it is desired if an overwrite is to be done the server searches the table for any entry with a reserved status block 70 which if found block 72 results in the assigning of the device identifier to the found entry block 60 and the subsequent steps 62 and 64 if there were no reserved status entries found block 72 the server report the table as being full during operation it is preferred that if a device is disconnected the server will detect that condition and will locate the table entry for that device set its current status to reserved then return to waiting for new devices while the foregoing description covers the preferred embodiment which automatically assigns logical port an alternative embodiment permits manual options to be available for users who prefer them as noted in the background of the invention existing servers that support ieee 1284 parallel port devices automatically assign devices to logical ports based strictly on what parallel port they are connected to for users or network administrators that wish to preserve this behavior the server can offer an option to disable the new process and use the old one instead as described above with respect to the preferred embodiment the server assigns new devices to any free port and then re assigns them to that same.