System for providing software application updates to multiple clients on a network

• US 20050010916A1
• Filed: 05/24/2004
• Published: 01/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Gatelinx Corporation
• Original Assignee: Gatelinx Corporation
• Inventors: Stefanik, Rick, Hagen, David A.
• Application Number:
  US10/852,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20050010916A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/170
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

System for providing software application updates to multiple clients on a network including a server component and a client component. The version of the software application on the client component is compared with the version of the application stored on the server component to determine whether the client'"'"'s version is outdated. If an update is necessary, a first data transmission channel is established between the client and server components and the client recursively works through each file of the software application and sends a cyclical redundancy check (CRC) to the server for each file. The server recursively compares each CRC from the client with the equivalent file on the server to determine which files need to be updated or deleted. A second data transmission channel is established to transmit any updates to the client component.

Claims

1. A method for providing software updates to multiple client computers on a network comprising the steps of:

altering at least one file of a software application stored on a server computer on a network;

sending an application status request from a client computer on the network to the server computer;

the server computer responding to the application status request from the client computer with indicia identifying the version of the software application that is stored on the server computer;

comparing the indicia identifying the version of the software application that is stored on the server computer with indicia identifying the version of the software application that is stored on the client computer;

sending a software update request to the server computer if it is determined that the version of the software application stored on the client computer is outdated as compared to the version of the software application stored on the client computer;

establishing a first data transmission channel between the client computer and the server computer;

the client computer recursively working through each file of the software application stored on the client computer and sending a cyclical redundancy check (CRC) to the server computer for each file;

the server computer recursively comparing the CRC for each file of the software application from the client computer to the equivalent file of the software application stored on the server computer;

the server computer sending a notification to the client computer on whether each reviewed file of the software application on the client computer needs to be updated or deleted based on the CRC comparison; and

establishing a second data transmission channel between the client computer and the server computer for updating the files of the software application that are determined to need updating.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of the server computer responding to the application status request from the client computer with indicia identifying when the version of the software application that is stored on the server computer should be implemented on the client computer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein further comprising the steps of the server computer sending a notification to the client computer regarding software application files that need to be added to the software application stored on the client computer and writing said files to a working directory on the client computer.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein each software application file update further comprises a plurality of scripts for assembling an updated working directory on the client computer, copying new files to appropriate locations in the working directory, and cleaning up files in the working directory in the case that an update process is cancelled.