Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Remote data accessing – Accessing a remote server
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-22
2001-12-25
Wiley, David (Department: 2155)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Remote data accessing
Accessing a remote server
C709S220000, C709S222000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06334149
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates, in general, to a method, system, and computer-program product for improved data processing in a computer system and, in particular, to a method, system, and computer-program product for providing an improved booting process for a data processing system.
2. Description of Related Art
In the early 1980s, as the first PC's were sold, people in the Information Systems (IS) industry thought that PC's might replace mainframe computers and cut operating costs drastically. Over the years, as personal computers gained more functionality and better user interfaces, end-users improved their productivity and ability to generate data. While enterprise data and legacy applications were still placed on the more reliable mainframe platforms, there was more and more need for distributed access to application and data resources.
The IS industry succeeded in connecting the two worlds of PC's and mainframes by implementing a client/server model with distributed databases. With the evolution of multi-platform applications over a variety of networking infrastructures, it appeared that PC's might replace mainframe computers. However, as people in the IS industry realized the immense overall costs of this approach, the client/server model evolved in many directions.
The choice of a wider variety of computer platforms improves the enterprise's ability to make appropriate investments in the evolving computing marketplace. The following is a description of various computer platforms and some of their characteristics.
Non-Programmable Terminals (NPT's) are often found in large enterprises connected to host-based applications systems. With the NPT, the user interface is managed and controlled by the central processing system. Historically, these terminals were the first to bring end-user access to information in the enterprise's central databases.
Network Computers (NC's), based on RISC processors, offer greater versatility than NPT's because they have a built-in capability to run emulation software and to provide access to Java™ and Windows™-based applications, such as browsers. NC's are typically implemented with only a general purpose processor, a system memory, and a communications port. Although other types of peripheral devices may be included, local drives, such as hard disk and floppy drives, are characteristically absent from such data processing systems. While the primary reason for not providing a local drive within such data processing systems is cost-saving, other reasons may include low-power requirement and compactness. Therefore, NC's typically rely upon network access to provide dynamic, non-volatile data storage capability. Managed PC's provide an Intel-based (or compatible) hardware platform that offers one the ability to run network computing operating systems. NC's and managed PC's are very similar. The major difference is that NC's generally have sealed cases and are not up-gradeable, while managed PC's have locked covers and can be upgraded.
Traditional PC's, such as desktop and laptop PC's, are designed to offer highly sophisticated end-user environments. People who travel a lot, or who work at various locations, may use laptop PC's that require local, nonvolatile storage devices and a fully functional set of applications wherever they are, whether or not there is network connection available. The installation of workgroup computing software and complete application suites requires a powerful machine with significant local networking capabilities.
Each of the various network computing platforms has advantages and disadvantages. NPT's have the advantage of presenting a standard platform to each user. However, as users become more technically sophisticated through everyday use of various computing devices, users demand more options in their access to data and to computing resources, which may not be available through the use of NPT's. Managed PC's may have the ability to be tailored for sophisticated users, but as their name implies, managed PC's are purposely restricted in the number and variety of the software applications and hardware configurations which are presented to the user.
Traditional PC's on a network have the advantage of providing extensive flexibility. In order to accommodate their need for computing resources, users may add peripherals and software applications directly to a PC, while a network administrator may provide other resources on the network for many users in a common fashion. The disadvantages include the immense burden placed on a network or system administrator in ensuring that the various PC's retain some semblance of a standard configuration. Certain operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows NT, provide various levels of system administration capabilities for accomplishing such tasks. However, enormous costs and amounts of time may be spent in accommodating user preferences while ensuring corporate directives for the use of standard configurations.
One of the main advantages of network computing is the any-to-any type of connectivity between applications without having to worry about the hardware or software platforms in use. Network computing can be described as the use of different open technologies providing connectivity, ease-of-use, application functionality, information access, scalability, and systems management across widely dispersed types of networks. By making use of open standard technologies, network computing provides many advantages of the client/server paradigm while avoiding its numerous disadvantages. This goal could be achieved by the implementation of standards on all the platforms involved, such as TCP/IP, for the networking protocol, and 100% pure Java™ applications, in the hope that it will lead to truly portable applications, and solutions where in the network computing environment, all devices are able to easily communicate with one another. Another advantage of network computing with NC's is the ability to provide functions for accessing data and applications while reducing the overall costs of operating an enterprise-wide environment. One may choose from a wider scope of configurations for the NC's to fit corporate requirements and reduce the overall costs. However, if the network computing environment is not managed properly, the administrative time and costs may be greater than those incurred in a traditional PC network. One disadvantage is that NC's, relative to other technologies, are still in a development and exploratory stage, although the IS industry believes that a networking platform with NC's may provide user-desired preferences while accomplishing corporate goals.
A common problem in many computing platforms is the necessity to maintain system administrative knowledge of enterprise-wide computer configurations while allowing some type of flexibility in the computer configurations. When one discusses the configuration of a computer, though, one necessarily must address multiple operating systems as different operating systems continue to be developed and deployed. A portion of any solution to the configuration-maintenance problem must also address the operating system configuration within the enterprise.
Looking towards a transition to network computing, the new network computing devices will not entirely replace the PC. Because different users have varying application needs, different technologies have to be employed to serve those needs, and those different technologies will be accompanied by different operating systems. Hence, there is a need for enterprise-wide support of multiple operating systems for these different computing platforms.
One solution to supporting multiple operating systems has been to develop the ability to boot a local client or NC through a remote server. In the normal operation of a stand-alone computer system, a user issues a boot command to the computer. The compute
Davis, Jr. Louis Freeman
Magnuson James Lee
Rothman Michael Abraham
International Business Machines - Corporation
LaBaw Jeffrey S.
Walder, Jr. Stephen J.
Wiley David
Yee Duke W.
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