Information handling system manufacture method and system

• US 20040199758A1
• Filed: 04/03/2003
• Published: 10/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Brisky, Philip, Meaney, Roy, Tallieu, Joseph, Hoxworth, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 7,159,106 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4416 Network booting; Remote initial program loading [RIPL]

Abstract

A universal PXE client obtains configuration information for an information handling system, applies the configuration information to create a drive on the information handling system and loads a manufacture operating system in the drive. The manufacture operating system runs a manufacture application that configures the software of the information handling system. The universal PXE client is generated by a scripting engine of a network boot program that is downloaded to the information handling system with a NIC boot kernel activated on power-up. The state of manufacture is periodically saved to a network location that tracks manufacture progress and persists manufacture state information through system re-boots.

Claims

1. A system for managing software configuration at manufacture of information handling systems, the system comprising:

a manufacture server operable to interface with the information handling system through a network and having a configuration database that associates configuration information for each information handling system with an identifier for that information handling system;

a PXE server operable to interface with the information handling system through a network and having a manufacture operating system;

a network boot program stored on the PXE server and operable to execute as a PXE client on the information handling system; and

a boot kernel stored on the information handling system and operable to download the network boot program and to initiate execution of the PXE client;

wherein the PXE client is operable to determine an identifier of an information handling system, obtain the configuration information associated with the identifier in the configuration database, establish a drive on the information handling system with the configuration information and install the manufacture operating system in the drive.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the manufacture server further has a manufacture storage database operable to store the manufacture state of the information handling system.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the PXE client establishes the drive in random access memory of the information handling system.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the configuration information comprises the size of the random access memory drive.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the configuration information comprises an operating system image name.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the manufacture operating system comprises DOS.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the manufacture operating system comprises Linux.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the boot kernel comprises NIC firmware.

9. A method for performing software configuration at manufacture of an information handling system, the method comprising:

executing firmware instructions upon application of power to the information handling system to download a network boot program;

executing the network boot program to generate a PXE client on the information handling system;

discovering an identifier saved on the information handling system with the PXE client;

downloading a configuration information associated with the discovered identifier;

applying the configuration information with the PXE client to create a drive on the information handling system; and

loading a manufacture operating system in the drive with the PXE client.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the network boot program comprises a scripting engine.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein applying the configuration image further comprises:

determining a drive size for running the manufacture operating system; and

creating the drive in random access memory.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the manufacture operating system comprises DOS.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

removing the PXE client from the information handling system;

executing the manufacture operating system.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

building a manufacture application with the manufacture operating system;

copying the manufacture application state to a network location;

re-booting the information handling system; and

accessing the manufacture application state from the network location to continue with software configuration.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein the firmware instructions executed on application of power to the information handling system comprise NIC firmware instructions.

16. A method for configuring information handling system software through a network, the method comprising:

discovering a unique identifier saved on the information handling system;

retrieving from a network location configuration information associated with the unique identifier;

creating a drive in volatile memory according to the configuration information;

retrieving from a network location a manufacture operating system;

installing the manufacture operating system in the created drive; and

running the manufacture operating system to perform a manufacture application.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the volatile memory comprises random access memory.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein retrieving and installing the manufacture operating system further comprises running a PXE client that interacts with a PXE server, the PXE server storing the manufacture operating system.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

removing the PXE client; and

initiating the manufacture operating system.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

tracking manufacture states of the information handling system at a network location; and

re-establishing the manufacture state in random access memory after a re-boot of the information handling system.