Patents by Inventor William Price Dawkins

William Price Dawkins 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).

  • Patent number: 11221858
    Abstract: An SCP boot system includes a chassis housing a BIOS and an SCP that presents a virtual BIOS boot media location to the BIOS. The SCP may receive a first physical boot media location from a management system and, when the SCP receives a first BIOS boot image retrieval request from the BIOS that is directed to the virtual BIOS boot media location, it retrieves a first BIOS boot image from the first physical boot media location and provides it to the BIOS. The SCP may then receive a second physical boot media location from the management system and, when the SCP subsystem receives a second BIOS boot image retrieval request from the BIOS that is directed to the virtual BIOS boot media location, it retrieves a second BIOS boot image from the second physical boot media location and provides it to the BIOS.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Robert W. Hormuth, William Price Dawkins, Gaurav Chawla, Mark Steven Sanders, Jimmy D. Pike, Elie Jreij
  • Patent number: 11157191
    Abstract: An intra-device notational data movement system has a chassis including processing system(s) that are configured to provide a first thread and a second thread. A data mover subsystem in the chassis is coupled to the processing system(s). In a communication transmitted by the first thread, the data mover subsystem identifies a request to transfer data to the second thread that is stored in a first portion of a memory system that is associated with the first thread in a memory fabric management database. The data mover subsystem then modifies notational reference information in the memory fabric management database to disassociate the first portion of the memory system and the first thread and associate the first portion of the memory system with the second thread, which allows the second thread to reference the data using request/respond operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Shyamkumar T. Iyer, William Price Dawkins, Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike
  • Patent number: 11106543
    Abstract: An application image cloning system includes a processing system that is coupled to a memory fabric memory system and a local memory system. The processing system provides a first application and a second application using an application image stored in the memory fabric memory system and provides a mapping engine. The mapping engine receives, from the first application, a store request to store a modified memory page that is a modified version of a memory page included in the application image, such that the memory page is stored in a memory fabric memory location in the memory fabric memory system. The mapping engine stores the modified memory page in a local memory location in the local memory system, disassociates the first application from the memory fabric memory location that stores the memory page, and associate the first application with the local memory location that stores the modified memory page.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: William Price Dawkins, Shyamkumar T. Iyer, Kurtis John Bowman
  • Patent number: 11093332
    Abstract: An application checkpoint and recovery system includes an application provided using application information from a first location in a memory fabric. A data mover device receives an application checkpoint instruction and performs application checkpoint operations including capturing a first version of the application information from the first location in the memory fabric, and providing the first version of the application information in a second location in the memory fabric. The data mover device may receive an application recovery instruction subsequent to the application modifying the first version of the application information to provide a second version of the application information in the first location of the memory fabric, and may transfer the first version of the application information from the second location in the memory fabric to the first location in the memory fabric so that it is available for use in providing the application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: William Price Dawkins, Shyamkumar T. Iyer, Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike
  • Patent number: 11010084
    Abstract: A virtual machine migration system that includes an initiator host that provides a virtual machine and receives an instruction to migrate the virtual machine to the target host. The initiator host moves, while the virtual machine is operating on the initiator host, virtual machine data for the virtual machine from a local memory area in a local memory system to a memory fabric memory area in a memory fabric memory system. A first portion of the virtual machine data in the local memory area and a second portion of the virtual machine data in the memory fabric memory area are accessible to the virtual machine and the initiator host during the movement of the virtual machine data. The initiator host stops, in response to all the virtual machine data being moved to the memory fabric memory area, operation of the virtual machine on the initiator host.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: William Price Dawkins, Kurtis John Bowman, Dragan M. Savic, Shyamkumar T. Iyer, Jimmy Doyle Pike
  • Patent number: 11003612
    Abstract: A processing subsystem/endpoint subsystem connection configuration system includes a plurality of processing subsystems and a multi-endpoint adapter device that provides a plurality of endpoint subsystems. A bus exchange switch device couples the plurality of processing subsystems to the plurality of endpoint subsystems, and a connection configuration engine is coupled to the multi-endpoint adapter device and the bus exchange switch device. The connection configuration engine receives a connection resource request that requests connection resources for a first processing subsystem that is included in the plurality of processing subsystems. Based on the connection resource request, the connection configuration engine causes at least one of the plurality of endpoint subsystems to perform a first connection resource change operation. The connection configuration engine then configures the bus exchange switch device to provide the connection resources for the first processing subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Timothy M. Lambert, Yogesh Varma, Shyamkumar T. Iyer, William Price Dawkins, Mukund P. Khatri
  • Patent number: 11003488
    Abstract: A memory-fabric-based processor context switching system includes server devices coupled to a memory fabric. A first processing system in a first server device receives a request to move a process it is executing and, in response, copies first processing system context values to its first local memory system in the first server device, and generates a first data mover instruction that causes a first data mover device in the first server device to transmit the first processing system context values from the first local memory system to the memory fabric. A second processing system in a second server device generates a second data mover instruction that causes a second data mover device in the second server device to retrieve the first processing system context values from the memory fabric and provide the first processing system context values in a second local memory system included in the second server device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Shyamkumar T. Iyer, William Price Dawkins, Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike
