Data processing: software development – installation – and managem – Software installation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-06
2003-07-22
Khatri, Anil (Department: 2122)
Data processing: software development, installation, and managem
Software installation
C717S168000, C717S174000, C717S178000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06598223
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to computer systems, and, more particularly, to a method and system for installing and testing build-to-order components as part of an image-based software installation in a computer system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A build-to-order (BTO) computer system manufacturing process is driven by menu selection of peripherals, operating system, and application(s). An order for a computer manufactured according to a build-to-order manufacturing process may be placed via an online connection or by telephone. Selections include basic system, RAM, ROM, processor, plug-in cards, operating system (OS), and software applications. A build-to-order manufacturing process is complicated by the large number of possible computer system configurations, and the lack of prior knowledge on the part of the computer system manufacturer as to the configuration to expect from each customer. BTO involves mass configuration/customization where each configuration may be built to an order size of one.
The steps of a build-to-order manufacturing process are: A customer order drives what hardware is to be assembled for a given custom configured computer system. After hardware assembly, the target system is put into a burn rack. In the bum rack, hardware is tested (e.g., using software based tools and utilities) and software downloaded. During software download, the software is layered onto the hard disk drive of the target system. There exist separate software components i) for the OS, ii) for drivers that are specific to plug-in cards and other devices which have been added to a custom configured computer system, and iii) for various applications, which have been ordered with the custom configured computer system.
As discussed, the software components are layered onto the hard drive of the target system in accordance with the customer order. There may be some number of adjustments or modifications that are made to the downloaded software to account for interactions, in certain instances, for use later during OS set-up. For instance, a software driver may support several different plug-in cards and an adjustment to the configuration of the software driver may be required to handle interoperability between components. Upon completion of processing in the burn rack, the custom configured computer system is scanned for viruses, packaged, and shipped to the customer.
Once the computer system is shipped to the customer, if the OS and other applications are not pre-loaded at the time of manufacture of the computer system, the customer must load the OS and applications at the customer site. This process may take between twenty and forty-five minutes. The build-to-order manufacturing process described above, in which a computer system is shipped to the customer for initial set-up by the customer is referred to as the “spray and pray” manufacturing model. That is, the computer manufacturer sprays the bits down onto the hard disk drive and prays that when the customer performs the initial computer system set-up at the customer site, long after the manufacturer has touched the computer system, that the computer system initial set-up works well. The “spray and pray” model is problematic for several reasons. First, during the loading and initialization of the OS and applications by the customer at the customer site, it is not unusual for the customer to turn the system OFF and then ON again, believing that the inactivity of the computer system is an indication that the system is hung. If the computer is powered off during initial installation, the computer system configuration and initial set-up process may be severely affected. In this scenario, additional customer service is necessary and the OS may have to be reloaded by the computer manufacturer to place the system in its pre-shipment state so that the initial set-up process can begin again.
Another difficulty of the “spray and pray” model is that there is not a method for conclusively determining if the set-up will complete properly or has completed properly. There is no check of the hardware and software integrity of the completed system. With this model, the set-up is not complete until the computer system is at the customer site and undergoes the OS set-up. Because each custom built computer system includes a unique configuration, where the components can be different from one system to another, there was no readily available way to verify that everything on a given computer system was installed correctly and working, properly. In such an instance, a customer's action of not calling the manufacturer for technical support was an indication that the OS set-up was successful. In addition, the OS set-up may have completed to a certain level at which the customer didn't recognize that the OS set-up did not completely set up.
Moreover, every single possible combination of computer system configuration (hardware and software) cannot be tested using traditional testing techniques. As discussed, each configuration is an order size of one, with the possibility that each system could be completely different. Testing every possible computer system configuration renders the BTO manufacturing process economically unacceptable and would further unduly lengthen the development process. Rather than test every custom computer system configuration, only a limited number or percentage of the configurations are tested (i.e. those configurations which are high runners). This however results in a very large number of configurations that do not get tested. For instance, the manufacturer may offer ten (10) base systems by ten (10) peripherals, by ten (10) other peripherals, by ten (10) applications, by ten (10) other applications, by ten (10) peripherals, etc. which would, result in too many combinations to test economically and in a timely manner. All of the combinations come together for producing completely unique systems. Thus with a build-to-order manufacturing process, an extremely large number of unique computer system configurations are possible. Furthermore, the set of all possible computer system configurations cannot be tested in the development portion of a build-to-order manufacturing process on an economically and timely basis to ensure that all possible interactions between the various software and hardware components have been identified prior to introduction of a new hardware or software component.
In the prior manufacturing process, tests may have been run to ensure as much as possible that defective component parts would not leave the factory. Components could be individually tested, however, as discussed above, it was not possible to test all configurations of components. A situation might arise, for example, in which a first component A and a second component L were installed in a computer system where the two components needed a common resource but could not share the resource. At the customer site, the two components (A and L) might end up interfering with one another during OS set-up. Independently, each component may have tested acceptable at the factory, however, the components were found to not work together in combination at the customer site. The components were not tested together with the OS that a customer intended to run. Instead, the components were individually tested using software tests, prior to installing the OS on the target system.
In a typical computer system, the OS (e.g., Windows™ 95 (W95), Windows™ 98 (W98), Windows NT™ (NT4 or NT5) from Microsoft Corporation, of Redmond, WA or other OS) requires that at an initial boot (such as, when a customer powers ON the computer system for the very first time), a lengthy process of software installation, hardware detection, and hardware/software configuration be executed. Such a process can take between twenty (20) and forty-five (45) minutes for many custom-configured build-to-order computer systems, and generates considerable user confusion. As previously described, any interruption of this process may result in a syst
Barajas Gaston M.
Vrhel, Jr. Thomas
Baker & Botts L.L.P.
Dell USA L.P.
Khatri Anil
LandOfFree
Method and system for installing and testing build-to-order... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and system for installing and testing build-to-order..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and system for installing and testing build-to-order... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3044495