JP2008225617A - Starting method for computer system, information processor, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact and inexpensive computer system capable of high-speed starting while securing flexibility of the computer system. <P>SOLUTION: This computer system has: a normal securing part 112 for inquiring a securing memory amount corresponding to a request source of memory securing to a preceding securing part 111, performing normal memory securing processing when receiving a reply of the effect that a securing amount does not respond to a request of the request source from the preceding securing part 111, and securing a requested area inside a memory 300; and the preceding securing part 111 for referring to memory securing information 201 to the inquiry from the normal securing part 112, deciding whether the securing amount shown in the memory securing information 201 is a securing amount capable of responding to the request of the request source or not, securing the securing amount corresponding to the request source shown in the memory securing information 201 inside the memory 300 and giving a replay of the effect to the normal securing part 112 when can respond to the request, and giving a reply of the effect that the securing amount does not respond to the request of the request source to the normal securing part 112 when cannot respond to the request. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for starting a computer system.

  Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-44088) as an example, when a computer system starts up, the operating system and various user programs ensure the necessary memory for each. Perform startup processing. Since many processes are performed at the time of start-up, it is necessary to secure memory frequently for both the operating system and the user program. Both the operating system and the user program secure the necessary memory by requesting the operating system to secure the memory. When the operating system succeeds in securing the memory, the operating system returns the location of the secured memory area to the request source. A conventional operating system secures memory by one of the following methods.

  The first method is the simplest method of securing the requested memory amount itself. When the operating system is requested to secure the memory, it searches for a free area in the memory that can respond to the request, and when the search is successful, returns the position of the free area to the request source.

  However, when this method is adopted, a search for a free area is executed every time memory reservation is required. When the computer system is activated, a memory reservation request is frequently made as described above, so that a free space search process is frequently performed. Therefore, this method has a problem that it takes a long time to start the computer system.

  In response to such a problem, the second method searches for a free area larger than the requested amount of memory, and then returns the head position to the request source, and the remainder of the excess exceeding the requested amount of memory This is a method in which the operating system reserves internally. When the request source makes a memory allocation request again, the operating system returns the head position of the reserved memory area to the request source. Since this method can reduce the number of times that the search process for the free memory area is executed, the startup of the computer system is accelerated.

  The third method is a method in which only the memory securing request source and the requested amount are recorded, and no actual memory securing is performed at the time of the securing request. However, a virtual memory location is returned to the request source as if the memory was secured. This method is possible when the hardware on which the operating system is executed implements an existing technology called a virtual storage function. The hardware having the virtual storage function has a function of notifying the operating system when a program that requests memory reservation reads / writes data from / to the above virtual memory location. When the operating system receives this notification, it first allocates actual memory. In the memory securing process, first, an empty area of the memory is searched, and if an empty area is found, the area is allocated to the virtual memory position.

Further, conventionally, as a method for speeding up the startup of a computer system, all information stored in a memory at a certain point in time when the system is operating is stored in a nonvolatile storage area of the system, and the information is stored at startup. A method is known in which the system state at the time when the information is stored is restored by expanding the data on the memory. In a normal computer system, the behavior of the system can be easily changed by changing the operation setting of a user program executed at startup.
JP-A-6-44088

  However, the conventional second method cannot cope with a case where it is requested to secure an area larger than the reserved memory amount. In this case, it is necessary to perform a process for searching for a new free area that can respond to the securing request, secure the new area, and return the position to the request source. If you set a large amount of memory to hold internally, you can reduce the number of free space search processing executions. However, in this case, the amount of memory that is not used is increased, and the memory usage efficiency deteriorates. Problem arises.

  Also, as in the conventional third method, the processing performed due to reading and writing to a virtual memory location where memory is not actually allocated is generally called “page fault processing”. With this method, the processing at the time when the memory allocation is requested can be largely omitted. However, if the requester actually reads / writes to / from the memory, it is necessary to search the free area of the memory as a page fault process after all. is there. Therefore, the overall processing amount is almost the same as that of the first method, and there is a problem that it takes a long time equivalent to the first method to start the computer system.

  Furthermore, when using the conventional startup acceleration method, in order to change the behavior of the system, all information on the memory is output to the nonvolatile storage area after the system is put into a desired state, and the output information is the information A complicated procedure such as replacing with is required. Therefore, this method has a problem that it is difficult to operate the system flexibly. In addition, in order to store the information, a non-volatile storage area having the same size as the total amount of memory provided in the computer system is required, which causes a problem of increasing the size and cost of the system.

