Secure Virtualization within a Multi-Processor Soft-core System-on-Chip Architecture

Our work aims to extend the concept of virtualization, which is known from the context of operating systems, for embedded multiprocessor system-on-chip architectures. Thus, by introducing a Virtualization Middleware, we abstract from static bindings between soft-core processors and operation system kernels running on them. Using the here proposed Virtualization Middleware, it is possible to remap kernels during run-time to different instances of soft-core processors. Our approach guarantees by its design privacy and integrity of virtualized data. No modifications to the employed kernels have to be done in order to be used with our approach. Therefore, it automatically secures context sensitive information against unauthorized access from a foreign user. Thereby, the proposed hardware-based virtualization scheme is suitable for embedded multi-processor-systems with multiple users working on transparently and securely shared resource instances