JPH0283755A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the access speed to a page file and to decrease the access frequency to an external memory by preparing a page file access part, a virtual memory file control part, and an automatic page-out part, storing all data into a virtual memory, and using a program that processes the virtual memory only. CONSTITUTION:A page file 161 is set at an entire or partial fixed area of an external memory and requires no control as a file. Thus a page file access part can give an access to the file 161 only at a high speed. While a virtual memory file control part 130 controls a series of pages in the form of a memory file. An automatic page-out part 150 outputs automatically all pages which are updated via a main storage 120 and not reflected on the file 161 at shut- down. The contents of a virtual memory are held while the operation of a system is halted. Thus all information on the process objects are stored in the virtual memory, and only the virtual memory is processed with omission of the input/output of an information file required before and after the process. Thus the processing effect is improved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention is an information processing device that employs a virtual storage method.

In particular, it relates to improving the access speed of page files and reducing the number of accesses to external storage.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional information processing device of this type accesses a page file using a file management unit that accesses and manages normal files on external storage.

The virtual memory method is a method of making the main memory capacity appear larger than it actually is to the CPU, and allows the CPU to access programs and data that are too large to be stored in the main memory. It is also used to prepare separate storage spaces for each process in a multi-process system and to protect memory access.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the memory access-related part of an information processing device that fully adopts the conventional virtual memory method.
is a CPU, 110 is an address conversion unit, 120 is a main memory,
200 represents a file management section, 160 represents an external storage, and 161 represents a page file.

Here, the virtual storage space is stored as a vegetable file 161 on the external storage 160, and is divided into pages of a certain size. When accessing the virtual memory, the necessary portion must be moved to the main memory 120. Since movement is performed page by page, main memory should be treated as a collection of page frames that store this page. The process of reading the pages of the page file 161 into the page frame is called full page in. Conversely, pages updated on the main memory 120 need to be reflected in the page file 161. This operation is called page out. When accessing data on memory, the CPU 100 passes a logical address, which is a virtual memory address, to the address translation unit 110. A logical address consists of a virtual memory page number and a byte offset within the page. Address conversion unit 110
If the specified page is not currently on the main memory 120,
Input an empty page from the page file 161.

If there is no vacant page frame, select an appropriate page frame (X7), and if the contents have been updated, use the file management unit 200 to page out the page file 161, and then page in. In this way, the address translation unit 110 converts all necessary pages into the main memory 120.
, and converts the logical address passed from the CPU 100 into a physical address, which is the address of the main memory.

The physical address is obtained by replacing the page number part of the logical address with the number of the page frame that stores all of the pages.

In the prior art, in order to improve the efficiency of accessing virtual memory, special improvements have often been made to the algorithm for selecting pages to be paged out, the page management method, the page allocation method, etc. An example of such a device is, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 162154/1982.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the information processing apparatus according to the above-mentioned prior art, since the information is stored as a file in memory, the file management section is used for page ink page out processing. Since this file management section aims to manage a large number of files existing on a plurality of external storage devices, the processing overhead is large (this causes page file access to be slow).

Furthermore, since virtual memory is positioned as an extension of main memory, the virtual memory space is initialized like main memory every time the system is started.

For this reason, all data that needs to be saved needs to be stored in external memory as a file, and the processing program first reads the data from virtual memory from the file, processes all of it on virtual memory, and then writes it back to the file. The procedure was to write it back. However, with this one system, if there is not enough main memory capacity for the size of 5 data, data that has already been read may be paged out while data is being read, and it may be necessary to page in again for processing, etc. Combined with the large number of full accesses, the performance of the system was significantly degraded.

An object of the present invention is to improve the page file access speed and reduce the number of times external storage is accessed.

[Means for Solving the Problem] The above purpose is to provide a page file access unit that accesses all page files placed in the entire external storage or a fixed area of a part, and a page file access unit that accesses all page files located in the entire external storage or a fixed area of a part, and A virtual memory file management section that manages virtual memory files consisting of a This can be achieved by an information processing apparatus that makes it possible to use a processing program that performs all processing only on virtual memory.

[Effect]

Since the page file can be placed in the entire external storage or in a fixed area in part, there is no need to manage it as a file. This allows the page file access unit to access all page files faster than file management, which has file management information on external storage and uses this information for the sole purpose of accessing the page file. Be able to do that.

In addition, the virtual memory file management section manages a collection of pages such as a set of data as a virtual memory file, and the automatic page-out section allows the automatic page-out section to update the data in the main memory and reflect it in the page file at shutdown. All pages that are not available are automatically paged out and retained in virtual memory even when the entire system is stopped. This makes it possible to place all the data to be processed on the virtual memory and perform all data processing only on the virtual memory, eliminating the need for manpower and financial resources in data files before and after processing. (Become.

