Patent ID: 7783858

Claim:
A method, in a data processing system, for virtualizing access to a main memory, comprising: allocating portions of the main memory to a plurality of logical partitions in the data processing system; generating a single shared page table having a plurality of page table entries, wherein the plurality of page table entries comprises page table entries for accessing each of the portions of the main memory allocated to each of the logical partitions in the plurality of logical partitions; and utilizing the single shared page table to access the portions of the main memory, wherein utilizing the single shared page table to access the portions of the main memory, comprises: receiving a request from a logical partition, the request specifying a virtual address for an operation to be performed; appending, via a hardware mechanism, a logical partition identifier to the virtual address, the logical partition identifier being stored in a hardware register; and retrieving a virtual-to-real address translation from the single shared page table based on a combination of the virtual address and the logical partition identifier appended to the virtual address.