Patent · US Active

Resource management for virtualization of graphics adapters

US7650603B2 · kind B2 · utility

12Cited by
6References
1Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJul 8, 2005
Grant dateJan 19, 2010
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 22, 2026

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F2009/45579
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Mechanisms are provided for the sharing of graphics adapter resources among multiple partitions in a virtual machine environment. A first mechanism allows for the sharing of graphics adapter resources so that one partition, a video service partition, containing a graphics proxy process, can use this graphics proxy process to offer graphics adapter resources to another partition, a video client partition. The graphics proxy process controls access time by any given partition to the graphics adapter resources. In one aspect, it uses a time bank to control access time, and the time bank controls how long a virtual graphics adapter offered to the video client partition can access the graphics adapter resources. A second mechanism synchronizes virtual memory in the video client partition to virtual memory in the video service partition. A third mechanism allows for multiple video client partition overlays using a pixel-shader-based virtual overlay mechanism.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.