Contextual awareness associated with resources

• US 10,552,206 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2017
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Aviation Systems LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: GE Aviation Systems LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Inventors: Graffy, Melanie Sue-Hanson, Holmwood, Colin, Diekema, Jon Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Dong U
• Application Number:
  US15/603,408
• Publication Number:
  US 20180341518A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

Contextual awareness associated with resources can be employed to facilitate controlling access to resources of a system, including function blocks. A resource manager component (RMC) can pre-load a defined number of respective versions of configuration parameter data associated with respective applications in each resource. With regard to each application, the RMC can associate a context value, unique for each application, with the respective versions of configuration parameter data associated with that application. When a current application is being changed to a next application, the RMC can write the context value associated with the next application to a context select component (CSC). Each resource can read the context value in the CSC, identify and retrieve the version of configuration parameter data associated with the next application based on the context value, and configure the function block based on the version of configuration parameter data.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

storing, by a system comprising a processor, respective sets of configuration data in respective resources of a system-on-chip device, wherein the respective sets of configuration data are associated with respective applications and the respective resources; and

controlling, by the system, configuration of and access to the respective resources based at least in part on the respective sets of configuration data associated with respective contexts relating to the respective applications, wherein the respective resources comprise a direct memory access engine, wherein the respective contexts comprise a first context and a second context, wherein the first context is associated with a first application of the respective applications, a first context value, and a first set of configuration data of the respective sets, and the second context is associated with a second application of the respective applications, a second context value, and a second set of configuration data of the respective sets, and

wherein the controlling further comprises;

in response to detecting, in a context field of a configuration component, that the first context value is changed to the second context value, reconfiguring the direct memory access engine from having first configuration parameters associated with the first context value to have second configuration parameters based at least in part on a portion of the second set of configuration data associated with the second context value and stored in the direct memory access engine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective resources comprise at least one of a function block, a block protection unit associated with the function block, or the direct memory access engine.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

pre-loading, by the system, the respective sets of configuration data into the respective resources to facilitate the storing of the respective sets of configuration data in respective data stores associated with the respective resources.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of configuration data of the respective sets of configuration data is associated with the respective resources and the first application, wherein the controlling the configuration of and access to the respective resources comprises, during a first time period, controlling the configuration of and the access to the respective resources based at least in part on the first set of configuration data, in accordance with the first context value.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining, by the system, the first context value associated with the first context that is associated with the first application that is to have access to at least a portion of the respective resources during the first time period;

supplying, by the system, the first context value to the context field of the configuration component to facilitate detection of the first context value by the respective resources;

in response to detecting the first context value in the context field, retrieving, by the system, the first set of configuration data based at least in part on the first context value; and

setting, by the system, respective configuration parameters of the respective resources based at least in part on the first set of configuration data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the respective resources comprise a first function block and a second function block, wherein the first set of configuration data comprises a first portion of configuration data and a second portion of configuration data, and wherein the method further comprises:

setting, by the system, first configuration parameters of the first function block based at least in part on the first portion of configuration data; and

setting, by the system, second configuration parameters of the second function block based at least in part on the second portion of configuration data.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

performing, by the system, a single write operation to write the second context value to the context field of the configuration component to facilitate transitioning the respective resources from the first context to the second context in connection with a second time period based at least in part on the second set of configuration data, in accordance with the second context value, wherein the second set of configuration data is associated with the respective resources and related to the second application.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein a resource of the respective resources is a function block, wherein the function block is configured to have first function-block configuration parameters based at least in part on first function-block configuration data of the first set of configuration data in connection with the first context associated with the first application, wherein the first function-block configuration data is associated with and stored in the function block, and wherein the method further comprises:

selecting, by the system, the second context associated with the second application;

suspending, by the system, an operation associated with the direct memory access engine and the function block, in accordance with a defined procedure associated with the function block;

storing, by the system, operation data associated with the operation in a data store to facilitate resuming, at a future time, the operation at or in proximity to a point in the operation where the operation was suspended;

in response to the suspending of the operation, updating, by the system, the context field of the configuration block of the system-on-chip device from the first context value associated with the first context and the first application to the second context value associated with the second context and the second application; and

in response to detecting the second context value in the context field, reconfiguring, by the system, the function block to have second function-block configuration parameters based at least in part on second function-block configuration data associated with the second context value.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first configuration parameters are first direct-memory-access-engine configuration parameters, wherein the second configuration parameters are second direct-memory-access-engine configuration parameters, wherein the direct memory access engine is configured to have the first direct-memory-access-engine configuration parameters based at least in part on first direct-memory-access-engine configuration data of the first set of configuration data in connection with the first context associated with the first application, wherein the first direct-memory-access-engine configuration data is associated with and stored in the direct memory access engine, and wherein the reconfiguring the direct memory access engine further comprises:

