TCP/IP offloading for virtual machines
US7424710B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 18, 2003 |
| Grant date | Sep 9, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 31, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L69/329
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An engine (TOE) is provided in a virtualized computer system for offloading I/O tasks using any defined protocol such as TCP/IP. The system includes a virtual machine (VM), which has a guest operating system (OS) that runs via a virtual machine monitor (VMM) on a system-level software platform (vmkernel), which also forms the software interface layer to at least one physical network connection device. A TCP/IP stack is included in vmkernel. During normal I/O operation, for sockets associated with TOE, processes in an application layer in the guest OS are able to communicate directly with vmkernel's TCP/IP stack, thereby bypassing the guest OS kernel.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.