Hierarchy of preferences and preference groups
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer network comprising:
- a plurality of workstations, wherein each of said workstations include uniquely configurable hardware devices and software applications;
a workstation server, wherein said workstation server is operationally connected to said plurality of workstations, and includes a plurality of preference files stored in memory wherein each preference file includes configuration information; and
a preference manager that provides a coalesced set of configuration parameters to any one of said workstations wherein said preference manager includes a first set of functional components that reside on each of said plurality of workstations and a second set of functional components that reside on said workstation server, said preference manager including a system that selects from said plurality of preference files and a system that coalesces said selected preference files.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method of workstation configuration that includes a multi-level hierarchy management of preferences which are essentially managed and stored with a file server, rather than with each individual workstation. The invention comprises a computer network that includes workstations that have configurable hardware devices and software applications; a workstation server connected to the workstations that includes hierarchical preference files containing configuration information; and a preference manager for providing a coalesced, or merged, set of configuration parameters to the workstations based on the information in the hierarchical preference files.
-
Citations
44 Claims
-
1. A computer network comprising:
-
a plurality of workstations, wherein each of said workstations include uniquely configurable hardware devices and software applications; a workstation server, wherein said workstation server is operationally connected to said plurality of workstations, and includes a plurality of preference files stored in memory wherein each preference file includes configuration information; and a preference manager that provides a coalesced set of configuration parameters to any one of said workstations wherein said preference manager includes a first set of functional components that reside on each of said plurality of workstations and a second set of functional components that reside on said workstation server, said preference manager including a system that selects from said plurality of preference files and a system that coalesces said selected preference files. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A program product that sets configuration preferences on a networked workstation, said program product comprising:
-
a recordable media; and a preference manager recorded on said recordable media, said preference manager including; a selection mechanism that selects from a plurality of preference files stored on a network file server and downloads said selected preference files to said networked workstation, said selection mechanism being executable on said network file server; and a coalescing mechanism that receives a plurality of configuration parameters from each of said selected preference files and that applies said configuration parameters to said networked workstation, said coalescing mechanism being executable on said networked workstation. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
-
30. A method for managing preferences for a client computer in a network, comprising:
-
selecting a preference file from a plurality of preference files stored on a file server, wherein said plurality of preference files contain configuration parameters for client computers in the network; sequentially downloading from said file server said configuration parameters stored in said selected preference files to said client computer; and applying said configuration parameters to said client workstation; and merging said configuration parameters with any previously applied configuration parameters. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. A method of setting user preferences on a client workstation during a log-on procedure, comprising the steps of:
-
downloading configuration information from a first file stored at a central location containing manufacturer preference parameters; downloading configuration information from a second file stored at said central location containing installation preference parameters; downloading configuration information from a third file stored at said central location containing terminal specific configuration parameters; downloading configuration information from a fourth file stored at said central location containing user preference parameters; and merging and applying said configuration information from said first, second, third and fourth file to said client workstation. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
-
-
40. A network system comprising:
-
a file server having a first bus, a first central processing unit, a first computer system memory connected to said first central processing unit via said first bus, and a server preference manager stored in said first computer system memory and executable by said first central processing unit, said server preference manager including a selection mechanism that selects from a plurality of hierarchical preference files stored in said first computer system memory wherein said selection mechanism selects up to one preference file from each of a plurality of hierarchy levels; and a client, said client being networked to said file server and having a second bus, a second central processing unit, a second computer system memory connected to said second central processing unit via said second bus, and a client preference manager stored in said second computer system memory and executable by said second central processing unit, said client preference manager including a coalescing mechanism that receives, coalesces and applies configuration parameters from said selected hierarchical preference files to said client. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42)
-
-
43. A network station manager for managing and storing programs and data for a plurality of network stations, said network station manager comprising:
-
a bus; a central processing unit; a computer system memory, said computer system memory being connected to said central processing unit via said bus; and a preference manager, said preference manager stored in said computer system memory and executable by said central processing unit, said preference manager including; a selection mechanism that selects from a plurality of hierarchical preference files stored in said computer system memory and that downloads configuration information from said selected preference files to said network stations, wherein said selection mechanism selects up to one preference file from each of a plurality of hierarchy levels; and a coalescing mechanism that is downloadable to, and executable on, said network stations wherein said coalescing mechanism coalesces and applies downloaded configuration parameters to said network stations. - View Dependent Claims (44)
-
Specification