Method and apparatus for sharing stack space between multiple processes in a network device
US7373646B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 4, 2003 |
| Grant date | May 13, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 11, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L69/325
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Network processes within a group of network processes are configured to share stack space by controlling when a context switch may be performed between processes in the group. Since a context switch will not be performed between group members during execution of the event loop, the dedicated stack requirements of the process are limited to that required to store state information when the process is idling on a select function. This reduces system stack requirements by allowing a large portion of the stack to be shared by multiple network processes without creating unintended dependencies between the processes. A semaphore may be used to control access to the shared stack space to prevent unintended context switches between group members. If there is more than one group of processes, the operating system may perform context switches between processes in different groups since each group has its own dedicated area of shared stack.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.