Patent ID: 7539987
Filing Date: 2009-05-26
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A system for exporting a unique operating system feature, said system for exporting comprising: hardware resources; a plurality of logical partitions; wherein a first logical partition of said plurality of logical partitions has a first operating system; wherein said first operating system having said unique operating system feature; wherein a second logical partition of said plurality of logical partitions has a second operating system; a hypervisor for providing a virtualization platform to run a plurality of operating systems concurrently and for controlling access of each of said plurality of logical partitions to the hardware resources of said system for exporting; wherein said hypervisor communicates with each of said plurality of logical partitions; wherein a facilitator module in said first operating system communicating with said hypervisor; wherein said facilitator module sends a first notification to said hypervisor about said unique operating system feature, and said hypervisor maintains a record of said first notification associated with said first logical partition; wherein a transporter module in a kernel space of said second operating system communicating with said hypervisor; wherein said transporter module queries said hypervisor for available operating system features, said hypervisor sends a second notification to said transporter module about said unique operating system feature and associated said first logical partition, and said transporter module maintains a record of said second notification; wherein an application module running in said second logical partition requesting said unique operating system feature; and wherein if said unique operating system feature is not available from said second operating system, then said system for exporting provides for the following: said transporter module determining that said first logical partition is associated with said unique operating system feature by looking up said record of said second notification, said transporter module makes a request for said unique operating system feature to said facilitator module via said hypervisor, said facilitator accepts said request, said facilitator executes said request in said first logical partition to service said unique operating system feature for said application module, said facilitator sends a response to said transport module via said hypervisor, and said transport module forwards said response to said application module.