Memory-controller-embedded apparatus and procedure for achieving system-directed checkpointing without operating-system kernel support

Apparatus enabling an otherwise standard computer to support system-directed checkpointing by periodically capturing and storing a consistent image of the system state from which all running applications can be safely resumed following a fault, such apparatus comprising a conventional memory controller hub having the following additional functional elements:

• a) A control and dispatch unit (CDU), implemented by a microcontroller or microprocessor, preferably the microcontroller or microcomputer normally embedded in a standard memory controller hub, capable of executing stored programs that enable it to:
• intervene in normal memory accesses to capture and store in an address buffer the addresses of the data blocks that are about to be modified as a result of that access;
• intervene in a normal memory access to capture and store in a data buffer the contents of the data block that is about to be modified as a result of that access, either before or after such modification;
• intervene in a normal memory access to capture and relay to a backup computer through the computer's input/output (I/O) hub the contents of a data block that was modified as a result of that access along with its address and to delay any subsequent access that can modify the contents of a data block until receipt of the data and address has been acknowledged by the backup computer;
• use the captured addresses to copy the corresponding data blocks, either from the location in system memory defined by those addresses or from the data buffer, to another location in system memory or to a local shadow memory or, through the computer's input/output (I/O) hub using any standard transfer protocol, to a shadow memory in another computer;
• store into data and address buffers data blocks and associated addresses received through the computer's I/O hub;
• send and receive messages from another computer to coordinate the above activities with those of that computer;
• b) One or more registers that can be set, incremented and decremented and whose contents can be compared with those of other registers to support the above operations;
• c) A register containing status bits some of which can be hard wired while others can be set and reset by the CDU or by any central processor to coordinate the above operations.