Interrupt sharing system assigning each interrupt request signal to a select one of system interrupt signals based on characteristic data of each peripheral device
First Claim
1. A method for operating a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a plurality of peripheral devices that generate interrupt request signals;
providing a plurality of system interrupt signals, the number of system interrupt signals less than the number of interrupt request signals;
obtaining characteristic data on each of the peripheral devices; and
using the characteristic data to assign each interrupt request signal to a select one of the system interrupt signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mechanism that automatically configures the manner in which interrupt signals are shared in order to avoid system failures and improves the system performance is herein disclosed. The mechanism executes as part of the system BIOS during system initialization or reset. The mechanism utilizes information found in the configuration register space to determine the characteristics of the device. The device characteristics are used to determine which devices share IRQ signals. In this manner, devices that cause system failures due to sharing interrupt signals are not assigned a common interrupt signal thereby minimizing system failures and improving the overall system performance.
26 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for operating a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of peripheral devices that generate interrupt request signals; providing a plurality of system interrupt signals, the number of system interrupt signals less than the number of interrupt request signals; obtaining characteristic data on each of the peripheral devices; and using the characteristic data to assign each interrupt request signal to a select one of the system interrupt signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer readable storage medium for use in a computer system including a plurality of system interrupt signals and a plurality of peripheral devices having a number of interrupt request signals that exceeds the number of system interrupt signals, said apparatus comprising:
an automatic interrupt routing configuration procedure including instructions to automatically assign each interrupt request signal to a select one of the system interrupt signals in accordance with a criteria based on the characteristics of the peripheral devices. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer system comprising:
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a plurality of system interrupt signals; a plurality of peripheral devices, each peripheral device associated with a set of device characteristics; a plurality of interrupt request signals that exceeds the number of system interrupt signals, each interrupt request signal associated with a particular peripheral device; and an automatic interrupt routing configuration procedure having a capability to make an assignment that routes each interrupt request signal to a select one of the system interrupt signals based on the sets of device characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification