Manageability Controller Screen Video Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack the ability for users to seamlessly switch between the screen videos of a host operating system and virtual machines without accessing a VM management application, limiting remote and local access to multiple screen videos.
Innovation Solution
Enhancing the manageability controller with write access to physical video memory, allowing it to virtualize and store screen video data from both the host OS and VMs, enabling direct selection and display of screen videos on a web-console without relying on VM management applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users access VM screen videos through VM management applications, then they can manage virtual machines, but the process becomes complex and requires additional application layers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the screen video data from the VM management application layer and places it directly into the physical video memory accessible by the manageability controller. This extraction eliminates the need for users to navigate through VM management applications to access screen videos, directly resolving the contradiction by simplifying access while maintaining the underlying virtualization architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The manageability controller acts as an intermediary between the physical video memory and the display device. By giving the manageability controller write access to physical video memory, the system enables direct control over what is displayed on the screen, bypassing the need for VM management applications and simplifying the user access path.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the manageability controller reads from physical video memory, then it can display screen videos, but it cannot switch between host OS and VM videos
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the host OS screen video and VM screen video into the same physical video memory space. By allowing the manageability controller to write to physical video memory, both host and VM video data can coexist in the same memory location, enabling seamless switching between them without requiring separate memory spaces or complex routing logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The manageability controller is enhanced with universal write access to physical video memory, allowing it to display not only VM screen videos but also host OS screen videos. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by enabling the controller to adapt to different display needs (host or VM) while maintaining a simple unified access mechanism.
3Adaptability or versatility
If screen video data is stored in physical video memory controlled by host OS, then display is straightforward, but remote access and switching capabilities are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The manageability controller serves as an intermediary that sits between the physical video memory and the display device. By giving this controller write access to physical video memory, the system enables both local and remote access to screen videos while maintaining direct control over what is displayed. The web console can now directly control the display without needing to go through the host OS display pipeline.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples described herein relate to a manageability controller for controlling a display of a screen video. The manageability controller may receive screen video data from a hypervisor running on a host operating system (OS) that is executable by a main processing resource separate from the manageability processing resource. The screen video data may include a host OS screen video data corresponding to the host OS, a virtual machine (VM) screen video data corresponding to a VM running on the hypervisor, or both. Further, the manageability controller may store the host OS screen video data or the VM screen video data in a physical video memory based on a screen selection input.