Patent ID: 7673082

Claim:
A method of determining device criticality in a computer system comprising the steps of: storing, in a memory of a computer, computer-executable instructions for performing the method; executing the instructions on the computer; according to the instructions being executed: building a component hierarchy graph using computer configuration information; labeling nodes of the component hierarchy graph with a redundancy attribute; traversing the component hierarchy graph; determining whether a device loses an access path, and thereby becomes an identified affected resource, by inspecting redundancy attributes within the component hierarchy graph; and determining whether to perform an online hot plug operation based on resource analysis information describing any identified affected resource and a corresponding severity level of the identified affected resource, wherein said determining comprises: if none of said identified affected resources is assigned a medium severity level and if none of said identified affected resources is assigned a high severity level, allowing said online hot plug operation to be performed; if none of said identified affected resources is assigned said high severity level and if at least one of said identified affected resources is assigned said medium severity level, allowing said online hot plug operation to be performed upon receiving permission from a user; and if at least one of said identified affected resources is assigned said high severity level, preventing said online hot plug operation from being performed.