Booting a computer system from a network

Details Booting a computer system from a network Booting a computer system from a network

1998-10-19

2001-11-13

Butler, Dennis M. (Department: 2182)

Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support

Digital data processing system initialization or configuration

C713S002000, C713S100000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06317826

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to booting a computer system from a network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known for a client computer system, connected via any one of a number of commercially available network media to a server, to download a boot image from the server and boot. For example, IBMs LCCM Version 2 product, in common with many other current and imminent personal computer (PC) management and maintenance tools such as Intel's LANDesk Configuration Manager, uses the dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) and trivial file transfer protocol (TFTP) to load a DOS operating system as a diskette image into a virtual RAM drive in a client system's memory, and then boots from the diskette image, to perform installation and maintenance tasks.
Different client computer systems booting up using different boot images downloaded from a network require different boot images depending on the hardware configuration of the client and the function to be performed by the booted client. This requires the server to be aware of each client computer configuration and function to be performed when configuring the boot image.
Also, some tasks require that the client be re-booted one or more times in succession to perform a series of functions before proceeding. For example to partition and format a hard disk under DOS, the client must be rebooted between the partition and format stages. A second network boot entails a significant delay as well as creating additional network traffic, and requires that the server computer configuration is modified between the first and second boot stages so the client computer boots with the correct software for each stage in the correct sequence.
The Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) specification (Intel, Compaq et al) allows different network cards to operate with the same OS image, thus solving the major problem of ensuring compatibility between the booted image and the system network card.
However, many older PCs and network adapters do not implement the PXE specification, and other compatibility problems remain requiring different versions of the operating system image to be downloaded for different client systems or tasks. For example, some maintenance tasks require the presence of an Extended Memory Manager (like EMM386) while others will not operate with an Extended Memory Manager. This requires the server to be re-configured to provide the correct boot image for the task to be performed.
It is an object of the present invention to mitigate these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides a client computer system adapted to connect to a server across a network, the client system including memory into which an operating system is loadable and being adapted to load at least a portion of an operating system image over the network from the server into a location in said memory and boot from the operating system image in memory, wherein said client system is adapted to subsequently modify the operating system image in memory without reloading the portion of the operating system image over the network and re-boot the client system.
In a further aspect the invention provides a computer method of booting a computer in a network said method including the steps of:
a. downloading at least a portion of an operating system image from a network server
b. booting the operating system
c. modifying the operating system image in memory
d. repeating steps b. and c.
In a still further aspect the invention provides an operating system images system image for a client computer system including a network card operable to connect said client system to a server across a network, said operating system image being operable to boot said client system, to modify itself after being booted and to re-boot said client system to connect said client system to said server.


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patent: 5842011 (1998-11-01), Basu
patent: 5872968 (1999-02-01), Knox et al.
patent: 6209089 (2001-03-01), Selitrennikoff et al.
patent: 0 358 292 (1990-03-01), None
patent: 2 311 389 (1997-09-01), None
Van Wolverton, “Running MS DOS”, Microsoft Press, 1991, pp. 368-386.

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