(Object of invention)
An object of the present invention is to provide a computer system that solves such a problem and that is small, inexpensive, and fast to start while ensuring the flexibility of the computer system.

  To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in a computer system booting method, memory information relating to a memory amount necessary for an operating system and a user program to operate is stored in advance in a predetermined storage area of the computer system. And a securing step of securing a memory area for the operating system and the user program based on the memory information when the computer system is started.

(Function)
Memory information relating to the amount of memory necessary for the operation of the operating system and the user program is stored in advance, and when the computer system is started, the operating system is configured to execute the operating system and the user based on the memory information. Since the memory area for the program is secured, it is possible to reduce the page fault process and the search process for the free memory area, which are conventionally required.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the page fault process and the free memory area search process that have been necessary in the prior art, so that the startup of the computer system can be speeded up.

  The reason is that memory information relating to the amount of memory required for the operating system and user program to operate is stored in advance, and when the computer system is started up, the operating system performs the operation based on the memory information. This is because a memory area for the system and the user program is secured.

(First embodiment)
A computer system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Configuration of the first embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a computer system provided with a startup acceleration means according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Note that description of parts that are normally provided in the computer system but are not related to the present invention will be omitted.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a computer system 100 according to the present embodiment includes an operating system 110, a nonvolatile storage area 200, a memory 300, and a user program 120 (user program A121, user program B122, etc.).

  The operating system 110 performs the same operation as that of the prior reservation unit 111, which is a characteristic configuration of the present invention, in advance to secure a predetermined area of the memory 300 based on memory reservation information 201 described later, And a normal securing unit 112 capable of securing a predetermined area. That is, the advance reservation unit 111 and the normal reservation unit 112 reserve a memory area to be used in the memory 300.

  FIG. 2 shows a detailed configuration diagram of the operating system 110.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the normal securing unit 112 includes a memory amount inquiry unit 1121 and a normal securing unit 1122, and the preceding securing unit 111 includes a memory securing information reading unit 1111, a determining unit 1112, and a preceding securing unit 1113. Response means 1114.

  The memory amount inquiry unit 1121 has a function of inquiring the advance reservation unit 111 about the amount of memory for reservation corresponding to the memory reservation request source (such as the operating system 110).

  The normal securing unit 1122 performs a normal memory securing process and secures the requested area in the memory 300 when receiving a response from the preceding securing unit 111 that the secured amount cannot be met by the request source. It has a function.

  The memory allocation information reading unit 1111 has a function of reading the memory allocation information 201 in response to an inquiry from the normal allocation unit 112.

  The determination unit 1112 has a function of reading the memory allocation information 201 in response to the inquiry from the normal allocation unit 112 and determining whether the allocation amount indicated in the memory allocation information 201 is an allocation amount that can meet the request from the request source. Have.

  The advance reservation unit 1113 has a function of ensuring the reserved amount corresponding to the request source indicated in the memory reservation information 201 in the memory 300 when the request can be met.

  When the reply means 1114 cannot respond to the request, the reply means 1114 responds to the normal securing unit 112 that the securement amount cannot be met by the request source, and when the request can be fulfilled, the reply means 1114 can be used due to that fact and securement. It has a function of returning the memory area position to the normal securing unit 112.

  Each user program A121, user program B122, and the like in the user program 120 are user programs that are executed when the computer system according to the present embodiment is started.

  The non-volatile storage area 200 has a function of recording information regarding the maximum value of the memory amount secured at a certain point in time when each program executed when the computer system is started as information constituting the memory reservation information 201. For this reason, in the memory allocation information 201, the amount of memory allocated at a certain temporary point is recorded in association with each program (request source) that requested the memory allocation when the computer system was started. In the nonvolatile storage area 200, there may be a request source in which the memory allocation information 201 is stored in advance and a request source in which the memory reservation information 201 is not stored.

