Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed for virtualizable, forward-compatible hardware-software interfaces. Embodiments may be used in a driver whether it is a physical driver or a virtual driver. Commands are queued from the driver and fetched to the device. An actions table is accessed to determine if drivers are permitted to perform commands. Events are queued for the drivers responsive to commands. If drivers are not permitted to perform a command, device firmware may forward the command to a privileged driver to perform the required command. If a driver is only permitted to perform a command with assistance the command is forwarded for corrections and execution. If a command is to be dropped, a completion event may be queued as if the command had executed. Drivers may have no indication of which actions were taken. The actions table may be changed for hardware/software modifications or dynamically according to configuration changes.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed for virtualizable, forward-compatible hardware-software interfaces. Embodiments may be used in a driver whether it is a physical driver or a virtual driver. Commands are queued from the driver and fetched to the device. An actions table is accessed to determine if drivers are permitted to perform commands. Events are queued for the drivers responsive to commands. If drivers are not permitted to perform a command, device firmware may forward the command to a privileged driver to perform the required command. If a driver is only permitted to perform a command with assistance the command is forwarded for corrections and execution. If a command is to be dropped, a completion event may be queued as if the command had executed. Drivers may have no indication of which actions were taken. The actions table may be changed for hardware/software modifications or dynamically according to configuration changes.