Data buffering and notification system and methods thereof

• US 8,874,780 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2007
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Beverly, Harlan T., Musta, Charles A.
• Primary Examiner(s): STRANGE, AARON N
• Application Number:
  US11/778,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20080016236A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,661 Days
• Field of Search: 709/234, 709/219, 709/223, 709/232
• US Class Current: 709/232
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/542 Intercept
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication

Abstract

An interceptor program at a computer device intercepts certain externally initiated communications intended for the peer program before those communications are placed on the network stack. Further, the interceptor program stores the received communications in a buffer in application space, rather than kernel space. The interceptor program can then intercept polling requests from the peer program inquiring if data for the peer program is located at the network stack, and provide the buffered communications to the peer program in response. Because the communications are stored in application space, rather than kernel space, the data can be rapidly provided to the peer program, improving the speed with which the program can respond to the client communications.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining by a second program that a first message received from a network is targeted for a first program at a host device;

storing the first message in a temporary buffer in response to determining that the first message is targeted for the first program, the temporary buffer separate from a network stack at the host device;

intercepting by the second program a first periodic polling request for the first message, the first periodic polling request targeted to the network stack and requesting an indication of whether data sent to the first program from a remote device has been received;

in response to intercepting the first periodic polling request and in response to the second program determining the first periodic polling request is from the first program, retrieving, by the second program, the first message from the temporary buffer and providing the first message to the first program;

intercepting a second periodic polling request from the first program; and

in response to the second periodic polling request, providing an indication that data is not available to the first program based, at least in part, on data stored at the temporary buffer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that a second message received from the network is targeted for a third program at the host device; and

storing the second message in the network stack at the host device.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

intercepting a third periodic polling request at the second program, the third periodic polling request targeted to the network stack and requesting an indication of whether data sent to the third program has been received; and

in response to intercepting the third periodic polling request, providing, by the second program, the third periodic polling request to the network stack in response to determining the third periodic polling request is from the third program.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporary buffer is located in application space.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network stack is located in kernel space.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message is stored in the temporary buffer and not at the network stack.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first periodic polling request is selected from the group consisting of a non-blocking select request, a blocking select request, and an asynchronous select request.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the first message to the first program in response to an indication that the first message is available asynchronously.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first periodic polling request is selected from the group consisting of a non-blocking receive request, a blocking receive request, an asynchronous receive request.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an interrupt request from a network device, the interrupt request indicating the first message has been received; and

notifying the first program that the first message has been received in response to receiving the interrupt request.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving the first periodic polling request in response to receiving the interrupt request.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first program is in application space, and wherein the second program is, at least in part, in application space.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first program is in application space and wherein the second program is in both kernel space and application space.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:

determining at a network device that a first message received from a network is targeted for a first program at a host device;

storing the first message at a temporary buffer at the host device in response to determining that the first message is targeted for the first program;

intercepting a first periodic polling request by a second program, the first periodic polling request targeted to a network stack and requesting an indication of whether data sent to the first program from a remote device has been received;

in response to intercepting the first periodic polling request and in response to determining the first periodic polling request is from the first program, retrieving, by the second program, the first message from the temporary buffer and providing the first message to the first program;

intercepting a second periodic polling request from the first program; and

in response to the second periodic polling request, providing an indication that data is not available to the first program based, at least in part, on data stored at the temporary buffer.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the temporary buffer is located in application space.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the network stack is located in kernel space.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions to provide an interrupt indication to the host device in response to determining that the first message is targeted for the first program at the host device.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first program is in application space, and wherein the second program is, at least in part, in application space.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first program is in application space and wherein the second program is in both kernel space and application space.

20. An apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory organized into an application space and a kernel space; and

a computer readable storage device communicably coupled to the processor, the computer readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

determining by a second program executable by the processor that a first message received from a network is targeted for a first program executable by the processor, wherein the first program is in the application space, and wherein the second program is, at least in part, in the application space;

storing the first message in a temporary buffer in response to determining that the first message is targeted for the first program, the temporary buffer separate from a network stack;

intercepting by the second program a first periodic polling request for the first message, the first periodic polling request targeted to the network stack and requesting an indication of whether data sent to the first program from a remote device has been received; and

in response to intercepting the first periodic polling request and in response to the second program determining the first periodic polling request is from the first program, retrieving, by the second program, the first message from the temporary buffer and providing the first message to the first program.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the network stack is located in the kernel space.