  Here, the hardware configuration of the computer system 100 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the computer system 100 according to the present embodiment.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the server 30 according to the present invention can be realized by a hardware configuration similar to that of a general computer device, and includes a main memory such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1001 and a RAM (Random Access Memory). A main storage unit 1002 used for a data work area and a temporary data save area, a communication control unit 1003 for transmitting and receiving data via the network 400, a liquid crystal display, a presentation unit 1004 such as a printer and a speaker, a keyboard and a mouse A hard disk device including an input unit 1005 such as an interface unit 1006 that transmits and receives data by connecting to peripheral devices, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a magnetic disk, and a non-volatile memory such as a semiconductor memory In a secondary storage unit 1007, and a system bus 1008 for connecting the above components of the information processing apparatus to each other.

  The computer system 100 according to the present invention is implemented by mounting circuit components made of hardware components such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), in which a program for realizing such functions is incorporated in the computer system 100. As a matter of course, it can be realized in software by executing a program for providing each function of each component described above by the CPU 1001 on the computer processing apparatus.

  That is, the CPU 1001 loads the program stored in the auxiliary storage unit 1007 to the main storage unit 1002 and executes the program, thereby controlling the operation of the computer system 100, thereby realizing the functions described above in software.

(Operation of the first embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the computer system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When the computer system 100 is activated, the operating system 110 starts execution (step S101).

  At the initial stage when the operating system 110 starts execution, the normal securing unit 112 determines whether or not the memory amount enough to meet the request of the request source (in this case, the operating system itself) has already been secured. The advance reservation unit 111 is inquired by 1121 (step S102).

  The advance reservation unit 111 receives an inquiry from the memory amount inquiry unit 1121 of the normal reservation unit 112, and reads the memory reservation information 201 stored in the nonvolatile storage area 200 by the memory reservation information reading unit 1111 (step S103). As described above, the memory reservation information 201 is obtained by measuring in advance the maximum value of the amount of memory reserved by the program at a certain point when the computer system is started and storing it in the nonvolatile storage area 200. .

  Based on the read memory reservation information 201, the advance reservation unit 111 determines whether or not the determination unit 1112 can secure a memory amount sufficient to satisfy the request from the request source (step S104).

  The advance reservation unit 111 reserves a memory area for each user program 120 from the memory 300 of the computer system 100 by the advance reservation unit 1113 based on the read memory reservation information 201 when the reservation is possible (step S105). FIG. 1 shows a state in which an area X for the operating system 110, an area Y for the user program 121, and an area Z for the user program 122 are secured in an area indicated by “P part” of the memory 300. .

  The advance reservation unit 111 secures the memory by the advance reservation unit 1113, and then confirms that the response unit 1114 has secured the amount of memory sufficient to meet the request from the request source and the memory area that has become available due to the reservation. The position is returned to the normal securing unit 112 (step S106).

  The normal securing unit 112 returns the response to the request source as it is (step S107).

  The operating system 110 performs various initialization processes of the computer system 100. The initialization process is performed while securing memory necessary for the process as needed. Therefore, the operating system 110 always reserves memory necessary for various initialization processes by the normal securing unit 112 (step S108).

  The above processing does not involve the search for the memory free area required by the first, second, and third memory allocation methods described in the previous problem, and the page fault processing that is required by the third method. Done at high speed. In addition, since the amount of memory reserved by the advance reservation unit 111 is recorded in advance based on the measurement, the use efficiency of the memory deteriorates as in the second memory reservation method described in the conventional problem. Nor.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S104 that the determination unit 1112 cannot secure a memory amount sufficient to satisfy the request source request, the reply unit 1114 notifies the normal reservation unit 112 that the request source request cannot be satisfied. A response is made (step S109).

  In this case, the normal securing unit 112 performs a normal memory securing process by the normal securing unit 1122 to secure an area in the memory 300 (step S110), and returns the position of the secured area to the request source (step S111). . In the “Q part” of FIG. 1, the memory area secured by the normal securing part 112 in accordance with a request from the operating system 110 is shown as (OS).

  When the operating system 110 completes the basic initialization process of the computer system 100, the operating system 110 starts a user program. In FIG. 1, it is assumed that two of user programs 120, user program A 121 and user program B 122, are activated.

  The user program A 121 and the user program B 122 execute various initialization processes that are not performed by the operating system 110. The operating system 110 does not perform all initialization for the following reason.

  The operating system 110 provides functions that serve as the basis of the system necessary for executing the user program A121 and the user program 122B. The basic functions include securing a memory related to the present invention, controlling various hardware installed in the computer system 100, and the like. Therefore, if the setting of the operating system 110 is changed or replaced with a new one, the effect will spread to the entire computer system 100. As a result, the computer system 100 may be unable to start or cause unexpected abnormal operations. Therefore, a method for maximizing the flexibility and stability of the computer system is generally adopted by minimizing the functions of the operating system 110 and performing the processing that can be performed by the user program on the user program side as much as possible.

  The user program A 121 and user program B 122 shown in FIG. 1 perform a predetermined initialization process. Similar to the initialization process of the operating system 110 described above, the user program A 121 and the user program B 122 also require a certain memory area for the initialization process. Therefore, the user program A 121 and the user program B 122 request the normal reservation unit 112 of the operating system 110 to ensure the memory. The operation of the normal securing unit 112 is exactly the same as the operation in the case where a memory securing request is made from the inside of the operating system 110 described above.

  In the “Q part” of FIG. 1, the memory area secured by the normal securing unit 112 according to the memory securing request of the user program A 121 is (A), and the memory area secured by the normal securing unit 112 according to the memory securing request of the user program B 122 is stored. Shown as (B).

  As described above, part of the initialization processing is performed by the user program 120 (121, 122) instead of the operating system 110 in order to increase the flexibility of the computer system. In accordance with this purpose, the user of the computer system can generally change the operation of the user program 120 (121, 122). When the operation of the user program 120 (121, 122) is changed, the amount of memory that needs to be secured also changes. As a result, the user program 120 (121, 122) may require a larger memory area than the memory reservation amount stored in the memory reservation information 201. In this case, in the startup speed-up method according to the present invention, the normal securing unit 112 secures the memory as in the conventional case. Therefore, the problem that the conventional startup speed-up method described in the previous problem has, that is, the flexibility of the system is not impaired, and the flexibility of the system is maintained without hindering the operation. Can do.

  However, in this case, the page fault process and the memory free area search process are executed, so that the effect of speeding up the activation according to the present invention is not sufficiently exhibited. However, according to the startup speed-up method according to the present invention, the maximum startup speed-up effect can be easily obtained again only by re-measuring the required memory amount and rewriting the memory allocation information 201. At this time, the information to be stored as the memory allocation information 201 is only the information that associates the memory allocation request sources with the maximum value of the memory amount allocated at each temporary point as described above. The amount of information is very small. Therefore, the problem that the conventional startup speed-up method described in the conventional problem has, that is, the problem that the capacity of the nonvolatile storage area needs to be large enough to record all the memory information in the operating state does not occur, The memory allocation information 201 does not press on the capacity of the nonvolatile storage area 200.

  As described above, the first embodiment of the present invention can speed up the start-up without sacrificing the flexibility of the computer system and without compressing the capacity of the non-volatile storage area while maintaining high memory utilization efficiency. Has the advantage.

(Effects of the first embodiment)
According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be achieved.

  First, it is possible to speed up the startup of the computer system.

  The reason for this is that the prior reservation unit 111 secures the necessary memory amount based on the pre-recorded memory reservation information 201, thereby reducing the page fault processing and free memory area search processing that were conventionally required. Because it can be done.

  Second, it does not impair the flexibility of the computer system while speeding up the startup of the computer system.

  The reason is that part of the initialization process is performed by the user program (121, 122) instead of the operating system 110. As a result of the operation of the user program (121, 122) being changed and the amount of memory to be secured also fluctuating, the user program (121, 122) has more memory than the memory secured amount stored in the memory securing information 201. This is because an area may be required, and in such a case, the normal securing unit 112 secures memory as in the conventional case.

  Third, it is possible to provide a small and inexpensive computer system while speeding up the startup of the computer system.

  The reason for this is that the memory allocation information 201 is composed only of information in which the memory allocation request source, the maximum value of the memory size secured at a certain temporary point and the memory area are associated with each other, and the information amount This is because the capacity of the nonvolatile storage area 200 is not compressed.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea. .

