Patent ID: 7356665
Filing Date: 2008-04-08
Classification: G06F,Y02D

Abstract:
1. A method of managing memory in a processing system, said processing system supporting execution of multiple operating system images within multiple virtual machines, said method comprising: maintaining a reverse mapping structure that maps machine memory blocks within said processing system to physical memory blocks used within each virtual machine, said reverse mapping structure containing an indication for each active machine memory block of each virtual machine using said active machine memory block and one or more associated physical memory blocks within each virtual machine; determining that a particular machine memory block is physically unavailable for access due to a power management state change or a hardware failure; responsive to determining that said particular machine memory block is physically unavailable for access, reading said reverse mapping structure for each of said virtual machines, to determine a set of affected virtual machines that are using said particular machine memory block and associated physical memory blocks; and preventing further failure within said processing system due to said physical unavailability of said particular machine memory block by taking preventative action for each of said set of affected virtual machines.