Soft co-processors to provide a software service function off-load architecture in a multi-core processing environment

A computer hardware system, comprising:

• a plurality of cores;
• a primary processor;
• and
• a core manager, wherein the core manager is configured to perform:
• allocating, dynamically, the plurality of cores into a plurality of different service pools, each of the plurality of service pools corresponding to a particular function;
• loading, into each of the plurality of cores, a soft co-processor corresponding to a particular function associated with a particular service pool to which a particular core is assigned;
• receiving, from the primary processor, a request to offload a selected function;
• determining that a service pool associated with the selected function does not include an available soft co-processor to perform the selected function;
• reallocating a core, from a free core pool, to the service pool associated with the selected function;
• loading, into the reallocated core, a soft co-processor configured to perform the selected function;
• selecting, from the service pool associated with the selected function, an available soft co-processor;
• and
• assigning the selected co-processor to perform the selected function.

A computer program product comprising a computer usable storage memory having stored therein computer usable program code for allocating a plurality of cores in a multi-core processing environment, the computer usable program code, which when executed by a computer hardware system, causes the computer hardware system to perform:

• allocating, dynamically, the plurality of cores into a plurality of different service pools, each of the plurality of service pools corresponding to a particular function;
• loading, into each of the plurality of cores, a soft co-processor corresponding to a particular function associated with a particular service pool to which a particular core is assigned;
• receiving, from a primary processor, a request to offload a selected function;
• determining that a service pool associated with the selected function does not include an available soft co-processor to perform the selected function;
• reallocating a core, from a free core pool, to the service pool associated with the selected function;
• loading, into the reallocated core, a soft co-processor configured to perform the selected function;
• selecting, from the service pool associated with the selected function, an available soft co-processor;
• and
• assigning the selected co-processor to perform the selected function.