Method and system for efficiently directing interrupts

A computer system having a first and a second processor for handling an interrupt directed at said first processor, said system further comprising:

• an interrupt dispatching module, for redirecting said interrupt from said first processor to said second processor, wherein said second processor performs said handling;
• and
• an interrupt redirection policy module associated with said interrupt dispatching module, for providing a policy to control said redirecting, wherein said handling promotes efficient operation in an environment of said computer system;
• wherein said modules deployed in a kernel of an operating system.

In a computer system having a plurality of processors, a computer implemented method for selecting a policy for efficiently handling an interrupt directed at a first processor of said plurality of processors, said method comprising:

• ascertaining a history of activity for each of said plurality of processors and a record of a previous interrupt;
• responsive to determining from said history that a second processor of said plurality of processors has cached data pertinent to said interrupt, selecting an input/output affinity policy;
• responsive to selecting said input/output affinity policy, redirecting said interrupt from said first processor to said second processor;
• responsive to ascertaining that said second processor is advantageously proximate to code, wherein said code is pertinent to handling said interrupt, selecting a local memory policy;
• responsive to selecting said local memory policy, redirecting said interrupt from said first processor to said second processor;
• and
• responsive to redirecting said interrupt to said second processor, handling said interrupt.

A system, disposed in a computer having a first processor and a second processor, for handling an interrupt directed at said first processor, said system further comprising:

• an interrupt dispatching module for redirecting said interrupt from said first processor to said second processor, wherein said second processor performs said handling;
• and
• an interrupt redirection policy module associated with said interrupt dispatching module, for providing a policy to control said redirecting, wherein said redirecting promotes efficient operation in an environment of said computer system, and wherein said interrupt redirection policy module comprises a policy table;
• wherein said policy table comprises a data structure disposed in the kernel of an operating system of said computer.