted to one another for data communications by a system level message passing module, the hybrid computing environment further comprising a computer processor, a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions capable of:

providing in a registry, by the system level messaging passing module to processes executing on the accelerators and the host computer, a key associated with a resource accessible by each of the processes, the key having a value that represents access permissions for the resource;

attempting, by the process, to access the resource including determining whether a current value of the key in the registry represents an unlocked state for the resource;

if the current value of the key in the registry represents an unlocked state for the resource, attempting, by the process, to lock access to the resource including setting the value of the key to a unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource;

determining, by the process, whether the current value of the key is the unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource;

if the current value of the key is the unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource, accessing the resource by the process; and

if the current value of the key is not the unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource, the process is not currently authorized to access the resource.

8. The hybrid computing environment of claim 7 wherein the process attempting to access the resource further comprises a process for a host application program executing on the host computer.

9. The hybrid computing environment of claim 7 wherein the process attempting to access the resource further comprises a process executing on an accelerator.

10. The hybrid computing environment of claim 7 further comprising computer program instructions capable of, upon completing access of the resource by the process, unlocking, by the process, access to the resource including setting the value of the key to represent an unlocked state for the resource.

11. The hybrid computing environment of claim 7 further comprising computer program instructions capable of locking, by the system level message passing module, all access to the resource including setting the value of the key to a value other than a unique identification of any of the processes or an unlocked state.

12. The hybrid computing environment of claim 7 wherein the host computer is adapted to each accelerator for data communications by two or more data communications fabrics of at least two different fabric types.

13. A computer program product for synchronizing access to resources in a hybrid computing environment, the hybrid computing environment comprising a host computer having a host computer architecture, a plurality of accelerators having an accelerator architecture, the accelerator architecture optimized, with respect to the host computer architecture, for speed of execution of a particular class of computing functions, the host computer and the accelerators adapted to one another for data communications by a system level message passing module, the computer program product disposed in a recordable computer readable medium, wherein the recordable computer readable medium is not a signal, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions capable of:

providing in a registry, by the system level messaging passing module to processes executing on the accelerators and the host computer, a key associated with a resource accessible by each of the processes, the key having a value that represents access permissions for the resource;

attempting, by the process, to access the resource including determining whether a current value of the key in the registry represents an unlocked state for the resource;

if the current value of the key in the registry represents an unlocked state for the resource, attempting, by the process, to lock access to the resource including setting the value of the key to a unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource;

determining, by the process, whether the current value of the key is the unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource;

if the current value of the key is the unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource, accessing the resource by the process; and

if the current value of the key is not the unique identification of the process attempting to access the resource, the process is not currently authorized to access the resource.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the process attempting to access the resource further comprises a process for a host application program executing on the host computer.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the process attempting to access the resource further comprises a process executing on an accelerator.

16. The computer program product of claim 13 further comprising computer program instructions capable of, upon completing access of the resource by the process, unlocking, by the process, access to the resource including setting the value of the key to represent an unlocked state for the resource.

17. The computer program product of claim 13 further comprising computer program instructions capable of locking, by the system level message passing module, all access to the resource including setting the value of the key to a value other than a unique identification of any of the processes or an unlocked state.

18. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the host computer is adapted to each accelerator for data communications by two or more data communications fabrics of at least two different fabric types.