Application-level access to kernel input/output state

An apparatus for tracking a state of one or more input/output (I/O) channels associated with an application by the application itself, the apparatus comprising:

• memory, at least a portion of the memory being shared exclusively by the application and an operating system kernel;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being operative to:
• (i) store, by the operating system kernel, one or more selected elements of the state of at least a portion of the one or more I/O channels associated with the application in the shared memory when the one or more elements are available to the operating system kernel;
• (ii) acquire, by the application, at least a portion of the stored elements through one or more read operations of the shared memory without the need for performing at least one of context switching and data copying between the application and the operating system kernel;
• and (iii) assess, by the application, one or more of the acquired elements to determine the state of the one or more I/O channels corresponding thereto;
• wherein the application does not perform network traffic monitoring operations.

An article of manufacture for tracking a state of one or more input/output (I/O) channels associated with an application by the application itself, comprising a machine readable medium including one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of:

• storing, by an operating system kernel, one or more selected elements of the state of at least a portion of the one or more I/O channels associated with the application in a memory which is shared exclusively by the application and the operating system kernel, when the one or more elements are available to the operating system kernel;
• acquiring, by the application, at least a portion of the stored elements through one or more read operations of the shared memory without the need for performing at least one of context switching and data copying between the application and the operating system kernel;
• and
• assessing, by the application, one or more of the acquired elements to determine the state of the one or more I/O channels corresponding thereto;
• wherein the application does not perform network traffic monitoring operations.