  • Patent number: 11003378
    Abstract: A memory tiering system includes a data mover device coupling a memory fabric to a processing system. At each of a plurality of different times, the data mover device receives a data access request for data from a computer context provided by the processing system, retrieves the data based on a compute-context-memory-fabric mapping that maps the compute context to the first memory subsystem, and provides the data to the processing system for use with the computer context. If the data mover device determines that the data has been retrieved and provisioning for use with the compute context above a memory tiering frequency, it moves the data from the first memory subsystem to a second memory subsystem in the memory fabric that includes higher performance memory characteristics, and causes the compute-context-memory-fabric mapping to be modified to provide a modified compute-context-memory-fabric mapping that maps the compute context to the second memory subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Shyamkumar T. Iyer, William Price Dawkins, Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike
  • Patent number: 10936219
    Abstract: A switch-based inter-device notational data movement system includes a first processing system in a first chassis that provides a first thread, a second processing system in a second chassis that provides a second thread, each of which are coupled to a memory system by a switch device. A controller device coupled to the switch device receives a data transfer communication from the first thread requesting to transfer data to the second thread. That data stored in a first portion of the memory system associated with the first thread in a memory fabric management database included in the switch device. The controller device then modifies notational reference information in the memory fabric management database to disassociate the first portion of the memory system and the first thread and associate the first portion of the memory system with the second thread, allowing the second thread to reference the data using request/respond operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Shyamkumar T. Iyer, William Price Dawkins
  • Patent number: 10938904
    Abstract: A multi-endpoint adapter device includes a splitter device that is coupled to a network port and a plurality of endpoint subsystems that are each coupled to a processing subsystem. The splitter device receives, via the network port, a first data payload, and identifies both a first data sub-payload that is included in the first data payload and that is associated with a first endpoint subsystem included in the plurality of endpoint subsystems and a second data sub-payload that is included in the first data payload and that is associated with a second endpoint subsystem included in the plurality of endpoint subsystems. The splitter device then splits the first data payload into the first data sub-payload and the second data sub-payload, and forwards both the first data sub-payload to the first endpoint subsystem and the second data sub-payload to the second endpoint subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Shyamkumar T. Iyer, Timothy M. Lambert, William Price Dawkins
  • Patent number: 10938875
    Abstract: A multi-endpoint adapter device includes a plurality a duplicator device that is coupled to the network port and the plurality of endpoint subsystems that are each configured to couple with a respective processing subsystem. The duplicator device receives, via the network port, a data payload and determines that the data payload is to be provided to each of a first processing subsystem via a first endpoint subsystem that is included in the plurality of endpoint subsystems, and a second processing subsystem via a second endpoint subsystem that is included in the plurality of endpoint subsystems. The duplicator device then duplicates the data payload to provide a first duplicated data payload and a second duplicated data payload. The duplicator device then provides the first duplicated data payload to the first endpoint subsystem and provides the second duplicated data payload to the second endpoint subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Shyamkumar T. Iyer, Timothy M. Lambert, William Price Dawkins, John Christopher Beckett
  • Publication number: 20210056062
    Abstract: A switch-based inter-device notational data movement system includes a switch device that is coupled to a first processing system included in a first chassis and configured to provide a first thread, a second processing system included in a second chassis and configured to provide a second thread, and a memory system. The switch device identifies, in a communication transmitted by the first thread, a request to transfer data, which is stored in a first portion of the memory system that is associated with the first thread in a memory fabric management database, to the second thread. The switch device then modifies notational reference information in the memory fabric management database to disassociate the first portion of the memory system and the first thread and associate the first portion of the memory system with the second thread, which allows the second thread to reference the data using request/respond operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Publication date: February 25, 2021
    Inventors: Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike, William Price Dawkins, Shyamkumar T. Iyer
  • Patent number: 10853293
    Abstract: A switch-based inter-device notational data movement system includes a switch device that is coupled to a first processing system included in a first chassis and configured to provide a first thread, a second processing system included in a second chassis and configured to provide a second thread, and a memory system. The switch device identifies, in a communication transmitted by the first thread, a request to transfer data, which is stored in a first portion of the memory system that is associated with the first thread in a memory fabric management database, to the second thread. The switch device then modifies notational reference information in the memory fabric management database to disassociate the first portion of the memory system and the first thread and associate the first portion of the memory system with the second thread, which allows the second thread to reference the data using request/respond operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike, William Price Dawkins, Shyamkumar T. Iyer
  • Publication number: 20200349008
    Abstract: An application checkpoint and recovery system includes an application provided using application information from a first location in a memory fabric. A data mover device receives an application checkpoint instruction and performs application checkpoint operations including capturing a first version of the application information from the first location in the memory fabric, and providing the first version of the application information in a second location in the memory fabric. The data mover device may receive an application recovery instruction subsequent to the application modifying the first version of the application information to provide a second version of the application information in the first location of the memory fabric, and may transfer the first version of the application information from the second location in the memory fabric to the first location in the memory fabric so that it is available for use in providing the application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Publication date: November 5, 2020
