Patent ID: 7739485

Claim:
A computer system, comprising: a plurality of hot replaceable devices coupled to one another via a plurality of chassis communication modules, said plurality of hot replaceable devices comprising at least a first hot replaceable device and a second hot replaceable device, and each of said plurality of chassis communication modules comprising a cache memory; and said second hot replaceable device includes a read only memory (“ROM”) in which second device specific data is stored; wherein said second hot replaceable device receives a request from said first hot replaceable device for said second device specific data, said second hot replaceable device broadcasts said requested second device specific data to at least one of said plurality of chassis communication modules, and said second device specific data is stored within the cache memory corresponding to each of the at least one of said plurality of chassis communication modules; and wherein at least one of said plurality of chassis communication modules receives subsequent requests from said first hot replaceable device for said second device specific data, retrieves said second device specific data from the corresponding cache memory, and transmits said second device data to the first hot replaceable device.