Reducing operating system start-up/boot time through disk block relocation
US5920896A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 21, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jul 6, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 21, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/3419
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A computer system is equipped with an operating system having a tracer driver for generating trace data including disk locations accessed for disk accesses made by various components of the operating system during system startup/boot time. The tracer driver is loaded at an initial phase of system start-up. The computer system is further equipped with a companion disk block relocation driver for generating, if possible, an alternative disk block allocation for a current disk block allocation that will yield improved overall access time for a sequence of disk accesses. In some embodiments, the disk block relocation driver includes logic for tracing the sequence of disk accesses to determine the current disk block allocation, logic for generating the alternative disk block allocation, if possible, using the trace results, and logic for effectuating the alternate disk block allocation, if generated. In one particular embodiment, the logic for generating the alternative disk block allocation employs a random search approach, while in another embodiment, the logic for generating the alternative disk block allocation employs a heuristic approach.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.