US 6,636,874 B1 · Generation, validation and reservation of reference handles

Abstract

The present described embodiments are embodied in a system and method for generating and validating reference handles for consumers requiring access to resources in a computer system. The system of the present described embodiments includes a resource manager having a handle administrator, a plurality of consumers, and a plurality of resources. The handle administrator includes an assignment routine, a release routine, and a dereference routine. The assignment routine issues new handles, the release routine releases handles that are no longer required (thus rendering the handle invalid), and the dereference routine dereferences handles into a pointer to a resource, which entails verifying that the handle is valid. Also included is an auxiliary sub-routine for managing used and unused records, an expansion sub-routine for efficiently expanding the handle database, a handle recycling sub-routine for recycling handles, a contraction sub-routine for efficiently contracting the handle database, a hysteresis sub-routine for probabilistically contracting the handle database, and a memory allocation failure sub-routine to improve functionality in the event of memory allocation failure. Further, the systems and methods include routines that enable a handle value to be reserved for an indication of a lack of a valid handle. The reserved handle value is never issued to a consumer for use in accessing a resource.

Claims45

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method for managing data access to at least one resource of a computer system, said method comprising:

allocating an area in computer readable memory for an original handle database containing at least one reference handle;
reserving a handle value that is never to be issued, the reserved handle value being reserved for an indication of a lack of a valid handle;
issuing a new handle that does not correspond to the reserved handle value to a consumer when said consumer requires access to at least one of the resources;
associating said issued handle with said resource requiring access by assigning a unique value to said issued handle;
verifying that said issued handle is valid;
dereferencing said verified handle in constant time into a pointer to said resource requiring access;
releasing issued handles and deeming their respective handle values as being unassigned for handles that are no longer required by consumers and classifying said released handles as invalid;
and
wherein said method generates and validates handles for providing efficient management and administration of consumers' access to resources in computer systems.

6 more elements

A management device for managing data access to a plurality of resources stored on computer readable memory of a computer system, said management device comprising:

an original handle database stored in the computer readable memory of the computer system and containing a plurality of reference handles;
a handle value that is reserved and is never to be issued, the reserved handle value being reserved for an indication of a lack of a valid handle;
a plurality of consumers randomly requiring access to said resources;
and
a handle administrator comprising,
an assignment module for issuing a new handle that does not correspond to the reserved handle value from said original handle database to a requesting consumer when said requesting consumer requires access to a specified resource and for associating said issued handle with said specified resource by assigning a unique value to said issued handle,
a dereference module for verifying that said issued handle is valid and for dereferencing said issued handle in constant time into a pointer to said specified resource, and
a release module for releasing issued handles and deeming their respective handle values as being unassigned for handles that are no longer required by consumers and classifying said released handles as invalid.

5 more elements

A computer readable medium having computer-executable components for causing a computer to function as a resource administration system for generating and validating reference handles for consumers requiring access to a plurality of resources, said system comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium;
and
a computer data access system stored on said medium, said computer data access system having a handle administrator and an original handle database stored in said computer-readable storage medium, said original handle database containing a plurality of reference handles and having a handle value that is reserved and is never to be issued, the reserved handle value being reserved for an indication of a lack of a valid handle;
wherein said computer data access system is preprogrammed for,
issuing a new handle having a handle value that is not the reserved handle value from said original handle database to a requesting consumer when said requesting consumer requires access to a specified resource and for associating said issued handle with said specified resource by assigning a unique value to said issued handle,
verifying that said issued handle is valid and for dereferencing said issued handle in constant time into a pointer to said specified resource, and
releasing issued handles and deeming their respective handle values as being unassigned for handles that are no longer required by consumers and classifying said released handles as invalid.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Generation, validation and reservation of reference handles

Life of this patent

Generation, validation and reservation of reference handles

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims45