Paul D Powell

US Patent:

6993643, Jan 31, 2006

Filed:

Dec 3, 2001

Appl. No.:

10/007425

Inventors:

Paul Anthony Powell - Holly Springs NC, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 9/00

US Classification:

713 1

Abstract:

A method, system, and program product for enabling selection of appropriate, available resources for a hardware component of a data processing system during system boot via a read only medium. The method comprises various steps including first initiating a boot process from the read only medium on the data processing system. The type of hardware component is then detected and, responsive to the detection of a specific component type, an object of a symlink file located on RAM is dynamically set to reflect the particular resource required for optimal operation of the hardware component. A symlink file located on the read only medium points to and triggers the activation of the symlink file on RAM. The first symlink file on RAM points to and selects the particular resource set as its object from among multiple available resources located on the read only medium. The selected resource is utilized to support the hardware component during operation of the data processing system.

US Patent:

8122182, Feb 21, 2012

Filed:

Jan 13, 2009

Appl. No.:

12/353017

Inventors:

Paul Powell - Holly Springs NC, US

Assignee:

NetApp, Inc. - Sunnyvale CA

International Classification:

G06F 13/00
G06F 13/28
G06F 9/00
G06F 9/24
G06F 3/00
G06F 9/46

US Classification:

711103, 711147, 711165, 711E12002, 713 1, 719320

Abstract:

An operating system on a computer system can comprise a user space, which can comprise a persistent data store, and a kernel space, which can be extended by loading kernel modules. As provided herein, the kernel space can utilize kernel designated electronically addressed non-volatile memory (e. g. , flash memory) to cache data from the user space persistent store, for example, upon a boot event. The kernel space can further comprise a cache controller that can be used to populate the kernel electronically addressed non-volatile memory with kernel in-memory data caches that comprise user space persistently stored data. In one embodiment, the kernel space can further comprise kernel designated volatile main memory (e. g. , RAM), which can be used in conjunction with the kernel electronically addressed non-volatile memory to cache user space persistently stored data. In this way, kernel modules may access user space persistent store data from the RAM and/or electronically addressed non-volatile kernel cache.