Patent ID: 7035945
Filing Date: 2006-04-25
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for identifying a computer expansion card which does not support an inquiry command which allows a computer system to identify the expansion card, comprising: examining a device tree for the computer system to identify a node and zero or more subnodes within the device tree that is associated with the computer expansion card; obtaining a subset of parameters from the device tree associated with the node and the zero or more subnodes associated with the computer expansion card, wherein the subset of parameters include a device class, a vendor identifier, and a device identifier; performing a pattern match between the subset of parameters for the node and the zero or more subnodes and an entry in an information file to identify the computer expansion card, wherein the pattern match has to match both the node and the zero or more subnodes; reporting a textual description of the computer expansion card from the entry in the information file to a system administrator to enable the system administrator to perform administrative operations on the computer expansion card; and repeating the steps of examining, obtaining, pattern matching, and reporting, wherein repeating these steps provides the system administrator with a complete configuration for the computer system.