Intel ARCHITECTURE IA-32 User Manual Page 253

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Vol. 3A 6-11
TASK MANAGEMENT
6.2.5 Task-Gate Descriptor
A task-gate descriptor provides an indirect, protected reference to a task (see Figure 6-6). It can
be placed in the GDT, an LDT, or the IDT. The TSS segment selector field in a task-gate
descriptor points to a TSS descriptor in the GDT. The RPL in this segment selector is not used.
The DPL of a task-gate descriptor controls access to the TSS descriptor during a task switch.
When a program or procedure makes a call or jump to a task through a task gate, the CPL and
the RPL field of the gate selector pointing to the task gate must be less than or equal to the DPL
of the task-gate descriptor. Note that when a task gate is used, the DPL of the destination TSS
descriptor is not used.
A task can be accessed either through a task-gate descriptor or a TSS descriptor. Both of these
structures satisfy the following needs:
Need for a task to have only one busy flag — Because the busy flag for a task is stored in
the TSS descriptor, each task should have only one TSS descriptor. There may, however,
be several task gates that reference the same TSS descriptor.
Need to provide selective access to tasks — Task gates fill this need, because they can
reside in an LDT and can have a DPL that is different from the TSS descriptor's DPL. A
program or procedure that does not have sufficient privilege to access the TSS descriptor
for a task in the GDT (which usually has a DPL of 0) may be allowed access to the task
through a task gate with a higher DPL. Task gates give the operating system greater
latitude for limiting access to specific tasks.
Need for an interrupt or exception to be handled by an independent task — Task gates
may also reside in the IDT, which allows interrupts and exceptions to be handled by
handler tasks. When an interrupt or exception vector points to a task gate, the processor
switches to the specified task.
Figure 6-6. Task-Gate Descriptor
31
16
15
13
14 12
11
87
0
P
D
P
L
Type
0
31
16
15
0
TSS Segment Selector
1010
DPL
P
TYPE
Descriptor Privilege Level
Segment Present
Segment Type
4
0
Reserved
Reserved
Reserved
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