Hardware Gateway for Virtualized System Interface Management

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Solution Overview

Problem

In virtualized electronic systems, shared utilization of interfaces by multiple virtual machines leads to performance overhead, safety, and security risks due to mutual temporal influence and software-managed interface management.

Innovation Solution

A hardware-based gateway with integrated safety and security modules manages communication interfaces, enabling direct data access and processing, eliminating software overhead and implementing end-to-end data protection, encryption, and firewalling to ensure data integrity and security.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If software manages shared interface utilization in virtual machines, then interface sharing is enabled, but performance overhead increases and processing power is extracted from applications

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinterface sharing capabilityVSAvoidprocessing power availability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces software-based interface management with a hardware gateway that directly manages communication interfaces. This hardware gateway operates independently of the virtual machine software layer, enabling direct data transfer between interfaces and memory partitions without software intervention, thereby eliminating software overhead and preserving processing power for applications.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The hardware gateway acts as an intermediary between the communication interfaces and the virtual machines. It receives data from interfaces, performs necessary protocol conversions, and directly writes data to the memory partitions of virtual machines, eliminating the need for software-based message queues and inter-process communication mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If software manages shared interface utilization, then interface sharing is enabled, but safety and security risks increase due to mutual temporal influence

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinterface sharing capabilityVSAvoiddata transfer security

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces software-based security management with hardware-implemented safety and security modules within the gateway. These hardware modules independently ensure data validity and security through cryptographic operations and access control mechanisms, eliminating software-based security vulnerabilities and ensuring reliable data protection even during shared interface utilization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Productivity

If hardware gateway with direct memory access is used, then software overhead is eliminated, but hardware complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocessing speedVSAvoidgateway hardware structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The hardware gateway is designed as a universal device that can manage multiple communication interfaces (CAN, LIN, FlexRay, Ethernet) and serve multiple virtual machines simultaneously. It integrates protocol conversion, data validation, security functions, and direct memory access capabilities in a single hardware platform, reducing overall system complexity despite the advanced functionality provided.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS12260244B2Device and method for managing communication via interfaces in a virtualized system

Publication Date: 2025.03.25 ROBERT BOSCH GMBH

AI summary

A device for managing communication via interfaces in a virtualized system in which a plurality of virtual machines shares a hardware platform which is virtualized with the aid of a hypervisor, and interfaces assigned to the hardware platform access to the interfaces taking place with the aid of a gateway implemented in hardware. A method for operating the device is also described.