Hybrid Virtual Machine Managers for Exclusive and Shared Hardware
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing virtual machine managers lack a hybrid solution that balances performance and adaptiveness, with Type I managers being efficient but limited in functionality and Type II managers being flexible but less efficient, leading to hardware conflicts and performance degradation when operating at the same hardware privilege level.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid virtual machine manager system comprising a master and slave virtual machine manager, where the master allocates exclusive and shared hardware resources to the slave, enabling parallel operation without conflicts through a shared memory and inter-processor interrupt communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If Type I virtual machine manager is used, then hardware resource utilization efficiency is improved, but functionality and adaptiveness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual machine manager is divided into a master virtual machine manager (Type I) and one or more slave virtual machine managers (Type II). The master manager handles hardware resource allocation and management, while slave managers provide additional functionality. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high hardware utilization through the master manager while adding functionality through slave managers without the conflicts that would occur if a single manager tried to do both.
2Adaptability or versatility
If Type II virtual machine manager is used, then functionality and flexibility are improved, but hardware resource utilization efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The slave virtual machine manager (Type II with more functionality) is nested under the master virtual machine manager (Type I). The master manager runs on the hardware layer and allocates resources directly, while the slave manager runs on top of it and provides additional functionality. This nested structure allows the functional benefits of Type II to be added without sacrificing the hardware efficiency of Type I, as the master manager maintains direct hardware control.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple virtual machine managers operate at the same hardware privilege level, then adaptability is improved, but hardware conflicts and performance degradation occur
Solution Approach 1:
The master and slave virtual machine managers are given asymmetric roles and operating levels. The master manager operates at a lower level with direct hardware access privileges, while the slave manager operates at a higher level with more limited direct hardware access. This asymmetric hierarchy allows multiple managers to coexist without conflicts, as each has clearly defined authority boundaries regarding hardware resource management.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for operating a hybrid virtual machine manager are provided. The system includes a master virtual machine manager and one or more slave virtual machine managers, and the master virtual machine manager and the one or more slave virtual machine managers are different types of virtual machine managers. The master virtual machine manager is configured to allocate a first type of hardware resource and a second type of hardware resource to the slave virtual machine manager. The first type of hardware resource is a hardware resource capable of being directly operated by the slave virtual machine manager and is used exclusively by the slave virtual machine manager it is assigned to. The second type of hardware resource is a hardware resource that is managed by the master virtual machine manager.