Boot disk management utility
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of reducing downtime of a computer system during system maintenance, said method comprising the following steps:
- running an operating environment on a primary boot disk while system maintenance is performed on a secondary boot disk, wherein the system maintenance comprises identifying one or more patches to be applied to the system, queuing the patches for application, and applying the patches; and
rebooting to the secondary boot disk while maintaining the primary boot disk as a back-up boot environment.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer utility for reducing downtime required for applying patches to a UNIX system, and for allowing changes to the system to be rolled back in the event of problems with a patch.
20 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A method of reducing downtime of a computer system during system maintenance, said method comprising the following steps:
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running an operating environment on a primary boot disk while system maintenance is performed on a secondary boot disk, wherein the system maintenance comprises identifying one or more patches to be applied to the system, queuing the patches for application, and applying the patches; and
rebooting to the secondary boot disk while maintaining the primary boot disk as a back-up boot environment.
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2. A method of reducing downtime of a computer system during system maintenance, said method comprising the following steps:
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copying an operating environment from a primary boot disk to a secondary boot disk;
running the operating environment on the secondary boot disk while system maintenance is performed on the primary boot disk, wherein the system maintenance comprises identifying one or more patches to be applied to the system, queuing the patches for application, and applying the patches; and
rebooting to the primary boot disk while maintaining the secondary boot disk as a back-up boot environment.
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3. A method of reducing downtime of a computer system during system maintenance, said computer system comprising a primary boot disk mirrored to a secondary boot disk, said method comprising the following steps:
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breaking the mirrors between the primary boot disk and the secondary boot disk;
running the operating environment on the primary boot disk while system maintenance is performed on the secondary boot disk, wherein the system maintenance comprises identifying one or more patches to be applied to the system, queuing the patches for application, and applying the patches; and
rebooting to the secondary boot disk while maintaining the primary boot disk as a back-up boot environment. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A boot disk utility for facilitating system upgrades in a computer system, the computer system comprising a root disk group;
- a primary boot disk, the primary boot disk being encapsulated and comprising an original boot environment and a boot block; and
an encapsulated secondary boot disk, the primary boot disk being mirrored to the secondary boot disk, and having a disk media record;
the boot disk utility method comprising the following steps;
creating a bootable boot environment on the secondary boot disk;
mounting the boot environment of the secondary boot disk;
performing system maintenance on the boot environment of the secondary boot disk, wherein the system maintenance comprises identifying one or more patches to be applied to the system, queuing the patches for application, and applying the patches;
unmounting the boot environment of the secondary boot disk;
booting the boot environment on the secondary boot disk;
deleting the original boot environment of the primary boot disk;
designating the primary boot disk as part of the root disk group;
renaming the primary boot disk; and
mirroring the secondary boot disk to the primary boot disk.
- a primary boot disk, the primary boot disk being encapsulated and comprising an original boot environment and a boot block; and
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6. A computer system comprising:
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a primary boot disk; and
a secondary boot disk;
wherein an operating system is run on the primary boot disk while system maintenance is performed on the secondary boot disk, wherein the system maintenance comprises identification of one or more patches to be applied to the system, queuing of the patches for application, and application of the patches; and
the system is rebooted to the secondary boot disk while the primary boot disk is maintained as a back-up boot environment.
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7. A computer system comprising:
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a primary boot disk; and
a secondary boot disk;
wherein an operating environment is copied from the primary boot disk to the secondary boot disk, an operating environment is run on the secondary boot disk while system maintenance is performed on the primary boot disk, wherein the system maintenance comprises identification of one or more patches to be applied to the system, queuing of the patches for application, and application of the patches; and
the system is rebooted to the primary boot disk while the secondary boot disk is maintained as a back-up boot environment.
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8. A computer system comprising:
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a primary boot disk; and
a secondary boot disk;
wherein the primary boot disk is mirrored to the secondary boot disk, mirrors are broken between the primary boot disk and the secondary boot disk, an operating environment is run on the primary boot disk while system maintenance is performed on the secondary boot disk, and the system is rebooted to the secondary boot disk while maintaining the primary boot disk as a back-up boot environment wherein the system maintenance comprises identification of one or more patches to be applied to the system, queuing of the patches for application, and application of the patches. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A computer system comprising:
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a root disk group;
an encapsulated primary boot disk comprising an original boot environment, a disk media record, and a boot block; and
an encapsulated secondary boot disk;
wherein a bootable boot environment is created on the secondary boot disk;
the boot environment of the secondary boot disk is mounted;
system maintenance is performed on the boot environment of the secondary boot disk, wherein the system maintenance comprises identification of one or more patches to be applied to the system, queuing of the patches for application, and application of the patches;
the boot environment of the secondary boot disk is unmounted;
the boot environment on the secondary boot disk is rebooted;
the original boot environment is deleted from the primary boot disk;
the primary boot disk is designated as part of the root disk group;
the primary boot disk is renamed; and
the secondary boot disk is mirrored to the primary boot disk.
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Specification