Image Memory as Temporary Restore for OS Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image formation apparatuses face delays and productivity issues when switching between multiple operating systems due to limited memory resources, as they rely on secondary storage devices which are slower than system memory, leading to inefficiencies in processing jobs that require authentication and image processing.
Innovation Solution
An image formation apparatus with a hypervisor and a control firmware that manages system and image memory spaces to rapidly switch between operating systems by using image memory as a temporary restore memory, allowing efficient utilization of both system and image memories for prioritizing job processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a secondary storage device such as a hard disk is used to restore memory content when physical memory runs out, then overcommitment is enabled, but the responsiveness deteriorates and switching time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the memory system into two distinct segments: system memory (DRAM) for fast access and image memory (also DRAM but dedicated for image processing) for temporary restore. This segmentation allows the system to utilize the fast image memory for OS switching while preserving the system memory for active operations, thereby maintaining high responsiveness even when physical memory capacity is limited.
Solution Approach 2:
The image memory, originally designed exclusively for image processing, is made multi-functional by using it as a temporary restore area for OS switching. This allows the same hardware resource to serve dual purposes: image processing during job execution and OS context restoration during switching, thereby enabling overcommitment without requiring additional hardware resources.
2Speed
If a sufficiently large memory resource is prepared to avoid switching delays, then responsiveness is improved, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-allocating and managing free memory spaces in the image memory before they are needed. When an OS switching event occurs, the required memory content is already prepared and can be quickly restored, eliminating delays. This preliminary preparation allows fast switching without requiring excessive memory resources to be constantly available.
Solution Approach 2:
The image formation apparatus serves itself by utilizing its own image memory resource for OS switching purposes. Instead of requiring external additional memory resources, the system repurposes its existing image memory capacity to provide the necessary restore functionality, thereby achieving fast switching without increasing overall resource requirements or cost.
3Speed
If image memory is used as temporary restore memory, then switching speed is improved, but job processing may be delayed due to memory contention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic memory management where the allocation and usage of image memory for restore purposes is flexible and adaptive. The system dynamically adjusts memory usage based on current job requirements and switching needs, ensuring that image memory is used for restore only when necessary and that job processing can access required memory resources without contention. This dynamic approach balances switching speed with job processing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
An image formation apparatus includes a hypervisor, a control firmware running on a host OS and responsible for controlling the image formation apparatus, and a cooperation module operating on the same level as the hypervisor. A resource includes an image memory managed by the control firmware and adapted for image processing. The cooperation module is configured to: cooperate with the control firmware to obtain an available memory space of the image memory; associate a content of a job to be processed with a program running on one or more guest OSs required for that job; and before starting the job, read a required guest OS into the available memory space of the image memory and cause the associated program to be executed.