Patent ID: 7457893
Filing Date: 2008-11-25
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method in a data processing system for dynamically selecting software buffers for aggregation in order to optimize system performance, said method comprising: associating one of a plurality of different thresholds with each one of a plurality of different possible system configurations, wherein each one of said plurality of different possible system configurations includes one of a plurality of different I/O adapter speeds and one of a plurality of different data widths for a slot into which an I/O adapter is inserted; receiving data to be transferred to a particular I/O adapter in said system, said data being stored in a chain of software buffers; determining a current configuration of said system by determining a speed of said particular I/O adapter that is included in said system and determining a data width for a particular slot in said system into which said particular I/O adapter is inserted, wherein said current configuration is one of said plurality of different possible system configurations; identifying one of said plurality of different thresholds that is associated with said current configuration; evaluating a first buffer in said chain; determining whether said first buffer is larger than said identified one of said plurality of different thresholds; in response to a determination that said first buffer is larger than said identified one of said plurality of different thresholds, leaving said first buffer unchanged and creating a new chain of buffers that includes said unchanged first buffer; and in response to a determination that said first buffer is not larger than said identified one of said plurality of different thresholds, aggregating said first buffer with a second buffer in said chain to create a new buffer that is an aggregation of said first buffer and said second buffer, and creating a new chain of buffers that includes said new buffer instead of either said first or said second buffer.