Patent ID: 8028105

Claim:
A computer program product, which is stored in a computer readable medium, for allocating resources in a data processing system that includes system memory and a plurality of different system images, each one of the plurality of system images independently executing an operating system, the computer program product comprising: instructions for maintaining a resource allocation matrix that defines respective amounts of total resources of a physical I/O adapter to be allocated to each one of the plurality of system images to use as a virtual adapter; instructions that evaluate the physical I/O adapter to determine if the adapter has sufficient adapter physical resources for respectively allocating each of a plurality of resource groups to one of the plurality of system images, wherein each resource group of the plurality of resource groups respectively comprises a portion of the adapter physical resources; and instructions that, responsive to the first instructions determining the adapter has sufficient adapter physical resources, create a plurality of different virtual adapters by respectively assign each of the plurality of resource groups to one of the plurality of system images, wherein adapter physical resources of a resource group are exclusively available to a system image of the plurality of system images to which the resource group is assigned, and wherein each one of the plurality of virtual adapters is associated with one of the plurality of system images.