Patent ID: 7743185

Claim:
A data processing system for dynamically selecting software buffers for aggregation in order to optimize system performance, said system comprising: a CPU that associates 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; a particular I/O adapter that receives data to be transferred to a device, said data being stored in a chain of software buffers; said CPU executing code that determines 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; said CPU executing code that identifies one of said plurality of different thresholds that is associated with said current configuration; a first buffer in said chain; said CPU executing code that determines 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, said first buffer being left unchanged and a new chain of buffers being created 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, said first buffer being aggregated 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 a new chain of buffers being created that includes said new buffer instead of either said first or said second buffer.