Abstract: A hardware resource identifier (19) recognizes hardware resource dependencies in a multi-channel communications system. Initially, system communications domains (D1-D4) in which system hardware resources are located are identified. Next, managed hardware resources, hardware resource groups and hardware resource group boundaries among the system hardware resources are identified. Association labels are then assigned to the system hardware resources to identify relationships, if any, between the system hardware resources and external hardware, to discern redundant resources within respective ones of the hardware resource groups, and to characterize dedicated coupling between individual ones of the system hardware resources.

Abstract: A hardware resource manager (18) dynamically allocates hardware resources in a software-defined communications system. The hardware resource manager (18) creates a specification of required hardware resources (300) necessary for executing a system application. The hardware resource manager (18) then creates a list of candidate hardware resources (306) from the plurality of available hardware resources in response to an application creating its own abstract resource specification (78) of required hardware resources. The hardware resource manager (18) then maps each required hardware resource on the specification of required hardware resources to a least functional and most available candidate hardware resource on the list of candidate hardware resources in a manner that maximally preserves most functional and least available candidate hardware resources on the list of candidate hardware resources (316-326).