Patent ID: 7543084

Claim:
A method of resetting a particular virtual resource in a data processing system that includes a plurality of different system images, each one of the plurality of system images independently executing its own operating system, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: creating a physical host memory translation table in a host memory, wherein the physical host memory translation table includes a plurality of sets of system image pages, and further wherein each one of the plurality of sets of system image pages is mapped to a corresponding one of a plurality of virtual adapters in a physical adapter; creating a physical adapter memory translation table in the physical adapter, wherein the physical adapter memory translation table includes a plurality of sets of virtual adapter memory locations and an association of each one of the plurality of sets of virtual adapter memory locations with a corresponding one of the plurality of system images; for each one of the plurality of virtual adapters: assigning a unique identifier to the virtual adapter, wherein virtual resources contained by the virtual adapter are identified in the physical adapter memory translation table using the unique identifier; and manipulating the virtual resources contained by the virtual adapter using only the unique identifier that identifies the virtual adapter; invoking, by a particular one of the plurality of system images, a request to destroy a particular virtual resource, wherein the request includes a particular unique identifier that is assigned to the particular virtual resource; conveying the request to the physical adapter by a logical partitioning manager interfacing with a memory management interface of the physical adapter; and responsive to receipt of the request by the physical adapter; freeing all other virtual resources that are associated with the particular virtual resource; purging residual data from the particular virtual resource; and resetting the particular virtual resource to its initial state.