The physical device driver supports a maximum of four ASYNC ports on a maximum of two different interrupt levels. The interrupt levels must have ABIOS support, with one unit per Logical ID (LID) for the ASYNC Device ID. The only ASYNC devices supported on IBM PS/2 and the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) machines are COM1, COM2, COM3, and COM4. These devices correspond to the first four LIDs in the ABIOS common data area that have the architected ASYNC Device ID. These devices also correspond to the first four ASYNC addresses in the ROM BIOS 40: data area.

If a device has capabilities other than ASYNC that cannot be utilized independently of the ASYNC capabilities (for example, as in the Advanced BIOS separate LID architecture), and if Advanced BIOS assigns the device the ASYNC Device ID, then that device can be used only for ASYNC in that power-on session.

If the device is assigned the ASYNC Device ID, and it has additional capabilities beyond supporting the RS232-C port (for example, a built-in modem), the physical device driver does not recognize those additional capabilities (and potential limitations). Also, the physical device driver does not inform any application program of those additional capabilities or limitations. In addition, it does not limit the control of the RS232-C interface or the device to only those modes that are acceptable to the extended hardware capabilities of that RS232-C port.

If the device is not assigned the ASYNC Device ID, it is not supported by this physical device driver. If an ASYNC device is not supported by the OS/2 operating system, but is recognized by Advanced BIOS as an ASYNC Device ID, the physical device driver can recognize and try to use that unsupported device, if it is COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4.