International Business Machines Corporation

Timothy J Spewak

Harry M Yudenfriend

Jeffrey Douglas Haggar

Charles E Shapley

David E Stucki

Richard Cwiakala

A data processing I/O system having a main storage for storing data including a software configuration definition and data processing instructions arranged in programs including an operating system, a storage device for storing I/O definition files including hardware configuration information, a processor controller for containing the hardware configuration information, and a hardware storage area (HSA) connected to the processor controller for storing a hardware configuration definition. A hardware configuration definition program (HCD) builds I/O definition files (IODFs), each IODF containing at least one I/O processor configuration definition. Each processor I/O configuration definition has a hardware token for identification. The hardware configuration information for an I/O processor configuration definition, along with a copy of its hardware token, is transferred to the processor controller by an I/O configuration program (IOCP), and a hardware configuration definition is established in the HSA. The copy of the hardware token may be fetched from the HSA and compared to hardware token of the configuration definition used to establish the software configuration definition in the main storage to determine that the software and hardware configuration definitions are synchronized. If the software and hardware configuration definitions are synchronized, dynamic changes may be made to the hardware configuration definition in the HSA. A program parameter is provided to store recovery information such that if a failure occurs during a dynamic change, the previous hardware I/O configuration may be recovered or subsequent changes can be made from the point of failure.

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Hyde Park, NY, United States of America

Timothy J Spewak