Patent ID: 7073173

Claim:
In a computer-system, a method comprising: receiving a request via a process thread having a first memory map associated therewith; changing a privilege level to a level that allows a memory map change; performing the memory map change to associate a second memory map with the process thread, the second memory map providing different memory access with respect to the first memory map; restoring the privilege level to a level that does not allow a memory map change; and wherein the first and second memory maps each include a mapping that maps a virtual memory address to a physical memory address that is larger than the largest possible virtual memory address that an entity is allowed to address, wherein the first and second memory maps each include a mapping that maps a virtual memory address to a physical memory address that is the same, wherein the virtual memory address that maps to a physical memory address that is larger is in user mode addressable space, and wherein the physical memory address that is the same is in kernel mode addressable space.