JP4292220B2 - Virtual computer system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a virtual machine system, and more particularly to a user interface of a virtual machine system using a server or a PC.

  Large computers have an SVP (service processor) for performing system maintenance operations, and the SVP is provided with a console display device for a user to input and output data. A conventional virtual computer system using a large computer is controlled by a user defining a virtual computer on the console display device of the SVP and specifying a processing capacity ratio of each virtual computer, resources of a processing device to be used, and the like. Is done. For example, JP-A-6-250858 discloses a user interface of a virtual machine system based on SVP.

JP-A-6-250858

  In order to realize a virtual computer system on a server or a PC, it is necessary to provide a user interface equivalent to the virtual computer system in a large computer, but an SVP or the like provided in the large computer is added to the server or PC. It is difficult.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a user interface function in a virtual computer system on a server and a PC without using an SVP or the like.

The present invention provides a virtual computer system in which a plurality of LPARs operate under the control of a virtual computer control program on a physical computer having an input device and a display device. One or more user-defined LPARs that are defined as a specific virtual machine with resource allocation (hereinafter referred to as configuration information) specified, and a host LPAR for the user to specify configuration information of the user-defined LPAR The virtual machine control program includes a logical IP task group that operates in each user-defined LPAR and a host LPAR task that operates in the host LPAR. The host LPAR task includes configuration information of the user-defined LPAR. A function of displaying a control screen for designation and display on the display device; Either the control screen of the host LPAR or the screen screen corresponding to each user-defined LPAR is exclusively displayed on the display device in accordance with a screen switching instruction from the input device, and the host LPAR task is displayed when the system is started up. A virtual computer system generated by a virtual computer control program .

According to the present invention, the control screen has a command input area for issuing an instruction to boot the user-defined LPAR to be operated with an area for designating the configuration information of the user-defined LPAR .

  According to the present invention, a user interface function in a virtual computer system on a server and a PC can be provided only by application of software without using SVP or the like. Further, by realizing the user interface function as one LPAR, it can be realized by a process similar to the screen switching of another LPAR, and the complexity of the process can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 1 shows a state of switching a virtual computer system (hereinafter referred to as PC-LPAR) on a server or PC according to the present invention and a screen on the display device. In order to provide a plurality of logical platforms, the PC-LPAR is provided with a plurality of virtual machines (hereinafter referred to as LPAR) by a virtual machine control program (hereinafter referred to as HYPERVISOR) in the same manner as a mainframe virtual machine system. To control.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which LPAR-A 101 and LPAR-C 102 are operating as virtual machines for providing a logical platform, and the screen screen of LPAR-A 101 is displayed (display 107). . At this time, the screen data of the LPAR-C 102 operating simultaneously and not displayed on the screen is stored in the screen buffer 104 prepared for each LPAR in the HYPERVISOR 103. Note that the screen data of the LPAR being displayed on the screen (hereinafter referred to as screen-owning LPAR) is not stored in the screen buffer, and the screen input / output command is displayed by the HYPERVISOR 103 after the simulation processing.

  When switching the screen screen to another LPAR (for example, LPAR-C), it is performed by a special key input operation from the keyboard. When the HYPERVISOR 101 recognizes the switching operation, the HYPERVISOR 101 updates the screen-owning LPAR information 105 to the LPAR-C 102 to be displayed next, and displays the LPAR-C screen screen from the LPAR-C screen buffer (display 108). Thereafter, the screen data of the LPAR-A 101 is stored in the screen buffer 104.

  Similarly, the switching operation from the keyboard is performed, and the screen possessing LPAR information 105 is updated to the LPAR to be displayed next. In this case, the host LPAR 110 that displays the LPAR configuration information 106 is switched. The host LPAR 110 retrieves the defined LPAR configuration information 106 from the inside of the HYPERVISOR 103 or an external medium (in this example, inside the HYPERVISOR 103), and displays the contents (display 109). Details of the display contents will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 shows an LPAR control screen 201 that displays LPAR configuration information defining each virtual machine. FIG. 2 shows that 3 LPAR is defined, and 2 LPAR is in operation.

