Patent ID: 8205000

Claim:
An apparatus for managing devices within a distributed data processing system, the apparatus comprising: a processor unit connected to a network; and a memory coupled to the processor unit and having stored therein instructions that are readable by the processor unit for controlling the processor unit to: configure a set of priorities for a set of communication protocols, wherein a user interactively assigns a priority in the set of priorities to a communication protocol in the set of communication protocols, establishing a scheme for prioritizing each protocol among the set of communication protocols; receive a request for a requested action at a requested target device within the distributed data processing system, wherein completion of the requested action depends upon communication protocol operations on each of a set of multiple devices along a route through the distributed data processing system to the requested target device, wherein the route defines a path through each device of the set of multiple devices for sending requests from a source device, where the requested action originated from, to the requested target device; identify a set of multiple supported protocols that are common to the set of multiple devices along the route; determine a set of multiple allowable supported protocols in the set of multiple supported protocols based on the requested action, wherein the set of multiple allowable supported protocols is a subset of the set of multiple supported protocols, and wherein each protocol in the set of multiple allowable supported protocols is usable to complete the requested action; select, in response to a determination of the set of multiple allowable supported protocols, an allowable supported protocol for the requested action from the set of multiple allowable supported protocols, wherein selecting the allowable supported protocol for the requested action from the set of multiple allowable supported protocols comprises comparing priorities of each allowable supported protocol in the set of multiple allowable supported protocols to determine an allowable supported protocol that has a highest priority among the set of multiple allowable supported protocols, and selecting the allowable supported protocol that has a highest priority among the set of multiple allowable supported protocols to form a selected allowable supported protocol; and grant the request for the requested action in accordance with the selected allowable supported protocol.