It is a block diagram of the computer system provided with the starting acceleration means by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the operating system by 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example of the computer system by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the computer system by 1st Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100: Computer system 110: Operating system 111: Advance reservation part 111: Memory reservation information reading means 1112: Determination means 1113: Advance reservation means 1114: Response means 112: Normal reservation part 1121: Memory amount inquiry means 1122: Normal reservation means 120 : User program 121: User program A
122: User program B
200: Nonvolatile storage area 201: Memory allocation information 300: Memory 1001: CPU
1002: Main storage unit 1003: Communication control unit 1004: Presentation unit 1005: Input unit 1006: Interface unit 1007: Auxiliary storage unit 1008: System bus 400: Network

Claims (18)

A method of starting a computer system,
A storage step of storing memory information related to an amount of memory required for the operation of the operating system and the user program in advance in a predetermined storage area of the computer system;
An activation method comprising: a securing step of securing a memory area for the operating system and the user program based on the memory information when the computer system is activated. In the storing step,
As the memory information, an amount of memory secured by the operating system and the user program during a startup operation is stored, and the amount of memory is stored in the storage area in association with the operating system and the user program. The starting method according to claim 1. In the securing step,
In response to a request for an amount of memory necessary for the operating system or the user program to perform an operation, a memory amount corresponding to the operating system or the user program as a request source is secured in the memory based on the memory information. 3. The activation method according to claim 1, wherein the reserved memory amount and its memory area are notified to the request source. In response to a request for an amount of memory required for the operating system or the user program to perform an operation, a memory amount corresponding to the operating system or the user program that is a request source can be secured in the memory based on the memory information. A determination step for determining whether or not
The notification according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the request source is notified that the amount of memory based on the memory information has been secured in the securing step when securing is possible. starting method. 5. The program according to claim 4, wherein when the allocation is possible, the request source is notified that the amount of memory based on the memory information has been secured in the securing step and the memory area. 5. The method according to claim 4 or 6, wherein when the memory cannot be secured, a normal memory securing process is performed to secure the necessary memory amount in the memory, and the location of the secured memory is notified to the request source. The starting method according to claim 5. In an information processing apparatus having an operating system and a user program,
Storage means for previously storing memory information relating to the amount of memory required for the operating system and the user program to perform operations in a predetermined storage area of the computer system;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a securing unit that secures a memory area for the operating system and the user program based on the memory information at startup. The storage means includes
As the memory information, an amount of memory secured by the operating system and the user program during a startup operation is stored, and the amount of memory is stored in the storage area in association with the operating system and the user program. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7. The securing means is
In response to a request for an amount of memory necessary for the operating system or the user program to perform an operation, a memory amount corresponding to the operating system or the user program as a request source is secured in the memory based on the memory information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the reserved memory amount and the memory area thereof are notified to the request source. In response to a request for an amount of memory required for the operating system or the user program to perform an operation, a memory amount corresponding to the operating system or the user program that is a request source can be secured in the memory based on the memory information. Determination means for determining whether or not,
10. The request source according to claim 7, wherein the request source is notified that the amount of memory based on the memory information has been secured by the securing means when it can be secured. Information processing device. 11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein, when the reservation is possible, the request source is notified that the amount of memory based on the memory information has been secured by the securing unit and the memory area. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein when the allocation is not possible, a normal memory allocation process is performed to reserve the necessary memory amount in the memory, and the location of the allocated memory is notified to the request source. The information processing apparatus according to claim 11. A program executed on the information processing apparatus,
In the information processing apparatus,
A storage process for preliminarily storing memory information relating to the amount of memory required for the operating system and the user program to perform operations in a predetermined storage area of the computer system;
A program for causing the operating system to execute a securing process for securing a memory area for the operating system and the user program based on the memory information when the computer system is started. In the storing process,
As the memory information, an amount of memory secured by the operating system and the user program during a startup operation is stored, and the amount of memory is stored in the storage area in association with the operating system and the user program. The program according to claim 13. In the securing process,
In response to a request for an amount of memory necessary for the operating system or the user program to perform an operation, a memory amount corresponding to the operating system or the user program as a request source is secured in the memory based on the memory information. 15. The program according to claim 13, wherein the reserved memory amount and its memory area are notified to the request source. In response to a request for an amount of memory necessary for the operating system or the user program to operate in the information processing apparatus, an amount of memory corresponding to the operating system or the user program that is a request source based on the memory information To determine whether or not can be secured in the memory,
The notification according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the request source is notified that the amount of memory based on the memory information is secured in the securing process when securing is possible. program. The program according to claim 16, wherein when it can be secured, the request source is notified that the amount of memory based on the memory information has been secured in the securing process and the memory area. In the information processing apparatus,
When it is not possible to secure the memory, a normal memory securing process is performed to secure the necessary memory amount in the memory, and a process of notifying the requester of the location of the secured memory is executed. Item 18. The program according to item 16 or claim 17.

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