Guest access to address spaces of adapter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9342352-B2
Application number	US-82119010-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 23, 2010
Priority date	Jun 23, 2010
Publication date	May 17, 2016
Grant date	May 17, 2016

Abstract

An authorization mechanism allows a host executing a guest operating system to grant permission for the guest to directly access an adapter function's address spaces without host intervention. This access is via instructions implemented based on the architecture of the adapter function. The host also has the capability to intervene in the execution of the instruction, if desired.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer program product for providing access to adapters in a computing environment, the computer program product comprising:
a computer readable storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising:
executing, by a processor, a guest instruction issued by a guest processor, the guest instruction comprising a request to access an adapter of the computing environment, and the guest processor being hosted by a host operating system;
determining whether the guest instruction is permitted to directly access the adapter;
based on the guest instruction being permitted to directly access the adapter, the execution directly accessing one or more address spaces of the adapter without host intervention of the host operating system; and
based on the guest instruction not being permitted to directly access the adapter, the execution causing an intercept to the host operating system.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises determining whether the host operating system enabled the guest processor for interpretation of the guest instruction and wherein the execution directly accesses an address space of the adapter, the accessing comprising a read or a write operation.

3. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
determining by the host operating system that it wants to intervene in execution of the guest instruction; and
intercepting by the host operating system execution of the guest instruction, based on the host operating system determining it wants to intervene.

4. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises performing one or more actions, by the host operating system on behalf of the guest processor, to enable the guest instruction to directly access the adapter.

5. The computer program product of claim 4 , wherein the one or more actions comprise:
authorizing the guest processor for interpretation of one or more specific privileged instructions; and
enabling the guest processor for interpretation of one or more specific privileged instructions.

6. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises determining whether the guest processor issuing the guest instruction is authorized to access the adapter.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 , wherein the determining whether the guest processor is authorized uses an authorization token to make the determination.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein the determining whether the guest processor is authorized comprises comparing the authorization token stored in a specified location with an authorization token associated with that guest processor, wherein equality indicates authorization.

9. The computer program product of claim 6 , wherein the determining whether the guest instruction is permitted further comprises:
determining whether the guest processor is enabled for adapter access interpretation;
determining whether the adapter is enabled for adapter access interpretation; and
determining whether a function handle associated with the adapter and specified in the request is enabled, wherein the guest processor is permitted to access, based on the guest processor being authorized, the guest processor being enabled for adapter access interpretation, the adapter being enabled for adapter access interpretation and the function handle being enabled.

10. A computer system for providing access to adapters in a computing environment, the computer system comprising:
a memory; and
a processor in communications with the memory, wherein the computer system is configured to perform a method, said method comprising:
executing, by a processor, a guest instruction issued by a guest processor, the guest instruction comprising a request to access an adapter of the computing environment, and the guest processor being hosted by a host operating system;
determining whether the guest instruction is permitted to directly access the adapter;
based on the guest instruction being permitted to directly access the adapter, the execution directly accessing one or more address spaces of the adapter without host intervention of the host operating system; and
based on the guest instruction not being permitted to directly access the adapter, the execution causing an intercept to the host operating system.

11. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the determining comprises determining whether the host operating system enabled the guest processor for interpretation of the guest instruction and wherein the execution directly accesses an address space of the adapter, the accessing comprising a read or a write operation.

12. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the method further comprises:
determining by the host operating system that it wants to intervene in execution of the guest instruction; and
intercepting by the host operating system execution of the guest instruction, based on the host operating system determining it wants to intervene.

13. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the method further comprises performing one or more actions, by the host operating system on behalf of the guest processor, to enable the guest instruction to directly access the adapter.

14. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the determining comprises determining whether the guest processor issuing the guest instruction is authorized to access the adapter.

15. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the determining whether the guest processor is authorized uses an authorization token to make the determination.

16. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the determining whether the guest instruction is permitted further comprises:
determining whether the guest processor is enabled for adapter access interpretation;
determining whether the adapter is enabled for adapter access interpretation; and
determining whether a function handle associated with the adapter and specified in the request is enabled, wherein the guest processor is permitted to access, based on the guest processor being authorized, the guest processor being enabled for adapter access interpretation, the adapter being enabled for adapter access interpretation and the function handle being enabled.

17. A method of providing access to adapters in a computing environment, said method comprising:
executing, by a processor, a guest instruction issued by a guest processor, the guest instruction comprising a request to access an adapter of the computing environment, and the guest processor being hosted by a host operating system;
determining, by the processor, whether the guest instruction is permitted to access the adapter;
based on the guest instruction being permitted to directly access the adapter, the execution directly accessing one or more address spaces of the adapter without host intervention of the host operating system; and
based on the guest instruction not being permitted to directly access the adapter, the execution causing an intercept to the host operating system.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
determining by the host operating system that it wants to intervene in execution of the guest instruction; and
intercepting by the host operating system execution of the guest instruction, based on the host operating system determining it wants to intervene.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the determining comprises determining whe

Assignees

• Craddock David
• Farrell Mark S
• Gregg Thomas A
• Greiner Dan F
• Osisek Damian L
• Sittmann Iii Gustav E
• IBM

Inventors

• Craddock David
• Farrell Mark S
• Gregg Thomas A
• Greiner Dan F
• Osisek Damian L
• Sittmann Iii Gustav E

Classifications

• G06F9/468 Primary

  Specific access rights for resources, e.g. using capability register · CPC title

• G06F2009/45579

  I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage · CPC title

• G06F2213/0038

  System on Chip · CPC title

• G06F9/45558

  Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects · CPC title