Architectural support for system protection (Recent Results)

Abstract

A set of architectural extensions, involving hardware/software interaction, is proposed to constrain the execution-time behavior of application and higher authority programs, running in a CPU of the type of IBM System 370. The extensions consist of the addition of a new state to the previous supervisor and problem states enforcement of disciplined transition between states, hardware distinction of four data types, and a set of rules that enforce the structure of processes operating in this environment. Application of the extensions to a shared data base shows that the protection of the operating system under which it runs can be enhanced significantly, with respect to errors or attacks from the users of this data base.

Index Terms

• Hardware

  • Communication hardware, interfaces and storage

  • Integrated circuits

    • Interconnect