Patents by Inventor Steven Bennett

Steven Bennett has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20070156986
    Abstract: Embodiments of apparatuses, methods, and systems for guests to access memory mapped devices are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes evaluation logic and exit logic. The evaluation logic is to determine, in response to an attempt of a guest to access a device using a memory address mapped to the device and based on an access type, whether the access is allowed. The exit logic is to transfer control to a host if the evaluation logic determines that the access is not allowed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2005
    Publication date: July 5, 2007
    Inventors: Gilbert Neiger, Andrew Anderson, Steven Bennett, Rajesh Madukkarumukumana, Richard Uhlig, Rajesh Parthasarathy, Sebastian Schoenberg
  • Publication number: 20070157197
    Abstract: Embodiments of apparatuses, methods, and systems for delivering an interrupt to a virtual processor are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes an interface to receive an interrupt request, delivery logic, and exit logic. The delivery logic is to determine, based on an attribute of the interrupt request, whether the interrupt request is to be delivered to the virtual processor. The exit logic is to transfer control to a host if the delivery logic determines that the interrupt request is not to be delivered to the virtual processor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2005
    Publication date: July 5, 2007
    Inventors: Gilbert Neiger, Rajesh Madukkarumukumana, Richard Uhlig, Udo Steinberg, Sebastian Schoenberg, Sridhar Muthrasanallur, Steven Bennett, Andrew Anderson, Erik Cota-Robles
  • Publication number: 20070157198
    Abstract: Embodiments of apparatuses, methods, and systems for processing interrupts in a layered virtualization architecture are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a recognition logic, window logic, and evaluation logic. The event logic is to recognize an interrupt request. The window logic is to determine whether an interrupt window is open. The evaluation logic is to determine whether to transfer control to one of at least two virtual machine monitors in response to the interrupt request if the interrupt window is open.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2005
    Publication date: July 5, 2007
    Inventors: Steven Bennett, Andrew Anderson, Gilbert Neiger, Dion Rodgers, Richard Uhlig, Lawrence Smith, Barry Huntley
  • Publication number: 20070028238
    Abstract: Embodiments of apparatuses and methods for processing virtualization events in a layered virtualization architecture are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a event logic and evaluation logic. The event logic is to recognize a virtualization event. The evaluation logic is to determine whether to transfer control from a child guest to a parent guest in response to the virtualization event.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2005
    Publication date: February 1, 2007
    Inventors: Steven Bennett, Andrew Anderson, Gilbert Neiger, Dion Rodgers, Richard Uhlig, Lawrence Smith, Barry Huntley
  • Publication number: 20070005870
    Abstract: A processor, capable of operation in a host machine, including memory management logic to support a plurality of memory types for a physical memory access by the processor, and virtualization support logic to determine a host memory type for a reference to a memory location by a guest in a virtual machine executable on the processor based at least in part on a memory type field stored in an entry of an extended paging table of a virtualization support system of the host machine (extended memory type field), to determine a guest memory type for the reference to the memory location, and to determine an effective memory type based on at least one of the host memory type and the guest memory type.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2005
    Publication date: January 4, 2007
    Inventors: Gilbert Neiger, Steven Bennett, Andrew Anderson, Dion Rodgers, David Koufaty, Richard Uhlig, Camron Rust, Larry Smith, Rupin Vakharwala
  • Publication number: 20060293406
    Abstract: Star polymers of soft segment forming monomers are useful in forming surgical devices. The star polymers can be endcapped with isocyanate, mixed with a filler and/or cross-linked. The polymer compositions are useful, for example, as fiber coatings, surgical adhesives or bone putty, or tissue growth substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2006
    Publication date: December 28, 2006
    Inventors: Steven Bennett, Kevin Connolly, Elliott Gruskin, Ying Jiang
  • Publication number: 20060288130
    Abstract: A apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes a remapping circuit to facilitate access of one or more I/O devices to a memory device for direct memory access (DMA) transactions. The remapping circuit includes a translation mechanism to perform memory address translations for I/O DMA transactions via address window-based translations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2005
