Management Structure for Memory Leak Prevention in Inter-Process Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
In systems that process large volumes of data, such as those for driver assistance and semi-automated driving, memory leaks can occur due to abnormal termination of user processes, leading to blocked memory cells that are not cleaned up, potentially causing system failures.
Innovation Solution
A data structure with a management structure that holds a pointer object to memory cells, allowing for the identification and release of occupied memory cells when a user process abnormally terminates, thereby preventing memory leaks and increasing system resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a user process requests memory space for transferring large data volumes, then data transfer capability is improved, but memory leaks occur when the process terminates abnormally, causing system failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing a management structure that pre-registers memory cells with the communication middleware before the user process actually uses them. When a user process requests memory space, the management structure is already in place to track these allocations. This preliminary setup ensures that even if the process terminates abnormally, the middleware can detect the termination through heartbeat mechanisms and automatically reclaim the memory cells through the pre-established management structure, preventing memory leaks while maintaining high data transfer capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback through a heartbeat mechanism where the management structure continuously monitors the status of user processes. When a process terminates abnormally, the heartbeat stops, providing immediate feedback to the middleware. This feedback triggers automatic cleanup actions through the management structure, which identifies and reclaims memory cells allocated to the terminated process. This continuous monitoring and automatic response ensures system reliability is maintained while allowing aggressive memory allocation for high-performance data transfer
2Loss of energy
If the communication middleware transfers data using a two-step zero copy approach, then copying overhead is reduced, but memory management complexity increases due to ownership transfers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a management structure as an intermediary layer between the communication middleware and the user processes. This management structure handles the complexity of memory ownership transfers and tracking, allowing the middleware to focus on efficient zero-copy data transfer. The management structure maintains registration information about which memory cells are allocated to which processes, automatically managing ownership transfers without burdening the middleware with complex tracking logic. This intermediary approach preserves the low copying overhead of zero-copy methods while systematically managing memory ownership complexity
3Reliability
If memory cells are indicated as occupied by a user process, then exclusive access is ensured, but blocked memory cells cannot be cleaned up when the process terminates abnormally
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the management structure pre-register memory cells with the communication middleware before allocation to user processes. This registration creates a tracking mechanism that records which memory cells are occupied by which processes. When a process terminates abnormally, the middleware can detect the termination through heartbeat mechanisms and use the pre-established registration information to identify and reclaim the occupied memory cells. This preliminary registration ensures both exclusive access during normal operation and automatic cleanup capability after abnormal termination
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the communication middleware to automatically detect abnormal process termination through heartbeat mechanisms and autonomously reclaim memory cells through the management structure. The system does not require external intervention or manual cleanup procedures. The management structure provides self-service functionality by maintaining registration information that enables automatic identification and reclamation of blocked memory cells, ensuring both exclusive access during operation and automatic recovery after failures
Data Source
AI summary
A data structure for a jointly utilized memory device, in particular, for inter-process communication, in an application system. The memory device includes a memory cell. The data structure includes a management structure, the management structure being configured to hold a pointer object to the memory cell.