Computer implemented method and apparatus for dynamic and automatic configuration of a computer system and circuit boards including computer resource allocation conflict resolution
DCFirst Claim
1. For use with a computer system that provides for circuit boards to be interchangeably inserted in a plurality of system slot locations, with the circuit boards having the capability to be configured to utilize one or more common computer resources, the common computer resources comprising slot locations, interrupt request lines, direct memory access channels, input/output port addresses and memory address ranges, a method for dynamically and automatically configuring the computer system and the circuit boards without user intervention comprising the computer implemented steps of:
- determining based upon a configuration of each of said circuit boards the common computer resources capable of being utilized by the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system;
allocating the common computer resources to be utilized by the circuit boards based on said determination of the common computer resources capable of being utilized by the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system;
detecting conflicts as to the common computer resources allocated to the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system;
resolving conflicts as to the common computer resources to be utilized by the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system and re-allocating the common computer resources based upon said resolution of said common computer resource conflicts; and
storing configuration information as part of a system configuration for each of the circuit boards and the computer system based on said allocation of the common computer resources to be utilized by the circuit boards.
3 Assignments
Litigations
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computerized system for dynamically and automatically configuring circuit boards to carry out functions from various manufacturers and a computer system without the user intervention. A single computer system may include, for example, a modem board, a video board, a disk controller board, and a multiple function board, each circuit board from a different manufacturer and each circuit board requires a computer resources for operation. These resources may include interrupt request (IRQ) lines, direct memory access (DMA) channels, I/O port addresses, memory address ranges and circuit board slot locations. The computerized system determines the type of slot required for each circuit board to be inserted in the computer by reading the circuit board configuration file for each board. The system will assign a circuit board to an available slot locations of the required type. Based on the information contained within the circuit board configuration files, the system attempts to allocate the common computer resources required by each circuit board based on the primary or default resource requirements set forth in each circuit board'"'"'s configuration file. And, overlapping manufacturer default resource requirement may result in resource allocation conflict; and then, the system attempts to resolve conflicts by determining if the conflicting request may be assigned an alternate resource, as specified in the circuit board configuration file. The system stores the resource allocation information as part of a system configuration file which may then be used when the system is rebooted.
293 Citations
64 Claims
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1. For use with a computer system that provides for circuit boards to be interchangeably inserted in a plurality of system slot locations, with the circuit boards having the capability to be configured to utilize one or more common computer resources, the common computer resources comprising slot locations, interrupt request lines, direct memory access channels, input/output port addresses and memory address ranges, a method for dynamically and automatically configuring the computer system and the circuit boards without user intervention comprising the computer implemented steps of:
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determining based upon a configuration of each of said circuit boards the common computer resources capable of being utilized by the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system; allocating the common computer resources to be utilized by the circuit boards based on said determination of the common computer resources capable of being utilized by the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system; detecting conflicts as to the common computer resources allocated to the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system; resolving conflicts as to the common computer resources to be utilized by the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system and re-allocating the common computer resources based upon said resolution of said common computer resource conflicts; and storing configuration information as part of a system configuration for each of the circuit boards and the computer system based on said allocation of the common computer resources to be utilized by the circuit boards. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An apparatus for dynamically and automatically configuring a computer system without user intervention that provides for circuit boards to be interchangeably inserted in a plurality of computer system slot locations, with the circuit boards having the capability to be configured to utilize one or more common computer resources, the common computer resources comprising slot locations, interrupt request lines, direct memory access channels, input/output port addresses and memory address ranges, comprising:
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means for determining based upon a configuration of each of said circuit boards the common computer resources capable of being utilized by the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system; means for allocating the common computer resources capable of being utilized by the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system based on said determination of the common computer resources capable of being utilized by the circuit boards; means for detecting conflicts as to the common computer resources allocated to the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system; means for resolving said conflicts as to the common computer resources allocated to the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system and re-allocating the common computer resources to the circuit boards based upon said resolution of said common computer resource conflicts; and means for storing configuration information as part of a system configuration for each of the circuit boards to be installed in the computer system based on said allocation of the common computer resources. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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Specification