JPH10312298A - Virtual computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To speed up the activation processing of idle VP by reporting an event to an idle semaphore which a VP activation event report cell corresponding to the VM shows if the VM in an idle state in the same VM exists when a process which can be executed in the VM(virtual computer) is newly generated. SOLUTION: The idle semaphore by which the VP(virtual processor) process 12 corresponding to the virtual processor becomes a waiting state when the virtual processor becomes in the idle state is provided. The address of the idle semaphore is provided as the VP activation event report cell 7. A VP activation event report means 11 reports the activation event of the virtual processor to the idle semaphore 4 which the VP activation event report cell 7 corresponding to the virtual processor shows with a control micro program 10 if the virtual processor in the idle state in the same VM exists when the process which can be executed is newly generated in the VM.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a virtual machine system, and more particularly, to a method for reporting an event prompting activation of a virtual processor on a virtual machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A virtual computer system makes it possible to realize a plurality of computers on one computer. This is a virtual machine (Virtual Machine)
ne, hereinafter referred to as “VM”), and a virtual processor (hereinafter referred to as “VP”) is time-shared by a real computer (Bare Mach).
Ine, hereinafter referred to as “BM”), by allocating to a real processor (hereinafter, referred to as “BP”), and by allocating various resources on the BM to the VM in a time-sharing and space-sharing manner,
A plurality of computers can be apparently operated simultaneously on one real computer.

In addition to the BP on the BM having a multiprocessor configuration, the VP on the VM may have a multiprocessor configuration having a larger number of processors than the BP.

Referring to the block diagram shown in FIG. 5, the assignment of processor resources of a virtual machine system in which the operating system has been turned into firmware is performed by associating a VP with a VP process 12, which is a process on a BM. This VP process 12 is realized by obtaining the real processor 9 by time sharing.

[0005] The VP process 12 is dispatched in a priority order unique to the process, similarly to the ordinary process 14.

Next, a method of executing a process on a VM by a VP process assigned to a BP will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

In the VP process 12 assigned to the BP, a VP activation command (hereinafter referred to as an "EXECVP command")
By executing (Step S41), the VP is switched from the BM to the VM in the EXECVP instruction start process (Step S45), the process in the VM is fetched, and the process in the VM is executed (Step S80). ), That is, the execution of the SW instruction on the VM is performed.

As described above, the VP process is time-divisionally
Then, by executing the EXECVP instruction in the VP process, the process on the VM is operated, and apparently a plurality of computers can be operated.

In such a virtual computer system,
When there is no longer any process that can be executed by the VP on a certain VM (step S81), the VP enters an idle state (hereinafter referred to as an “idle state”), and the EXECVP instruction is terminated to effectively use the BP ( Step S5
0), until a new executable process appears in the same VM, the VP process 12 corresponding to the VP is placed in the idle semaphore 4 (see FIG. 5) on the BM in an execution standby state (hereinafter referred to as a “wait state”). (Step S6
1) Wait for the VP to be activated again.

Subsequently, a case where a newly executable process is generated on the VM will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.
Is present (step S47), the VP needs to be activated. Activation of a VP means that the VP process is changed from a wait state to an executable state (hereinafter, referred to as a “ready state”), and the process is again allocated to a BP in a time sharing manner.

The activation of the VP involves a software program called a VM monitor 3 operating on the BM for the purpose of centrally managing resources allocated to a plurality of VPs of the BP.

Therefore, the VM control microprogram 10
Terminates the EXECVP command executed on the VP process 12 (step S50), and transfers control to the VM monitor 3.

The VM monitor 3 knows that the VP needs to be activated from the end code of the EXECVP instruction, and reports the VP activation event to the idle semaphore 4 (step S).
44) Then, the idle VP is activated.

By reporting the event, the idle semaphore 4
When the VP process 12 in the wait state changes from the wait state to the ready state, the BP can be obtained again in a time-division manner. When the VP process 12 obtains the real processor 9, the EXECVP instruction is executed again. , Fetches the newly generated process in the VM, and executes the process in the VM.

Further, the VP process 12 which has finished the EXECVP instruction (step S50) executes
If the real processor 9 is obtained, the process 12 executes the process in the VM again as soon as the real processor 9 is obtained (step S52).

