Hypervisor Shared Memory for Guest OS Instrumentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtualized server environments, platform management applications face challenges in acquiring guest operating system instrumentation information without directly requesting it from guest operating systems, which can disrupt their execution.
Innovation Solution
A hypervisor communication module retrieves and transmits guest operating system instrumentation information through shared memory, enabling platform management applications to monitor resource usage and other metrics without directly interacting with guest operating systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If platform management applications directly request instrumentation information from guest operating systems, then information acquisition is direct and efficient, but guest operating system execution is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a hypervisor as an intermediary layer between the platform management application and the guest operating system. The hypervisor contains instrumentation code that intercepts management requests and provides information without requiring direct interaction between the management application and guest OS, thus maintaining execution continuity while enabling efficient information acquisition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates copies of instrumentation information within the hypervisor's memory space. Instead of directly accessing the guest operating system, the hypervisor maintains replicated copies of necessary instrumentation data, allowing the platform management application to retrieve information from these copies without disrupting the original guest OS execution.
2Loss of information
If the hypervisor traverses and parses guest memory structures to retrieve instrumentation information, then comprehensive monitoring is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having the hypervisor pre-traverse and parse guest memory structures during initialization or at predetermined intervals. Instrumentation information is extracted and stored in advance in the hypervisor's memory, allowing the platform management application to retrieve pre-processed data without requiring complex real-time traversal and parsing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the instrumentation information retrieval process into distinct phases: memory traversal, parsing, extraction, and storage. Each phase is handled separately by different components or at different times, reducing the complexity of any single operation and allowing for more manageable and efficient information acquisition.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products are provided for acquiring guest operating system instrumentation information in a hypervisor. Embodiments include receiving from a platform management application, by a hypervisor communication module of the hypervisor, a platform request for guest operating system instrumentation information associated with at least one guest operating system executing within the hypervisor; in response to receiving the platform request for the guest operating system instrumentation information, retrieving through shared memory between the hypervisor and the guest operating system, by the hypervisor communication module, the guest operating system instrumentation information associated with the at least one guest operating system; and transmitting, by the hypervisor communication module, the guest operating system instrumentation information to the platform management application.