Operating system independent agent

Abstract

Described is a computing platform comprising a host processing system to host an operating system, a communication adapter to transmit data to or and receive data from a data transmission medium, and a non-volatile storage. The computing platform may also comprise an agent executable independently of the operating system to enable read-only or read/write access to at least a portion of the non-volatile storage.

1 - 28 . (canceled) 
   
   
       29 . A method comprising:
 hosting an operating system on a computing platform, the computing platform comprising a non-volatile storage;   receiving a message from an external process over a data transmission medium, the external process to communicate with the computing platform over the data transmission medium;   controlling at least one of read-only and read/write access to at least a portion of the nonvolatile memory in response to the received message independently of the operating system, the portion of the non-volatile memory allocated to an application program instance;   maintaining a data structure comprising a plurality of records, each record being associated with a respective application program instance and comprising information representative of a maximum sub portion allocation of an allocatable portion; and   granting access rights to a portion of the maximum subportion allocation to other application program instances in response to a command from the application program instance.   
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 determining, independently of the operating system and regardless of whether the operating system is running, in a reduced power state, or disabled, allocation of a reserved portion of the portion of the non-volatile storage in response to the command from the application program instance.   
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 executing the operating system on a first processing thread of a central processing unit in the computing platform; and   executing the access to the at least a portion of the non-volatile storage in response to the received message on a second processing thread of the central processing unit.   
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 executing the operating system on a central processing unit of the computing platform; and   executing the access to the at least a portion of the non-volatile storage in response to the received message on one of a microprocessor and a microcontroller of the computing platform independently of the central processing unit.   
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 hosting one or more instances of application programs in a domain of the operating system; and   allocating a portion of the nonvolatile memory device for use by at least one of the one or more instances of application programs up to a predetermined maximum size associated with the instance of the application program.   
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 enabling the one or more application programs in a domain of the operating system to store at least one of hardware and software configuration data in a predetermined portion of the non-volatile storage.   
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 34 , further comprising:
 at least one of read-only and read/write accessing at least a portion of the configuration data stored in the non-volatile storage in response to a request received at the communication adapter independently of the operating system.   
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 identifying an instance of an application program based upon a registration request message received from the communication adapter, the registration request message comprising an identifier associated with the application program; and   generating a unique identifier associated with the instance of the application program based upon information in the registration request message.   
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the agent further comprises logic to allocate a portion of the non-volatile memory to a registered application in response to an allocation request message received over the data transmission medium. 
   
   
       38 . A computing platform comprising:
 a host processing system comprising a central processing unit to host an operating system;   a communication adapter to at least one of transmit data to and receive data from a data transmission medium;   a non-volatile storage; and   an operating system independent agent, executable independently of the operating system, to control at least one of read-only and read/write access to at least a portion of the non-volatile storage device by an external process in response to requests received at the communication adapter, the external process to communicate with the computing platform through the communication adapter over the data transmission medium, the portion of the non-volatile storage device allocated to an application program instance, the agent to maintain a data structure comprising a plurality of records, each record being associated with a respective application program instance and comprising information representative of a maximum sub portion allocation of the allocatable portion, the agent to grant access rights to a portion of the maximum subportion allocation to other application program instances in response to a command from the application program instance.   
   
   
       39 . The computing platform of  claim 38 , wherein the agent to determine, independently of the operating system and regardless of whether the operating system is running, in a reduced power state, or disabled, allocation of a reserved portion of the portion of the non-volatile storage in response to the command from the application program instance. 
   
   
       40 . The computing platform of  claim 38 , wherein the agent is hosted by a processing thread of the central processing unit executing independently of the operating system. 
   
   
       41 . The computing platform of  claim 38 , wherein the host processing system hosts one or more instances of application programs in a domain of the operating system and the agent comprises logic to allocate a portion of the non-volatile memory device for use by an instance of an application program up to a predetermined maximum allocation size associated with the instance of the application program. 
   
   
       42 . The computing platform of  claim 38 , wherein the host processing system hosts one or more instances of application programs in a domain of the operating system and the agent comprises logic to enable the one or more instances of application programs to store at least one of hardware and software configuration data in a predetermined portion of the non-volatile storage. 
   
   
       43 . The computing platform of  claim 42 , wherein the agent further comprises logic to enable the external process at least one of read-only and read/write access to at least a portion of the configuration data stored in the non-volatile storage in response to requests received at the communication adapter independently of the operating system. 
   
   
       44 . The computing platform of  claim 43 , wherein the agent comprises:
 logic to identify an instance of an application program based upon a registration request message received from the communication adapter, the registration request message comprising an identifier associated with the application program; and logic to generate a unique identifier associated with the instance of the application program based upon information in the registration request message.   
   
   
       45 . The computing platform of  claim 45 , wherein the agent further comprises logic to allocate a portion of the non-volatile memory to a registered instance of an application program in response to an allocation request message received from the communication adapter. 
   
   
       46 . The computing platform of  claim 38 , wherein the host processing system hosts one or more processes executed independently of the operating system. 
   
   
       47 . A computing platform comprising:
 a host processing system comprising:
 a central processing unit to host an operating system; 
 a non-volatile storage; and 
 an operating system independent agent executable independently of the operating system to control at least one of read-only and read/write access to at least a portion of the non-volatile storage device by an external process in response to requests received at the communication adapter, the external process to communicate with the computing platform through the communications adapter over the data transmission medium, the portion of the non-volatile storage device allocated to an application program instance, the agent to maintain a data structure comprising a plurality of records, each record being associated with an instance of an application program, the agent to grant access rights to a portion of the maximum subportion allocation to other application program instances in response to a command from the application program instance. 
   
   
   
       48 . The computing platform of  claim 47 , wherein the agent to determine, independently of the operating system and regardless of whether the operating system is running, in a reduced power state, or disabled, allocation of a reserved portion of the portion of the non-volatile storage in response to the command from the application program instance