Systems and Methods of Installing An Application Without Rebooting

• US 20080046371A1
• Filed: 08/21/2006
• Published: 02/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Soni, Ajay, Venkatraman, Charu, He, Junxiao, Kumar, Arkesh
• Granted Patent: US 8,769,522 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A method for automatically changing a version of a client agent for a non-administrative user account without rebooting the user'"'"'s machine uses a service having installation privileges. The service executes on the client and installs a client agent. The client agent communicates with a network appliance. The client agent detects a difference between its version and a version of the client agent identified by the network appliance. The agent signals the service that it has detected the difference and, in response, the service executes an installation program that installs, without rebooting the client, the version of the client agent identified by the appliance. A corresponding system is also described.

Claims

1. A method for automatically changing a version of a client agent for a non-administrative user account without rebooting, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) executing, on a client, a service having an installation privilege to execute an installation program, the installation program provides installation of a client agent for communicating with an appliance;

(b) detecting, by a first version of the client agent executing for a non-administrative user on the client, a difference between the first version of the client agent and a second version of the client agent identified by the appliance;

(c) executing, by the service, the installation program in response to receiving a signal from the first version of the client agent; and

(d) installing, by the installation program without rebooting the client, the second version of the client agent identified by the appliance.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising automatically using, by the non-administrative user, the second version of the client agent upon installation.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising installing, by the installation program, the second version of the client agent transparently to the non-administrative user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the first version or the second version of the client agent is required to be installed by one of a user with installation privilege or an administrative user.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising installing one of the service or the installation program a first time on the client via an administrative user account.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising identifying, by the appliance, the version of the client agent comprises one of an upgrade or a downgrade to the first version of the client agent.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising detecting, by the first version of the client agent, the version of the client agent identified by the appliance is one of an upgrade or a downgrade to the first version of the client agent.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising transmitting, by the first client agent, the signal as a socket event on a predetermined User Datagram Protocol port.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein step(b) comprises receiving, by the first version of the client agent, a HyperText Markup language (HTML) file transmitted from the appliance and having a tag identifying the version of the client agent.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first client agent comprises a plugin to a web browser.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising unregistering, by the first version of the client agent, itself with the web browser, and deleting the HTML file from a cache of the web browser.

12. The method of claim 10, comprising requesting, by the first version of the client agent, the web browser to reload the HTML file.

13. A system for automatically changing a version of a client agent for a non-administrative user account without rebooting, the system comprising

a service executing on a client having an installation privilege to execute an installation program, the installation program provides installation of a client agent on the client for communicating with an appliance;

a first version of the client agent, executing for a non-administrative user on the client, detecting a difference between the first version of the client agent and a second version of the client agent identified by the appliance, the first version of the client agent transmitting a signal to the service upon detection;

wherein the service executes an installation program in response to receiving the signal; and

the installation program installs the second version of the client agent identified by the appliance without rebooting the client.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein upon installation, the second version of the client agent is automatically used by the non-administrative user.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the installation program installs the second version of the client agent transparently to the non-administrative user.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein one of the first version or the second version of the client agent is required to be installed by one of a user with installation privilege or an administrative user.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein one of the service or the installation program is installed a first time on the client via an administrative user account.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the version of the client agent identified by the appliance comprises one of an upgrade or a downgrade to the version of the first client agent.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the first client agent transmits the signal as a socket event on a predetermined User Datagram Protocol port.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the installed client agent receives a HyperText Markup language (HTML) file transmitted from the appliance, the HTML file having a tag identifying the version of the client agent identified by the appliance.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein the first client agent comprises a plugin to a web browser.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the first client agent unregisters itself with the web browser, and deletes the HTML file from a cache of the web browser.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the first client agent requests the web browser to reload the HTML file.