Association of memory access through protection attributes that are associated to an access control level on a pci adapter that supports virtualization

A logical partitioned data processing system for dynamically sharing adapter resources among multiple operating system instances, comprising:

• a hypervisor, wherein the hypervisor is used to track allocated adapter resources and perform adapter resource allocation;
• and
• an adapter;
• wherein the hypervisor locates available resources in the adapter, allocates at least part of the available adapter resources to a given partition, and notifies the adapter of the adapter resource allocation to the given partition;
• and
• wherein the adapter updates its internal structure to reflect the allocation.

A computer program product in a computer readable medium for dynamically sharing adapter resources among multiple operating system instances, comprising:

• first instructions for locating available resources in an adapter;
• second instructions for allocating at least part of the available adapter resources to a given partition, wherein a hypervisor is used to track allocated adapter resources and perform adapter resource allocation;
• third instructions for notifying the adapter of the adapter resource allocation to the given partition;
• and
• fourth instructions for updating an internal structure of the adapter to reflect the allocation.