Virtualized gpu in a virtual machine environment

A method for providing graphics functionality to a first partition of a system comprising a processor, memory, and a graphics accelerator device, the method comprising:

• loading, in the first partition, a software interface comprising graphics capabilities that are abstracted from capabilities of the graphics accelerator device;
• loading, in a second partition, a graphics capturing and rendering process;
• receiving, by the software interface on the first partition, a request to render graphics, wherein the request is based on the abstracted graphics capabilities;
• rendering, by the graphics capturing and rendering process, the requested graphics on the second partition, wherein the abstracted graphics capabilities are effectuated in accordance with the capabilities of the graphics accelerator device;
• and
• providing, by the capturing process executing on the second partition, the rendered graphics to the first partition.

A system for providing graphics functionality to a first partition, the system comprising a graphics accelerator device, at least one processor, and at least one memory communicatively coupled to said at least one processor, the memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising:

• loading, in the first partition, a software interface comprising graphics capabilities that are abstracted from capabilities of the graphics accelerator device;
• loading, in a second partition, a capturing and rendering process;
• receiving, by the software interface on the first partition, a request to render graphics, wherein the request is based on the abstracted graphics capabilities;
• rendering, by the graphics capturing and rendering process, the requested graphics on the second partition, wherein the abstracted graphics capabilities are effectuated in accordance with the capabilities of the graphics accelerator device;
• and
• providing, by the capturing and rendering process executing on the second partition, the rendered graphics to the first partition.

A computer-readable storage medium storing thereon computer executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to perform the following operations:

• loading, in a first partition, a software interface comprising graphics capabilities that are abstracted from capabilities of a graphics accelerator device of the computing device;
• loading, in a second partition, a capturing and rendering process;
• receiving, by the software interface on the first partition, a request to render graphics, wherein the request is based on the abstracted graphics capabilities;
• rendering, by the graphics capturing and rendering process, the requested graphics, wherein the abstracted graphics capabilities are translated to the capabilities of the graphics accelerator device;
• and
• providing, by the capturing and rendering process executing on the second partition, the rendered graphics to the first partition.