Robert A Wisniewski

US Patent:

7634642, Dec 15, 2009

Filed:

Jul 6, 2006

Appl. No.:

11/481515

Inventors:

Peter H. Hochschild - New York NY, US
Xiaowei Shen - Hopewell Junction NY, US
Balaram Sinharoy - Poughkeepsie NY, US
Robert W. Wisniewski - Ossining NY, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 9/00
G06F 9/46

US Classification:

712228, 718108

Abstract:

A method and system for efficient context switching are provided. An execution entity that is to be context switched out is allowed to continue executing for a predetermined period of time before being context switched out. During the predetermined period of time in which the execution entity continues to execute, the hardware or an operating system tracks and records its footprint such as the addresses and page and segment table entries and the like accessed by the continued execution. When the execution entity is being context switched back in, its page and segment table and cache states are reloaded for use in its immediate execution.

US Patent:

7818736, Oct 19, 2010

Filed:

Sep 14, 2005

Appl. No.:

11/227761

Inventors:

Jonathan Appavoo - New York NY, US
Andrew Arnott Baumann - Chatswood, AU
Dilma Menezes da Silva - White Plains NY, US
Orran Yaakov Krieger - Newton MA, US
Robert William Wisniewski - Yorktown Heights NY, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 9/44
G06F 15/16

US Classification:

717168, 719332

Abstract:

To dynamically update an operating system, a new factory object may have one or more new and/or updated object instances. A corresponding old factory object is then located and its version is checked for compatibility. A dynamic update procedure is then executed, which includes (a) changing a factory reference pointer within the operating system from the old factory object to the new factory object. For the case of updated object instances, (b) hot swapping each old object instance for its corresponding updated object instance, and (c) removing the old factory object. This may be performed for multiple updated object instances in the new factory object, preferably each separately. For the case of new object instances, they are created by the new factory and pointers established to invoke them. A single factory object may include multiple updated objects from a class, and/or new object instances from different classes, and the update may be performed without the need to reboot the operating system.