[0016]

As described above, in the conventional virtual machine system, in the activation processing of the idle VP, the execution of the roll-in / roll-out operation having a long execution time is accompanied by the end of the EXECVP instruction due to the intervention of the VM monitor. Is performed, there is a problem that large overhead processing is present and the performance is extremely deteriorated.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to eliminate the intervention of a VM monitor in an idle VP activation process, and
An object of the present invention is to provide a virtual computer system capable of speeding up an idle VP activation process by reducing an overhead process due to an end process of an ECVP instruction.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above object, a virtual computer system according to the present invention provides an idle semaphore in which a VP process corresponding to a virtual processor enters a wait state when the virtual processor enters an idle state. Is provided as a VP activation event report cell, and when a newly executable process occurs in the virtual machine, if there is an idle virtual processor in the same virtual machine, the VP corresponding to the virtual processor A VM control microprogram has a VP activation event reporting unit for reporting an activation event of the virtual processor to an idle semaphore indicated by the activation event report cell.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when a VP enters an idle state, an address of an idle semaphore at which a VP process corresponding to the VP enters a wait state is stored in a VM control block in a VP activation event report cell. As

When a newly executable process occurs in the VM and an idle VP exists in the same VM, the idle semaphore indicated by the VP activation event report cell corresponding to the VP VP activation event reporting means for reporting an event directly by the VM control microprogram.

By providing a VP activation event report cell in the VM control block, the address of the idle semaphore in which the VP process is in the wait state can be recognized from the VM control microprogram, and the V
An event can be reported directly to the idle semaphore of the BM by the P activation event reporting means.

[0022]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a real main memory and a real processor (BP) in one embodiment of the virtual machine system of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed relationship between a VP activation event report cell, an idle semaphore, and a VP process in a real main memory according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an idle VP according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the activation processing of FIG.
5 is a flowchart showing details of VP activation event reporting means.

The real main memory 1 has an operating system 2, which is an SW (software) program for managing computer resources, an idle semaphore 4, a VM control structure 5, and process information for each process. A process control block 15.

The real processor 9 includes a VM control microprogram 10 which is a microprogram specialized for VM control.

If there is a process operable on the real processor 9, the process information is fetched from the corresponding process control block 15 onto the real processor 9, and the process 14 (so-called normal process) or the VP process 12 is executed. State.

When a process being executed on the real processor 9 is expelled from the real processor 9 by a contest operation or the like, the contents of the software-visible registers on the real processor 9 are stored in the process control block 1.
It is exhaled to 5.

In the process control block 15, there is a current state transfer time 16, and the time when the state of the process 14 or the VP process 12 changes is stored.

The operating system 2 has a VM
A VM monitor 3, which is a SW (software) program specialized for control, is included.

An idle semaphore 4 is prepared for each VP,
When a VP enters an idle state, the corresponding VP process 12 enters a wait state at the semaphore.

The VM control structure 5 includes a VM monitor 3 and a VM control microprogram 1 for controlling a plurality of VMs.
0 is a control structure for performing reference and update. The VM control block group 6 relates to control in units of VM, and the VP control block group 8 relates to control in units of VP, and exists for each VM.

The VP activation event report cell 7 stores the address of the idle semaphore 4 corresponding to each VP (see FIG. 2).

The VP status indicator word 13 indicates the processor status of the VP, and is used to search for an idle VP when a new process occurs on the VM.

The VP activation event reporting means 11 is a part of the VM control microprogram 10 and uses the VP status indicatory word 13 and the VP activation event report cell 7 and the like to cause the idle semaphore 4 to activate the idle VP. It reports the events for conversion.

In the above configuration, the idle VP
Is performed in the following steps.

In the VP activation event report cell group 7, an address indicating the idle semaphore 4 is stored for each VP by the VM monitor 3 when the VM is initialized. This address may be a logical address on the BM or an absolute address, but in terms of speeding up, it is desirable to set an absolute address without address conversion.

When the VP obtains the BP, executes the process in the VM, and there is no executable process in the VM, and when the VP enters an idle state, the VP terminates the EXECVP instruction and responds to the VP. The VP process 12 enters a wait state in the idle semaphore 4 (S61 in FIG. 7).

The VM control microprogram 11 stores the time when the state of the process becomes the wait state in the current state transfer time 16 in the process control block 15.

Thereafter, an operation when a new executable process is generated in the VM will be described with reference to FIG.

