No-DAT Facility for Architectural Mode Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computing environments face challenges in managing architectural functions, particularly the removal and disabling of dynamic address translation (DAT) to support legacy systems and reduce complexity, as existing methods are costly and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A No-DAT facility is introduced that removes the possibility of dynamic address translation from a computing environment, allowing only one architectural mode to be active at a time, ensuring DAT is not supported in a selected mode, and disabling relevant instructions, thereby bypassing the need for complex control mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If virtual memory with dynamic address translation is implemented to provide additional memory capacity, then memory capacity is improved, but system complexity and testing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the dynamic address translation function from the computing environment by providing a mechanism to remove selected architectural functions. This allows the system to operate without DAT when running legacy operating systems, thereby reducing system complexity and testing costs while maintaining virtual memory capabilities when needed for modern systems.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple architectural modes are supported to maintain legacy system compatibility, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic architectural mode switching that allows the computing environment to adapt between different architectural modes based on the operating system being executed. The system can dynamically remove or enable the DAT function depending on whether a legacy or modern OS is running, providing adaptability without requiring permanent support for multiple complex architectural configurations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If dynamic address translation is always available to support virtual memory, then memory management flexibility is improved, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by proactively removing the DAT function when it is not needed for legacy operating systems. This prevents the processing overhead associated with address translation from occurring in the first place, rather than attempting to optimize or reduce it after the fact. The system prepares the architectural configuration in advance to match the requirements of the operating system that will be executed.
Data Source
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AI summary
A facility is provided that, when installed, removes from an architecture a selected architectural function, such that the function is not able to be turned on/off regardless of other controls within the environment. When the facility is installed, the architectural function is not supported when processing in an architectural mode based on the architecture. It is as if the selected architectural function is no longer available in the architecture, and in fact, the code implementing the facility may have been deleted, bypassed, or otherwise eliminated. One such architectural function is virtual address translation, such as dynamic address translation (DAT), and the architecture is, for instance, ESA/390.