[Implementation/Column]

The following is a second example of the present invention! I will explain.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of memory access-related parts in an embodiment of the present invention, in which 100 is a CPU, 110 is an address conversion section, 120 is a main memory, 130 is a virtual memory file management section, and 161 is a virtual memory. In the file management table, 140 represents a page file aqueous section, 150 represents an automatic page out section, 160 represents an external storage, and 161 represents a page file.

The following describes the virtual memory file management g ((13Q, page file access unit 140) added to the conventional configuration according to the present invention.
, the function of the automatic page-out section 150 will be explained.

The virtual memory file management unit 160 is the CPU 1o.

Upon request, a new virtual memory file is created or deleted using the υ page file access unit 140. The virtual memory file management table 131 also maintains a virtual memory file management table 131 containing the starting page number of each virtual memory file, and returns the starting page number of the virtual memory file specified by C, PUloo. It also handles inquiries. The virtual memory file management table 161 is itself a virtual memory file, but it is a resident page that is not subject to page-out, and is placed in a fixed location in the main memory.

Therefore, the virtual memory file management unit 130 can directly access the virtual memory file management table 161 in the main memory.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual memory file management table, where 300 represents a first page number item and 310 represents a page number item. In this example, the virtual memory file is managed using all virtual memory file numbers, and the page number of the first page of the virtual memory file is stored in the first page number field 600 for each virtual memory file, and the page number of the first page of that virtual memory file is stored in the page number field 310. stores the number of pages in the virtual memory file. Figure 4 shows the virtual memory file WIM
160 is a diagram showing an example of the command interface of 400fi, the command to the virtual memory file management unit 130, 410 is the result returned by the virtual memory file management unit 160, 401 is the command reference of the command 408, and 402 is the parameter of the command 400. The part 411 is the error identifier part of the result 410.

412 represents a data portion of the result 410, 420 represents a virtual memory file creation command, 421 represents a virtual memory file deletion command, and 422 represents a virtual memory file management table 131 inquiry command. Note that the result corresponding to the instruction 421 has only the error identifier portion 411. The error identifier part 411 includes the following information, including when the process ends normally.
Contains codes corresponding to errors detected during processing.

The function of each command shown in FIG. 4 will be briefly explained below.

Command 420 is a command for creating a new virtual memory file, and the size of the virtual memory file to be created is stored as the total number of pages as a parameter. As a result, an error identifier, virtual memory file number, and first page number of the created virtual memory file are returned. Upon receiving this command, the virtual memory file management unit 160 searches for a sufficiently large free area on the page file 161, initializes it, and registers it in the virtual memory file management table 131. Command 421 is a command to delete an existing virtual memory file, and stores the virtual memory file number to be deleted as a parameter. Returns an error identifier as the result. Upon receiving this command, the virtual memory file management unit 1
30 deletes information regarding the specified virtual memory file from the virtual memory file management table 131. The area on the page file occupied by the deleted virtual memory file can be used as free space to create other virtual memory files. Command 422 is an inquiry command for the virtual memory file management table 131, and stores all virtual memory file numbers to be inquired as parameters.

As a result, it returns an error identifier, the first page number of the specified virtual memory file, and the page number.

In this way, the virtual memory file management unit 130 has a plurality of virtual memory files in all virtual memories, and the CPU 10
0 allows access to any virtual memory file.

The page file access unit 140 includes the address conversion unit 1
10. Upon receiving a request from the virtual memory file management unit 130 and the automatic page out unit 150, the external storage 160 dedicated to storing page files is controlled to access the page file 161. Figure 5 Hahesh file access section 1
This is a diagram showing an example of the 40 command interfaces.
500 is a direction indicating part, 510 is a page number part, 52
0 represents the page frame number part. The direction indicating portion 500 has information on whether the main memory 120 is heaved in from the external memory 160 or the external memory 1 is input from the main memory 120.
A code indicating whether to page out to 60 is stored. The page number portion 510 and the page frame number portion 520 contain the target and 116 page files 1610, respectively.
A page number and a page frame number of the main memory 120 are stored.

In general, external storage FFL devices are called sectors. Is input/output performed in blocks? However, in this embodiment, this sector and the page of the virtual memory directly correspond. In other words, since the logical sector number assigned to each sector and the page number directly correspond to each other in order to add all fingers of the sector, the vegetable file access unit 140 can directly access the page file 161 of the external storage 160 using the specified page number. Can be done. Furthermore, by combining the specified page frame number and the intra-page 3-byte offset, the physical address of the main memory 120 can be obtained, so the main memory 120 can also be accessed directly.

In this way, the page file access unit 140
Incurring overhead associated with file management
, the page file can be accessed.

