Translator Component for Hardware-Specific Instruction Set Translation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing instruction set translation technologies face challenges in adapting to diverse hardware configurations, leading to security and performance issues due to the constraints of Software-Based Fault Isolation (SFI) sandboxes, which struggle to support a variety of hardware devices and applications effectively.
Innovation Solution
The method involves identifying client devices with specific hardware configurations and transmitting tailored translator and sandbox components to match the host system, ensuring secure execution of machine-specific instruction sets while providing performance benefits through software-based fault isolation and validator components that prevent unsafe instructions and control flow integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single portable program format is used across diverse hardware configurations, then compatibility and ease of distribution are improved, but security and execution reliability deteriorate due to the inability to enforce hardware-specific safety constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a translator component as an intermediary between the portable program format and the hardware-specific instruction set. This translator acts as a mediator that converts portable bytecode into machine-specific instructions while enforcing sandbox constraints, thereby maintaining both compatibility and execution safety across diverse hardware configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the execution environment into distinct components: a portable program layer, a translator layer, and a hardware-specific execution layer with sandbox constraints. This segmentation allows the portable program to remain hardware-agnostic while the translator enforces hardware-specific safety rules, resolving the contradiction between universality and reliability
2Reliability
If Software-Based Fault Isolation sandboxes are applied to ensure security, then execution safety is improved, but device complexity and performance overhead worsen due to the need for validator components and runtime checking
Solution Approach 1:
The translator component performs preliminary validation and translation of portable programs into hardware-specific instruction sets before execution. By pre-processing the program and embedding safety constraints during translation, the system reduces the need for complex runtime validation, thereby maintaining security while reducing operational complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The translator component is designed to self-configure based on the target hardware architecture. It automatically generates appropriate sandbox constraints and validation rules tailored to the specific hardware platform, eliminating the need for manual configuration of complex validator components and reducing system complexity
3Reliability
If translator components are customized for each hardware configuration, then execution performance and security are improved, but ease of distribution and deployment worsens due to the need to manage multiple translator versions
Solution Approach 1:
The translator component is designed with universal functionality that allows it to adapt to multiple hardware architectures through configuration rather than separate binary distributions. A single translator binary can serve multiple hardware platforms by loading hardware-specific constraint profiles, thereby maintaining ease of distribution while providing hardware-specific security
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses parameter-based configuration to adapt the translator to different hardware architectures. Instead of requiring different translator binaries, the system changes runtime parameters and constraint profiles to match the target hardware, enabling a single portable translator to serve multiple hardware configurations with appropriate security constraints
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for machine-specific instruction set translation. One example method includes identifying computing devices, each device having a respective software component installed, the software component including a translator component for translating a program in a portable format to a machine-specific instruction set, and a sandbox component for executing programs translated to the machine-specific instruction set on the computing device using software-based fault isolation; identifying computing devices having a given hardware configuration; and transmitting another translator component and another sandbox component to each of the identified computing devices. Each of the identified computing devices having the given hardware configuration is configured to receive the components and to configure its software component to use the received components in lieu of the corresponding components.