  LP # 202 indicates a number (LPAR number) for identifying the LPAR. The system can define and execute LPARs up to the maximum LPAR number displayed. LPNAME 203 indicates the name of the LPAR corresponding to the LPAR number. The LPAR name can be freely set by the user. ST204 represents the current LPAR status. A indicates that the LPAR is activated, and D indicates that it is deactivated. U indicates that the LPAR is undefined. The RAM 205 designates a memory capacity (in MB units) to be allocated to the LPAR. The BOOT 206 designates an identifier of a device including basic software that becomes the platform of the LPAR. The SRV 207 designates a relative performance ratio for serving the LPAR among the processor resources in the system. The MODE 209 specifies whether processor resources allocated to the LPAR are shared (SHR) or occupied (DED) by each LPAR. PROC 208 specifies the number of occupied processors when MODE 209 is DED. The IRQ 210 designates an identifier of a PCI device that is used exclusively by each LPAR. Command 211 indicates a command input area for issuing an operation instruction to each LPAR.

FIG. 3 shows an outline of the internal structure of HYPERVISOR focusing on screen data.
As tasks constituting the HYPERVISOR 301, there are a host LPAR task 302 and logical IP task groups 304 and 306 operating in the LPARs 303 and 305, respectively. In this embodiment, a case where 2LPAR is operating is shown.

  The host LPAR task 302 controls the configuration information and the like of each LPAR and the screen display of configuration information that requires user display / user setting. If the screen-owning LPAR is the host LPAR, display data is extracted from the LPAR configuration information area 307, screen data is created in the screen data area 308, and is displayed on the screen.

  The logical IP task controls the operation of each LPAR and simulates an instruction that cannot be directly executed by the processor. All instructions relating to screen processing are processed under HYPERVISOR control, and if the LPAR is a screen-owning LPAR, it is displayed on the screen by instruction simulation. Otherwise, the screen data is written in the screen buffers 309 and 310 of each LPAR prepared in advance, and control is returned to the LPAR. The control right for the keyboard and mouse is owned by the screen owning LPAR, and the HYPERVISOR simulates an instruction related to interruption and processing for the keyboard and mouse, and returns control to the screen owning LPAR.

  In accordance with the operation from the LPAR control screen 201, the host LPAR task 302 also issues an operation request to each logical IP task group 304, 306 of the LPAR.

  FIG. 4 shows a system configuration diagram of this embodiment. As with a normal PC or the like, a CPU 401, a memory 402, an HDD (0) 403, an FDD 404, a CDROM 405, and the like, and an HDD (1) 406 for storing an OS for booting an LPAR are prepared for each LPAR. The CPU 401 is composed of one or a plurality of processors. Among the parts constituting the system, those shared by each LPAR include the memory 402 and the CPU 401, and the I / O devices such as the screen 407, the keyboard 408, the mouse 409, etc. are independently assigned to each LPAR as specified. Control.

FIG. 5 shows a processing flow of HYPERVISOR boot and initialization processing.
When starting up the system as a PC-LPAR, the HYPERVISOR main body 604 including the loader 603 is stored in advance in a recording medium (FD or the like) 601 shown in FIG. The recording medium 601 is inserted into the system apparatus (step 501), and the system apparatus is turned on (step 502). When the system apparatus is turned on, the recording medium is activated, and the MBR (MASTER BOOT RECORD) 602 in the recording medium is automatically read into the memory by the hardware, and the loader 603 is read into the memory by the MBR 602 itself (503). . Next, the loader 603 itself loads the HYPERVISOR body 604 into the memory, and then activates the HYPERVISOR (step 504). Next, HYPERVISOR creates a table necessary for control, generates each task, and initializes them (step 505). After the initial processing, the host LPAR task is activated, and the activated host LPAR task displays the LPAR control screen 201 as shown in FIG. 2 (step 506).

