Patent · US Expired

Controlling asynchronously operating peripherals

US4837680A · kind A · utility

143Cited by
1References
6Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 28, 1987
Grant dateJun 6, 1989
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 28, 2007

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F13/126
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A plurality of host processors share access to a peripheral data storage subsystem and each have program means for controlling asynchronous operations of the subsystem. Control blocks in each of the host processors are addressably linked together for enabling inferred access to a unit control block (UCB) for any of a plurality of peripheral devices in the subsystem. The subsystem selectively groups some of the devices such that only devices designated as primary devices are addressably accessible by host processor application programs. Other devices in the respective groups are secondary devices and are accessed by the subsystem whenever the primary devices in the same group cannot perform a host processor commanded operation. Means are provided for identifying the secondary devices to all of the host processors.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.