Hardware acceleration for remote desktop protocol

• US 8,572,251 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Srinivas, Nelamangal Krishnaswamy, Schmieder, Robert Wilhelm, Abdo, Nadim
• Primary Examiner(s): Osman, Ramy M
• Application Number:
  US12/324,305
• Publication Number:
  US 20100131669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,798 Days
• Field of Search: 709/222, 709/223, 709/230, 709/238, 709/219, 709/226, 709/203, 709/227, 710/315
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/509 Offload
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5044 considering hardware capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/133 Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC]

Abstract

A method for offloading remote terminal services processing tasks to a peripheral device that would otherwise be performed in a computer system'"'"'s processor and memory. In one embodiment, the disclosed method is utilized in a layered network model, wherein computing tasks that are typically performed in network applications are instead offloaded to a peripheral such as a network interface card (NIC).

Claims

1. In a computing system for providing remote access to a terminal server or virtual machine, a method for offloading remote desktop graphics processing tasks to a network peripheral device, the tasks comprising graphics rendering and compression tasks, the method comprising:

determining that the network peripheral device includes task offload capabilities for implementing one or more specified remote desktop graphics processing tasks;

sending to the network peripheral device an indication that the network peripheral device is to perform the one or more remote desktop graphics processing tasks, including contextual information to be used with subsequent data units; and

causing the one or more remote desktop graphics processing tasks to be performed by the network peripheral device, wherein the remote desktop graphics processing tasks comprise tasks that would otherwise be performed by the computing system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more remote access operating tasks provide partial remote access processing.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more remote access operating tasks provide complete remote access processing.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more remote access operating tasks comprises bitmap compression.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more remote access operating tasks comprises bulk compression.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more remote access operating tasks comprises caching.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more remote access operating tasks are selectively offloaded to the peripheral device depending on current needs of at least one of the computer system, a network connection type and a remote client.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the task offload capabilities by setting at least one flag indicator in a task offload buffer associated with the network peripheral device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the network peripheral device is a network interface card (NIC).

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the data units are transferred across a layered network model.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data units include network data and packet extension data.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the data units indicate that the server side peripheral device is to perform a batch of operating tasks.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the packet extension data includes at least one data field indicative of at least one remote desktop graphics processing task to be performed by the network peripheral device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said remote access is implemented using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

15. A system adapted to offload remote access graphics processing tasks to a network peripheral device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory communicatively coupled to said at least one processor, the memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions for;

sending to the network peripheral device a data packet indicating that the network device is to perform a remote desktop graphics processing task comprising one of bitmap compression, bulk compression, or caching; and

in response to determining that the network peripheral device does not include task offload capabilities for implementing the remote desktop graphics processing task, causing the desktop graphics processing task to be performed by said processor.

16. A computer readable storage medium storing thereon computer executable instructions for offloading remote desktop graphics bitmap processing tasks to a peripheral device, the tasks comprising graphics rendering and compression tasks, the medium comprising:

instructions for determining that the peripheral device includes task offload capabilities for implementing one or more specified remote desktop graphics bit map processing tasks;

instructions for sending to the peripheral device an indication that the peripheral device is to perform one of said remote desktop graphics bit map processing tasks; and

instructions for causing the one or more remote desktop graphics bit map processing tasks to be performed by the peripheral device, wherein the desktop graphics bit map processing tasks comprise tasks that would otherwise be performed by the computing system.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein said bit map processing comprises caching and bulk compression.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein said task offload capabilities further comprises one of multiplexing/framing, encryption, and command order encoding.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the remote access data units are transferred across a layered network model.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein said remote access is implemented using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).