Resource manager architecture

US7451450B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Microsoft Corporation · US

Inventors

• Mukund Sankaranarayan · Issaquah, US
• Forrest Curtis Foltz · Woodinville, US
• George H. J. Shaw · Woodinville, US
• Dale A. Sather · Seattle, US
• Andy R. Raffman · Woodinville, US
• Jai Srinivasan · Kirkland, US
• Terje K. Backman · Carnation, US
• William G. Parry · Redmond, US
• David S. Bakin · Seattle, US
• Michael B. Jones · Redmond, US
• Sean C. McDowell · Redmond, US
• Jayachandran Raja · Redmond, US
• Robin Speed · Winchester, GB

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 31, 2004
• Grant date: Nov 11, 2008
• Expiry date: Jun 29, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F2209/522
• WIPO field: Audio-visual technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Resource management architectures implemented in computer systems to manage resources are described. In one embodiment, a general architecture includes a resource manager and multiple resource providers that support one or more resource consumers such as a system component or application. Each provider is associated with a resource and acts as the manager for the resource when interfacing with the resource manager. The resource manager arbitrates access to the resources provided by the resource providers on behalf of the consumers, e.g., using a priority-based policy. A resource consumer creates an “activity” at the resource manager and builds one or more “configurations” that describe various sets of preferred resources required to perform the activity. Each resource consumer can specify one or more configurations, which may be ranked, for each activity. This allows the resource consumers to be dynamically changed from one configuration to another as operating conditions change.