    Inventors: William Price Dawkins, Shyamkumar T. Iyer, Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike
  • Publication number: 20200348873
    Abstract: A virtual machine migration system that includes an initiator host that provides a virtual machine and receives an instruction to migrate the virtual machine to the target host. The initiator host moves, while the virtual machine is operating on the initiator host, virtual machine data for the virtual machine from a local memory area in a local memory system to a memory fabric memory area in a memory fabric memory system. A first portion of the virtual machine data in the local memory area and a second portion of the virtual machine data in the memory fabric memory area are accessible to the virtual machine and the initiator host during the movement of the virtual machine data. The initiator host stops, in response to all the virtual machine data being moved to the memory fabric memory area, operation of the virtual machine on the initiator host.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Publication date: November 5, 2020
    Inventors: William Price Dawkins, Kurtis John Bowman, Dragan M. Savic, Shyamkumar T. Iyer, Jimmy Doyle Pike
  • Publication number: 20200348874
    Abstract: A memory tiering system includes a data mover device coupilng a memory fabric to a processing system. At each of a plurality of different times, the data mover device receives a data access request for data from a computer context provided by the processing system, retrieves the data based on a compute-context-memory-fabric mapping that maps the compute context to the first memory subsystem, and provides the data to the processing system for use with the computer context. If the data mover device determines that the data has been retrieved and provisioning for use with the compute context above a memory tiering frequency, it moves the data from the first memory subsystem to a second memory subsystem in the memory fabric that includes higher performance memory characteristics, and causes the compute-context-memory-fabric mapping to be modified to provide a modified compute-context-memory-fabric mapping that maps the compute context to the second memory subsystem.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Publication date: November 5, 2020
    Inventors: Shyamkumar T. Iyer, William Price Dawkins, Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike
  • Publication number: 20200349019
    Abstract: An application image cloning system includes a processing system that is coupled to a memory fabric memory system and a local memory system. The processing system provides a first application and a second application using an application image stored in the memory fabric memory system and provides a mapping engine. The mapping engine receives, from the first application, a store request to store a modified memory page that is a modified version of a memory page included in the application image, such that the memory page is stored in a memory fabric memory location in the memory fabric memory system. The mapping engine stores the modified memory page in a local memory location in the local memory system, disassociates the first application from the memory fabric memory location that stores the memory page, and associate the first application with the local memory location that stores the modified memory page.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Publication date: November 5, 2020
    Inventors: William Price Dawkins, Shyamkumar T. Iyer, Kurtis John Bowman
  • Publication number: 20200348962
    Abstract: A memory-fabric-based processor context switching system includes server devices coupled to a memory fabric. A first processing system in a first server device receives a request to move a process it is executing and, in response, copies first processing system context values to its first local memory system in the first server device, and generates a first data mover instruction that causes a first data mover device in the first server device to transmit the first processing system context values from the first local memory system to the memory fabric. A second processing system in a second server device generates a second data mover instruction that causes a second data mover device in the second server device to retrieve the first processing system context values from the memory fabric and provide the first processing system context values in a second local memory system included in the second server device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2019
    Publication date: November 5, 2020
    Inventors: Shyamkumar T. Iyer, William Price Dawkins, Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike
  • Patent number: 10824574
    Abstract: A multi-port storage device multi-socket memory access system includes a plurality of processing subsystems interconnected by at least one processing subsystem interconnect, a respective local memory subsystem for each of the processing subsystems, and a storage system that provides a respective connection to each of the processing subsystems. The storage system receives a memory access command and uses it to determine a first local memory subsystem that includes a memory location that is identified in the memory access command. The storage system then uses a connection mapping to identify a first connection to a first processing subsystem for which the first local memory subsystem is provided. The storage system then accesses the first memory subsystem through the first connection, via the first processing system, and without utilizing the at least one processing subsystem interconnect, in order to execute the memory access command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Kevin Thomas Marks, Austin Patrick Bolen, William Price Dawkins, William Emmett Lynn, Gary Benedict Kotzur, Robert W. Hormuth
  • Publication number: 20200341673
    Abstract: An intra-device notational data movement system has a chassis including processing system(s) that are configured to provide a first thread and a second thread. A data mover subsystem in the chassis is coupled to the processing system(s). In a communication transmitted by the first thread, the data mover subsystem identifies a request to transfer data to the second thread that is stored in a first portion of a memory system that is associated with the first thread in a memory fabric management database. The data mover subsystem then modifies notational reference information in the memory fabric management database to disassociate the first portion of the memory system and the first thread and associate the first portion of the memory system with the second thread, which allows the second thread to reference the data using request/respond operations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Publication date: October 29, 2020
    Inventors: Shyamkumar T. Iyer, William Price Dawkins, Kurtis John Bowman, Jimmy Doyle Pike