When a new executable process is created in the VM (Step S53), the VM control microprogram 10 transfers control to the VP activation event reporting means 11 (Step S51).

The details of the processing of the VP activation event reporting means 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. When all the VP status display words 13 in the VP control block group 8 corresponding to the VM in which the new executable process has been generated are described. Search (step S71).

If there is no idle VP in this search, the VP activation event reporting means 11 terminates the processing and resumes the execution of the process in the VM (FIG. 3).
Step S52).

When there is an idle VP in the search (step S71), if there is only one idle VP, the VP is set as an activation target and a plurality of idle VPs are set.
If P exists (step S73), a plurality of VPs
All the current state transfer times 16 in the process control block 15 corresponding to the process are read, and the VP corresponding to the VP process in which the oldest time is stored is set as an activation target (step S74).

When the VP to be activated is determined, the VP state display word 13 of the VP is changed from the idle state to the execution state.
Is changed (step S75).

Next, the VP activation event report cell 7 corresponding to the VP to be activated is taken out, and the address of the idle semaphore 4 to which the event is reported is obtained (step S7).
6).

A VP activation event is reported to semaphore 4 indicated by this address (step S77). As a result, V in the semaphore 4 in the wait state
The P process 12 enters the ready state, and the idle VP is activated.

The VP process 12 in the executable state
Is assigned to the real processor 9 in a time-sharing manner,
The process inside is taken in and executed.

Also, the VP activation event reporting means 11
The VP process 12 that has activated the idle VP is
The XECVP instruction is not terminated, and the execution of the process in the VM continues (step S52).

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, the address of the idle semaphore is stored in the VM control block.
Provided as a P activation event report cell, when a newly executable process occurs in the VM, if there is an idle VP in the same VM, the VP activation event report cell corresponding to the VP indicates By providing the VP activation event reporting means for reporting an event to the idle semaphore, the intervention of the VM monitor is eliminated, and the idle VP activation process can be performed at high speed without overhead.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed relationship between a VP activation event report cell group and an idle semaphore according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of VP activation event reporting means according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a common part of a conventional example and one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Real main memory 2 Operating system 3 VM monitor 4 Idle semaphore 5 VM control structure 6 VM control block group 7 VP activation event report cell group 8 VP control block group 9 Real processor 10 VM control microprogram 11 VP activation event report Means 12 VP process 13 VP status display word 14 Process 15 Process control block 16 Current status entry time

Claims (2)

[Claims] When a virtual processor enters an idle state, an address of an idle semaphore at which a VP process corresponding to the virtual processor enters a wait state is provided as a VP activation event report cell and newly executed in the virtual machine. When a possible process occurs, if there is an idle virtual processor in the same virtual machine, the idle semaphore indicated by the VP activation event report cell corresponding to the virtual processor
A virtual computer system comprising a VP activation event reporting means, wherein the VM control microprogram reports an activation event of the virtual processor. 2. A main storage unit is provided for each virtual processor (hereinafter referred to as "VP"). When a VP enters an idle state, a corresponding VP process is placed in a wait state by the semaphore. VM control or VM control microprogram to control the virtual machine (referred to as "VM")
A control structure for updating, which includes a VM control block group including a VP activation event report cell storing an address of an idle semaphore corresponding to each VP, and a VP status indicator word indicating a processor status of the VP. A VM control structure including a VP control block group; and a process control block having process information for each process, wherein the VM control microprogram stores the VP status display word, the VP activation event report cell, and the like. Utilizing an idle semaphore and including a VP activation event reporting means for reporting an event for activating an idle VP, wherein the VP process obtains a real processor, executes a process in the VM, and executes a process in the VM. When there is no process that can be executed by the VP and the VP enters an idle state, the predetermined instruction is terminated, and the VP process corresponding to the VP is idle. When a new executable process is created in the VM after that, the VM control microprogram transfers control to the VP activation event reporting means, and refers to the VP status indicator word to enter an idle state. A VP to be activated is determined by searching for a VP in a state, a VP state indicator word of the VP is changed from an idle state to a running state, and a VP activation event corresponding to the VP to be activated is changed. The report cell is taken out, the address of the idle semaphore to which the event is reported is obtained, and the VP activation event is reported to the semaphore indicated by the address. A virtual computer system characterized by being in a ready state and activating an idle VP.