Patent ID: 7299336

Claim:
A method for scaling address space utilization in a multi-threaded, multi-processor computer, the method comprising: attaching, to process memory of an exporting process, a region of virtual memory specified in a cross-memory descriptor; requesting, by an importing thread of an importing process having process memory, attachment of the region of virtual memory for exclusive use by the importing thread; attaching, by an operating system to the process memory of the importing process, the region of virtual memory for exclusive use by the importing thread, thereby creating a lightweight attachment of the region of virtual memory; requesting, by the importing thread, lightweight detachment of the region of virtual memory from the process memory of the importing process; and detaching, by the operating system, the region of virtual memory from the process memory of the importing process, including resetting only the segment lookaside buffer of the processor upon which the importing thread runs without resetting other segment lookaside buffers of other processors, thereby effecting a lightweight detachment.