SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING HOT SWAP CAPABILITY USING EXISTING CIRCUITS AND DRIVERS WITH MINIMAL CHANGES

A system and method for providing hot swap capability with minimal changes in a system which uses existing circuitry and drivers. In one embodiment, a computer system has a host processor and a hot-swap-capable device, each coupled to a Compact PCI bus. The device includes one or more pre-existing circuits (ASICs and/or standard off-the-shelf circuits) and corresponding pre-existing drivers. A hot-swap-capable bus bridge is interposed between the circuits and the Compact PCI bus to provide hot swap functionality while allowing the pre-existing circuits and drivers to be used without modification. In one embodiment, an Intel 21554 is used as the hot-swap-capable bus bridge. The 21554 is programmed to emulate a transparent bridge. Modified drivers in the OBP firmware and OS software allow the system to recognize the 21554 in this transparent configuration and to probe the secondary side of the 21554 for the circuits.