    Publication date: December 21, 2006
    Inventors: Rajesh Madukkarumukumana, Udo Steinberg, Steven Bennett, Andrew Anderson, Gilbert Neiger
  • Publication number: 20060265224
    Abstract: The invention generally relates to a method, apparatus, and system capable of changing a voice user interface possessing both operational characteristics and security characteristics based upon user-specific contextual information. The voice processing system consists of at least the following components: a voice user interface possessing both operational characteristics and security characteristics; a database to store user-specific contextual information; and a computer program to use the user-specific contextual information to dynamically change the operational characteristics of the voice user interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2006
    Publication date: November 23, 2006
    Inventor: Steven Bennett
  • Publication number: 20060161719
    Abstract: A processor including a virtualization system of the processor with a memory virtualization support system to map a reference to guest-physical memory made by guest software executable on a virtual machine which in turn is executable on a host machine in which the processor is operable to a reference to host-physical memory of the host machine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2005
    Publication date: July 20, 2006
    Inventors: Steven Bennett, Andrew Anderson, Gilbert Neiger, Rajesh Madukkarumukumana, Richard Uhlig, Larry Smith, Dion Rodgers
  • Publication number: 20060130060
    Abstract: In some embodiments, the invention involves a system to deprivilege components of a virtual machine monitor and enable deprivileged service virtual machines (SVMs) to handle selected trapped events. An embodiment of the invention is a hybrid VMM operating on a platform with hardware virtualization support. The hybrid VMM utilizes features from both hypervisor-based and host-based VMM architectures. In at least one embodiment, the functionality of a traditional VMM is partitioned into a small platform-dependent part called a micro-hypervisor (MH) and one or more platform-independent parts called service virtual machines (SVMs). The micro-hypervisor operates at a higher virtual machine (VM) privilege level than any SVM, while the SVM and other VMs may still have access to any instruction set architecture (ISA) privilege level. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2004
    Publication date: June 15, 2006
    Inventors: Andrew Anderson, Steven Bennett, Erik Cota-Robles, Alain Kagi, Gilbert Neiger, Rajesh Madukkarumukumana, Sebastian Schoenberg, Richard Uhlig, Michael Rothman, Vincent Zimmer, Stalinselvaraj Jeyasingh
  • Publication number: 20060130059
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a request to transition control to a virtual machine (VM) from a virtual machine monitor (VMM), calculating an offset value, receiving, during operation of the VM, a request for a current value of the timer, adjusting the current value of the timer based on the offset value, and providing the adjusted timer value to the VM.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2004
    Publication date: June 15, 2006
    Inventors: Steven Bennett, Gilbert Neiger, Andrew Anderson
  • Publication number: 20060075402
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes transitioning control to a virtual machine (VM) from a virtual machine monitor (VMM), determining that a VMM timer indicator is set to an enabling value, and identifying a VMM timer value configured by the VMM. The method further includes periodically comparing a current value of a timing source with the VMM timer value, generating an internal event if the current value of the timing source has reached the VMM timer value, and transitioning control to the VMM in response to the internal event without incurring an event handling procedure in any one of the VMM and the VM.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2004
    Publication date: April 6, 2006
    Inventors: Gilbert Neiger, Steven Bennett, Erik Cota-Robles, Sebastian Schoenberg, Clifford Hall, Dion Rodgers, Lawrence Smith, Andrew Anderson, Richard Uhlig, Michael Kozuch, Andy Glew
  • Publication number: 20060064697
    Abstract: A method for managing IO requests from a virtual machine to access IO resources on a physical machine includes determining a request priority associated with an IO request. The IO request is placed in an appropriate queue in response to determining the request priority.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2004
    Publication date: March 23, 2006
    Inventors: Alain Kagi, Andrew Anderson, Steven Bennett, Erik Cota-Robles, Gregory Jablonski
  • Publication number: 20060036791