When the system is shut down, the automatic page-out unit 150 uses the page file access unit 140 to honor all pages that have been updated on the main memory 120 but have not been reflected in the page file 161 to the page file 161. If the resident page has also been updated, it will be paged out.

When activated, the automatic page-out unit 150 refers to the page management table held by the address conversion unit 110 and searches for a page when performing page-out. The page management table is a table used by the address conversion unit 110 to page out pages that have been paged in on the main memory 120, and is a correspondence table between page numbers and frame numbers. The page management table also stores information such as a flag indicating whether the page is a resident page and whether the page has been updated after being paged in to the main page 120. The automatic page out section 150 refers to this page management table, and if there is a page updated on the main memory 120, regardless of whether it is a resident page or not, the automatic page out section 150 outputs the page number, page frame number sound, and page file access section. 140 and page out.

During shutdown, the power is actually turned off and the main memory 120
In order to completely page out before the contents of How to get rid of Kaigen power,
A method is to ask the user to issue a command such as a shutdown notice command before shutting down, and to start the automatic page-out section 150 as a process for this command. When the switch is turned off, the automatic page-out section is started, and the power is turned off after the page-out is completed.A method of providing a power control section, having an uninterruptible sub power supply, and instantly turning the power line into a sub power supply when the main power is turned off. Possible methods include switching to start the automatic page-out unit 150 and turning off the sub power supply after page-out. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a method for providing a power control section between a power switch and a power supply section, in which 600 is a power switch operated by the user, 610 is a power control section, and 620 is a power control section.
is a power supply unit, 611 is an 0N10FF detection unit that detects all changes in the state of the power switch 600, and 612 is a power switch 6.
The electronic switch that turns on and off the power supply unit 620 is fully represented in place of 00. Here, the user presses the power switch 600.
When you close the power supply control section 610, turn on/(JF
The F detection unit 611 detects this and provides an on notification signal to the electronic switch 612 to turn on the power supply unit 620.

Also, when the user opens the power switch 600, 0N10
The FF detection section 611 provides an off notification signal to the automatic page out section 150. The automatic pageout section 150 is activated by this signal. When the automatic page-out section 150 completes the page-out, it gives a completion notification signal (!: to the electronic switch 612 to turn off the power supply section 620.

In this way, the automatic pageout unit 150 completely prevents data on the main memory 120 from being lost due to shutdown, and makes it possible to retain the contents of the virtual memory even when the system is stopped.

In the information processing apparatus described in this embodiment, the file management section is not essential. When it is necessary to bring in or take out data or programs from outside, some kind of input/output means is required, but for example, information processing that can only be carried out through communication lines between the external system and the information system. In the case of a device, a file management section is not required, resulting in system simplification15.

In the above embodiment, the case of a single-task information processing device that executes only one process at a time was shown, but in a multi-task information processing device that can execute multiple processes in parallel, virtual It is also possible to easily achieve the effects of the present invention on individual processes by providing a memory file management table, etc., as another embodiment of the present invention, and a description thereof will be omitted.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) By accessing the page file using the page file access unit, there is no need to use file management, which has a large overhead, for page-in and page-out processing, thereby improving virtual memory access speed.

(21 The virtual memory file management section allows you to specify multiple pieces of data on the virtual memory, and the automatic pageout section retains that data even when the system is stopped.
Data file input/output processing included in conventional processing programs is eliminated, and the number of accesses to external storage is reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a memory access-related portion in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a memory access-related portion of an information processing apparatus that employs a conventional virtual storage method. The figure shows an example of a virtual memory file management table, FIG. 4 shows an example of the command interface of the virtual memory file management section 130, and FIG. 5 shows an example of the command interface of the page file access section 140. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a method of providing a power control section between a power switch and a power supply section. 100...CPU, 110...Address translation unit, 1
20... Main memory, 130... Virtual memory file management section, 131... Virtual memory file management table,
140...Page file access section, 150...
Automatic base file, 200...File management department, 60
0...First page number item, 310...Page number item, 4°O...Command, 410...Result, 401 Command part, 402...Parameter part, 411...Error identifier part, 412...・Data part, 420...
Virtual memory file creation instruction, 421...Virtual memory file deletion instruction, 422...Virtual memory file management table inquiry instruction, 500...Direction instruction part, 510
...Page number part, 520...Page frame number part, 600...'Power switch, 610...Power control section, 620...Power supply section, 611...
0N10FF' detection section, 612...P electronic switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an information processing device that employs a virtual memory method that performs page-by-page swapping between main memory and external memory, a page file that accesses a page file located in a fixed area of the entire external memory or part of the external memory an access section, a virtual memory file management section that manages a virtual memory file consisting of a series of pages within the page file, and an automatic page out section that automatically pages out all pages updated in main memory at the time of shutdown. 1. An information processing device that allows the use of a processing program that stores all data on a virtual memory and processes only the virtual memory.