Patent ID: 7720220
Filing Date: 2010-05-18
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for executing a cipher message instruction in a computer system, the method comprising: obtaining cipher message information from a predefined first general register, the cipher message information comprising a function code field, the function code field containing a function field value indicating a cipher message function to be performed, wherein the cipher message function to be performed is any one of a cipher operation in which a first operand is generated from a second operand or a function query operation; responsive to the indicated cipher message function to be performed being the cipher operation, the cipher operation consisting of any one of a KM-Query operation, a KM-DEA 64-bit key cryptographic operation, a KM-Triple DEA two 64-bit key cryptographic operation or a KM-Triple DEA three 64-bit key cryptographic operation, performing steps a) through d); a) obtaining a cryptographic key from a parameter block in memory, the parameter block having an address specified by a predefined second general register; b) obtaining the second operand from memory; c) performing the cipher message function indicated by the function field value on the obtained second operand using the obtained cryptographic key; and d) storing a result of the cipher message function performed as the first operand in a first operand location in memory; and e) determining for each of one or more cipher message functions whether the cipher message function is installed on the computer system for execution by a cipher message instruction, wherein an indication of whether the cipher message function is installed is stored as status word in the parameter block in memory, the status word comprising one or more status word bits, each one of the one or more status word bits indicating whether a corresponding one of said cipher message functions is installed on said computer system, each one of the one or more status word bits having a position in the status word corresponding to the function field value of the corresponding cipher message function; and f) storing in memory an indication of the cipher message functions installed on said computer system.