    Abstract: In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a set of multiplex blocks coupled with an interrupt controller and multiple interrupt request lines, and a virtual machine monitor block (VMM) coupled to the set of multiplex blocks. Each multiplex block corresponds to a distinct interrupt request line. Each multiplex block is to route the interrupt request signal received via the corresponding interrupt request line either to the interrupt controller or the VMM block depending on a current configuration value of this multiplex block.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2005
    Publication date: February 16, 2006
    Inventors: Stalinselvaraj Jeyasingh, Andrew Anderson, Steven Bennett, Erik Cota-Robles, Alain Kagi, Gilbert Neiger, Richard Uhlig
  • Publication number: 20060014023
    Abstract: Star polymers of soft segment forming monomers are useful in forming surgical devices. The star polymers can be endcapped with isocyanate, mixed with a filler and/or cross-linked. The polymer compositions are useful, for example, as fiber coatings, surgical adhesives or bone putty, or tissue growth substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2003
    Publication date: January 19, 2006
    Inventors: Steven Bennett, Kevin Connolly, Elliott Gruskin, Ying Jiang
  • Publication number: 20060015869
    Abstract: Techniques for handling certain virtualization events occurring within a virtual machine environment. More particularly, at least one embodiment of the invention pertains to handling events related to the sub-operating system mode using a dedicated virtual machine monitor (VMM) called the system management mode VMM (SVMM), which exists in a separate portion of memory from a main virtual machine monitor (MVMM) used to handle virtualization events other than those related to the sub-operating system mode. In at least one embodiment, a technique for initializing and managing transitions to and from the SVMM is disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2005
    Publication date: January 19, 2006
    Inventors: Gilbert Neiger, Steven Bennett, Dion Rodgers, Richard Uhlig, Lawrence Smith
  • Publication number: 20060010440
    Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method of transitioning control to guest software in a virtual machine from a virtual machine monitor, receiving control following a transition from the virtual machine to the virtual machine monitor upon an event, and determining whether to modify a state of the guest code, a state of the virtual machine monitor or a state of controls. If such a determination is made, the state may be modified and control is transitioned back to the guest software.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2004
    Publication date: January 12, 2006
    Inventors: Andrew Anderson, Steven Bennett, Erik Cota-Robles, Stalinselvaraj Jeyasingh, Alani Kagi, Michael Goldsmith, Sebastian Schoenberg, Richard Uhlig
  • Publication number: 20060005084
    Abstract: In one embodiment, information pertaining to a first fault occurring during operation of a virtual machine (VM) is stored in a first field. A second fault is detected while delivering the first fault to the VM, and a determination is made as to whether the second fault is associated with a transition of control to a virtual machine monitor (VMM). If this determination is positive, information pertaining to the second fault is stored in a second field, and control is transitioned to the VMM.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2004
    Publication date: January 5, 2006
    Inventors: Gilbert Neiger, Andrew Anderson, Steven Bennett, Jason Brandt, Erik Cota-Robles, Stalinselvaraj Jeyasingh, Alain Kagi, Sanjoy Mondal, Rajesh Parthasarathy, Dion Rodgers, Lawrence Smith, Richard Uhlig
  • Publication number: 20050289542
    Abstract: A system and method for allowing a virtual machine monitor to assume control of a system when the current privilege level of guest software meets a privilege level exiting criteria. The processor detects that the current privilege level meets the criteria and then transfers control from the guest software to the virtual machine monitor. The virtual machine monitor may decline to assume control for certain privilege level changes or values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2004
    Publication date: December 29, 2005
    Inventors: Volkmar Uhlig, Steven Bennett, Erik Cota-Robles, Sebastian Schoenberg, Andrew Anderson, Richard Uhlig, Gilbert Neiger
  • Publication number: 20050240819
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a request to transition control to a virtual machine (VM) from a virtual machine monitor (VMM), determining that a single-stepping indicator is set to a single stepping value, and transitioning control to the VM. Further, if an execution of a first instruction in the VM completes successfully, control is transitioned to the VMM following the successful completion of the execution of the first instruction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2004
    Publication date: October 27, 2005
    Inventors: Steven Bennett, Andrew Anderson, Erik Cota-Robles, Stalinselvaraj Jeyasingh, Alain Kagi, Gilbert Neiger, Richard Uhlig, Sanjoy Mondal, Jason Brandt