in response to detecting the second context value in the context field, reconfiguring the direct memory access engine to have the second direct-memory-access-engine configuration parameters based at least in part on the second direct-memory-access-engine configuration data associated with the second context value and stored in the direct memory access engine.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein a block protection unit associated with the function block is configured to have first block-protection-unit configuration parameters based at least in part on first block-protection-unit configuration data of the first set of configuration data in connection with the first context associated with the first application, wherein the first block-protection-unit configuration data is associated with and stored in the block protection unit or the function block, and wherein the method further comprises:

in response to detecting the second context value in the context field, reconfiguring, by the system, the block protection unit to have second block-protection-unit configuration parameters based at least in part on second block-protection-unit configuration data associated with the second context value and stored in the block protection unit or the function block.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing, by the system, authentication of an application that is requesting access to at least a portion of the respective resources, based at least in part on an authentication credential received from the application, to facilitate determining whether to grant the application access to at least the portion of the respective resources; and

at least one of;

granting, by the system, the application access to at least the portion of the respective resources, in response to the authentication of the application being satisfied based at least in part on the authentication credential matching a stored authentication credential associated with the application, or

denying, by the system, the application access to the respective resources, in response to the authentication of the application not being satisfied based at least in part on the authentication credential not matching the stored authentication credential associated with the application.

12. A system, comprising:

a set of resources that perform respective functions, wherein respective sets of configuration parameter data are stored in respective resources of the set of resources, wherein the respective sets of configuration parameter data are associated with respective applications related to respective contexts;

a memory that stores computer-executable components; and

a processor that executes computer-executable components stored in the memory, wherein the computer executable-components comprise;

a resource management component that facilitates controlling respective configuration of and access to the respective resources based at least in part on the respective sets of configuration parameter data, in accordance with respective context values associated with the respective contexts, wherein the respective resources comprise a resource, wherein the respective contexts comprise a first context and a second context, wherein the first context is associated with a first application of the respective applications, a first context value of the respective context values, and a first set of configuration parameter data of the respective sets, and the second context is associated with a second application of the respective applications, a second context value of the respective context values, and a second set of configuration parameter data of the respective sets, and

wherein, in response to the resource management component modifying the first context value to the second context value in a context field of a context select component, the resource is reconfigured from having first configuration parameters associated with the first context value to have second configuration parameters based at least in part on a portion of the second set of configuration parameter data associated with the second context value and stored in the resource.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the respective resources comprise at least one of a function block, a block protection unit associated with the function block, or a direct memory access engine.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the resource management component pre-loads the respective sets of configuration parameter data into the respective resources to facilitate storing the respective sets of configuration parameter data in respective data stores associated with the respective resources.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the resource management component communicates the first context value to the context select component to facilitate transitioning the respective resources to the first context during a first time period.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the respective resources detect the first context value in the context select component and determine respective configuration parameter data of the first set of configuration parameter data based at least in part on the first context value, wherein the respective sets of configuration parameter data comprise the respective configuration parameter data associated with the first context value and the first application, and wherein the respective configuration parameter data are associated with the respective resources.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the respective resources comprise at least one of a first function block, a second function block, or a direct memory access engine, wherein the resource is one of the first function block, the second function block, or the direct memory access engine, and wherein, during the first time period, at least one of:

the first function block or a first block protection unit are configured based at least in part on first configuration parameter data of the respective configuration parameter data, wherein the first block protection unit is associated with the first function block, and wherein the first configuration parameter data relates to the first function block and the first application with respect to the first context value;

the second function block or a second block protection unit are configured based at least in part on second configuration parameter data of the respective configuration parameter data, wherein the second block protection unit is associated with the second function block, and wherein the second configuration parameter data relates to the second function block and the first application with respect to the first context value;

or

the direct memory access engine is configured based at least in part on third configuration parameter data of the respective configuration parameter data, wherein the third configuration parameter data relates to the direct memory access engine and the first application with respect to the first context value.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the respective resources control access to and use of the respective resources by the first application based at least in part on the respective configurations of the respective resources, and wherein the respective configurations of the respective resources are performed based at least in part on the respective configuration parameter data associated with the respective resources.

19. A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

storing respective items of configuration parameter information in respective resources of a system-on-chip device, wherein the respective items of configuration parameter information are associated with respective applications and the respective resources, and wherein the respective applications are associated with respective context values; and

managing configuration of and access to the respective resources based at least in part on the respective items of configuration parameter information associated with the respective context values, wherein different context values of the respective context values are employed at different periods of time to facilitate transitioning between different applications of the respective applications over the different periods of time, wherein the respective resources comprise a resource, wherein the respective contexts comprise a first context and a second context, wherein the first context is associated with a first application of the respective applications, a first context value, and first items of configuration parameter information of the respective items, and the second context is associated with a second application of the respective applications, a second context value, and second items of configuration parameter information of the respective items, and

wherein the managing further comprises;

in response to determining that, in a context field of a configuration component, the first context value is changed to the second context value, reconfiguring the resource from having first configuration parameters associated with the first context value to have second configuration parameters based at least in part on a portion of the second items of configuration parameter information associated with the second context value and stored in the resource.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the respective resources comprise at least one of a function block, a block protection unit associated with the function block, or a direct memory access engine.