The device driver is loaded and initialized with a DEVICE= statement in the CONFIG.SYS file. They physical device driver processes parameters on the CONFIG.SYS to support COM ports with nonstandard address and IRQ's. Type help com.sys and read about the parameters.
During initialization, the physical device driver attempts to free memory from its data segment for ports it does not need and that do not get initialized. The physical device driver does not remove device names from its device driver header for ports that do not get initialized.
The device driver does not deinstall a device if the system requests it. If another device driver wishes to support a port already supported by this device driver, it needs to be initialized before this ASYNC device driver.
Shared ownership of a given serial device between multiple device drivers in a single session of the OS/2 operating system is supported, subject to certain restrictions. Each driver that installs sharing a serial device obtains exclusive access to that device when it processes an Open request, rather than claiming the device during initialization. Each driver also fully relinquishes control of that device, when it processes a matching Close request.
When the physical device driver is initialized, it is enabled by default for Output Handshaking Using CTS and DSR. This is for compatibility with existing systems (IBM PC and PS/2 BIOS INT 14H) and the requirements of supporting an RS232 port. It is also enabled by default for Input Sensitivity to DSR. This allows a remote device to indicate whether data being received is valid and is enabled to help ensure compatibility with existing systems. The initialization default for Extended Hardware Buffering on serial devices that fully support FIFO mode operations is Automatic Protocol Override.
Note: The ASYNC device driver default protocols provide an upwardly compatible RS232-C interface for communication with most devices. New communication applications and devices might not require the default protocols to be enabled. The user should evaluate these alternatives and consider which protocols to enable or disable in order to provide the highest possible performance for support of a given serial device.