Patent ID: 7865782

Claim:
An input/output (I/O) device fault processing method of a virtual computer system having a plurality of virtual computers operative to run on a physical computer under control of a hypervisor, said plurality of virtual computers including a plurality of virtual user computers to be provided to users and a virtual management computer, and a physical I/O device for shared use by said plurality of virtual user computers under control of the hypervisor, wherein said method comprises the steps of: causing said hypervisor to perform fault monitoring of said physical I/O device and, upon occurrence of a failure at said physical I/O device, send a notice of failure detection to said virtual management computer; and causing said virtual management computer to perform fault recovery processing of said physical I/O device in response to receipt of the notice, wherein upon occurrence of failure of said physical I/O device, said hypervisor sends a failure detection notice to said plurality of virtual user computers, and wherein the virtual user computers are responsive to receipt of the notice for performing I/O drive inhibition, wherein said physical I/O device has a physical register for setup of fault information, wherein said hypervisor has in units corresponding to respective virtual computers a plurality of logical registers each corresponding to said physical register in order to perform virtualization control of said physical I/O device, and wherein said hypervisor operates, upon occurrence of failure at said physical I/O device, to set up a status indicative of real failure in the logical register for use with said virtual management computer based on a status being set in said physical register and then notify the status to said virtual management computer while simultaneously setting a status indicative of virtual failure in the logical registers used for said virtual user computers for notification to said virtual user computers.