Patent ID: 6754720
Filing Date: 2004-06-22
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A method for automatically assigning addresses to expanders in a computer I/O subsystem that is coupled to one or more host computers, the computer I/O subsystem including one or more peripheral buses, a set of peripheral devices, and a set of expanders, each expander being arranged to couple a pair of peripheral buses, the peripheral devices being coupled to the peripheral buses, the method comprising:a) selecting, by a host computer, a peripheral device as a target device and writing an address data pattern to the selected target device; b) selecting, by the host computer, the target device and reading the address data pattern from the target device; and c) assigning unique addresses to one or more expanders coupling the host computer and the target device, wherein the unique addresses are assigned to the one or more expanders starting from the address data pattern.