  The HYPERVISOR is resident in the memory, and the memory used by the HYPERVISOR itself in the configuration is secured in the initial process. Therefore, the memory that can be used in each LPAR is the capacity obtained by excluding the HYPERVISOR using part from the system-mounted memory.

FIG. 7 shows an outline of HYPERVISOR operation processing.
The user sets the configuration information of each LPAR on the LPAR control screen displayed by the host LPAR (not required when already set) (step 701). The LPAR operated on the LPAR control screen is set to ACTIVE to boot from the HDD to the memory (step 702). Thereafter, the booted LPAR starts operation (step 703). The HYPERVISOR executes a simulation for an instruction that cannot be executed directly on the guest and various interrupts (timer, I / O, instruction trap, etc.) to the host (step 704). Thereafter, HYPERVISOR returns control to each task (step 705). Thereafter, HYPERVISOR repeats the processing of step 704 and step 705.

FIG. 8 shows an operation process when the display screen is switched. FIG. 8 shows an operation process when switching the display of the console screen from LPAR1 to LPAR2. Here, in LPAR1, OS1 operates as basic software, and in LPAR2, OS2 operates.
When LPAR2 (OS2) is being executed (1) and a key operation for switching from the LPAR1 screen to the LPAR2 screen is performed (2), an interrupt by the key operation is accepted and control is transferred from OS2 to HYPERVISOR ( 3). HYPERVISOR saves the interruption information of OS2 (4), recognizes the key operation as an instruction to switch to the LPAR2 screen (5), updates the screen-owned LPAR information to LPAR2 (OS2) (6), and sets the screen buffer of LPAR2 The console output of LPAR1 is changed to the screen buffer as well as the console output (7). Thereby, the display of the console screen is switched to LPAR2. Next, the interruption information saved by HYPERVISOR is recovered, control is transferred from HYPERVISOR to LPAR2 (OS) (8), and execution of LPAR2 (OS) is resumed (9).

It is the figure which showed the mode of the screen switching on the virtual computer which concerns on this invention, and its display apparatus. It is the figure which showed the LPAR control screen which concerns on this invention. It is the figure which showed the outline | summary of the internal structure of HYPERVISOR which concerns on this invention. It is the figure which showed the system configuration | structure of the virtual computer which concerns on this invention. It is the figure which showed the boot and initialization process flow of HYPERVISOR which concerns on this invention. It is the figure which showed the content of the recording medium which stored HYPERVISOR which concerns on this invention. It is the figure which showed the operation processing flow of HYPERVISOR which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement process at the time of a display screen switch.

Explanation of symbols

101 LPAR-A
102 LPAR-C
103 HYPERVISOR
104 Screen buffer 106 LPAR configuration information 110 Host LPAR
201 LPAR control screen 407 display 408 keyboard 601 recording medium

Claims (2)

In a virtual computer system in which a plurality of LPARs operate under the control of a virtual computer control program on a physical computer having an input device and a display device, the processing capability of the physical computer is not used by the user without using an SVP for the plurality of LPARs. And one or more user-defined LPARs defined as specific virtual machines with resource allocation (hereinafter referred to as configuration information) specified, and a host for the user to specify the configuration information of the user-defined LPAR The virtual machine control program includes a logical IP task group that operates in each user-defined LPAR and a host LPAR task that operates in the host LPAR. The host LPAR task includes configuration information of the user-defined LPAR. Display on the display device a control screen for designating and displaying And either the control screen of the host LPAR or the screen screen corresponding to each user-defined LPAR is exclusively displayed on the display device in accordance with a screen switching instruction from the input device, and the host LPAR task is a system A virtual machine system generated by the virtual machine control program at the time of startup.   The virtual computer system according to claim 1, wherein the control screen has a command input area for issuing an instruction to boot with an area that specifies configuration information of the user-defined LPAR as an active user-defined LPAR.

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