Software installation and recovery system

• US 6,490,722 B1
• Filed: 10/20/1999
• Issued: 12/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Stone, Steven C., Barton, James M., Platt, David C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dam, Tuan Q.
• Assistant Examiner(s): KENDALL, CHUCK O
• Application Number:
  US09/422,034
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/223, 713/2, 713/100, 713/200, 717/174, 717/176
• US Class Current: 717/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1417 Boot up procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/032 on tapes G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4432 Powering on the client, e.g. bootstrap loading using setup parameters being stored locally or received from the server resetting in general G06F1/14; program loading or initiating in general G06F9/445; bootstrapping in general G06F9/4401; secure boots of computer platforms G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 : Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 : for more than one processing mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8063 : using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A software installation and recovery system provides an initial bootstrap sequence of instructions that initializes the low-level parameters of the client device, initializes the persistent storage system, loads a bootstrap loader from the persistent store into program memory, and passes execution to the bootstrap loader. A second stage boot loader locates the operating system in the persistent store, loads the operating system into program memory, and passes execution to the operating system which then performs necessary hardware and software initialization, loads the viewing object database code and other application software from the persistent store, and begins execution of the applications. The persistent store contains at least two partitions for each of the following: the second stage boot loader; the operating system kernel; and the application software. A partition table resides in the boot sector that records an indication for duplicated partitions in which one of the partitions is marked primary and another is marked backup. The invention verifies that each level of software was loaded off of the primary partition. If a load was from the primary partition and the installation at that level was successful, then a successful indication is recorded for that level, otherwise, the backup partition for that level is copied over the primary partition and a failure indication is recorded for that level. Finalizing the installation for the top application level of software may be delayed until all parts of the application environment have been successfully loaded and started.

Claims

1. A process for installing software and recovering from errors and problems arising from the storage and installation of said software in a persistent storage system without the use of redundant hardware in a computer environment, comprising the steps of:

providing an initial bootstrap sequence of instructions;

providing a bootstrap loader;

wherein said initial bootstrap instructions initialize low-level parameters of the client device, initialize said persistent storage system, and load said bootstrap loader from said persistent store into program memory, to which execution is then passed;

providing a second stage boot loader;

wherein said second stage boot loader locates the operating system in said persistent store, loads said operating system into program memory, and passes execution to said operating system;

wherein said operating system performs necessary hardware and software initialization, loads the viewing object database code and other application software from said persistent store, and begins execution of the applications;

providing a boot sector located in said persistent store;

wherein said boot sector contains sufficient information for said initial bootstrap to understand the partitioning of said persistent store, and to locate said second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the operating system kernel;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the application software;

providing a partition table;

wherein said partition table resides in said boot sector;

wherein an indication for duplicated partitions is recorded in said partition table in which one of the partitions is marked primary and another is marked backup; and

wherein said second stage boot loader reads said partition table, locates the primary operating system kernel, and attempts to load the program into program memory, wherein if the kernel cannot be loaded, the backup kernel is located and loaded instead and control is passed to the operating system along with an indication of the source partition, along with the passed source partition from the previous loads.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein said persistent store contains at least one partition to be used as scratch memory.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein said initial bootstrap sequence resides in a read-only or electrically programmable memory.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein on boot, said bootstrap loader reads said boot sector, scans said partition table, locates the primary partition for said second stage boot loader, and attempts to load the program into program memory, wherein if the load of the primary partition of said second stage boot loader fails, said bootstrap loader attempts to load said second stage boot loader located in the backup partition into program memory, and wherein the boot loader then passes control to the newly loaded program, along with an indication of which partition the program was loaded from.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein said operating system locates the primary partition containing the application software and attempts to load the initial application, wherein if this fails, then the operating system locates the backup partition, loads the initial application from it, wherein said application software is started and an indication of the source partition is passed to the initial application, along with the source partition information from the previous loads.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein the status of software installation attempts is recorded in a database.

7. The process of claim 1, comprising the steps of:

verifying that the level of software was loaded off of the primary partition;

wherein if the load was from the primary partition and the installation at that level was successful, then indicating success for that level; and

wherein if the primary load was unsuccessful, then the backup partition for that level is copied over the primary partition and a failure indication for that level is recorded.

8. The process of claim 1, wherein finalizing the installation for the top application level of software may be delayed until all parts of the application environment have been successfully loaded and started.

9. A process for installing software and recovering from errors and problems arising from the storage and installation of said software in a persistent storage system without the use of redundant hardware in a computer environment, comprising the steps of:

providing an initial bootstrap sequence of instructions;

providing a bootstrap loader;

wherein said initial bootstrap instructions initialize low-level parameters of the client device, initialize said persistent storage system, and load said bootstrap loader from said persistent store into program memory, to which execution is then passed;

providing a second stage boot loader;

wherein said second stage boot loader locates the operating system in said persistent store, loads said operating system into program memory, and passes execution to said operating system;

wherein said operating system performs necessary hardware and software initialization, loads the viewing object database code and other application software from said persistent store, and begins execution of the applications;

providing a boot sector located in said persistent store;

wherein said boot sector contains sufficient information for said initial bootstrap to understand the partitioning of said persistent store, and to locate said second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the operating system kernel;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the application software;

providing a partition table;

wherein said partition table resides in said boot sector;

wherein an indication for duplicated partitions is recorded in said partition table in which one of the partitions is marked primary and another is marked backup; and

wherein when installing a new software image, the new software image is first copied into the appropriate backup partition, an indication is made in the database that a software installation is underway, the primary and backup partition indications in said partition table are then swapped, and the system rebooted.

10. An apparatus for installing software and recovering from errors and problems arising from the storage and installation of said software in a persistent storage system without the use of redundant hardware in a computer environment, comprising:

an initial bootstrap sequence of instructions;

a bootstrap loader;

wherein said initial bootstrap instructions initialize low-level parameters of the client device, initialize said persistent storage system, and load said bootstrap loader from said persistent store into program memory, to which execution is then passed;

a second stage boot loader;

wherein said second stage boot loader locates the operating system in said persistent store, loads said operating system into program memory, and passes execution to said operating system;

wherein said operating system performs necessary hardware and software initialization, loads the viewing object database code and other application software from said persistent store, and begins execution of the applications;

a boot sector located in said persistent store;

wherein said boot sector contains sufficient information for said initial bootstrap to understand the partitioning of said persistent store, and to locate said second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the operating system kernel;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the application software;

a partition table;

wherein said partition table resides in said boot sector;

wherein an indication for duplicated partitions is recorded in said partition table in which one of the partitions is marked primary and another is marked backup; and

wherein said second stage boot loader reads said partition table, locates the primary operating system kernel, and attempts to load the program into program memory, wherein if the kernel cannot be loaded, the backup kernel is located and loaded instead and control is passed to the operating system along with an indication of the source partition, along with the passed source partition from the previous loads.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said persistent store contains at least one partition to be used as scratch memory.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said initial bootstrap sequence resides in a read-only or electrically programmable memory.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein on boot, said bootstrap loader reads said boot sector, scans said partition table, locates the primary partition for said second stage boot loader, and attempts to load the program into program memory, wherein if the load of the primary partition of said second stage boot loader fails, said bootstrap loader attempts to load said second stage boot loader located in the backup partition into program memory, and wherein the boot loader then passes control to the newly loaded program, along with an indication of which partition the program was loaded from.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said operating system locates the primary partition containing the application software and attempts to load the initial application, wherein if this fails, then the operating system locates the backup partition, loads the initial application from it, wherein said application software is started and an indication of the source partition is passed to the initial application, along with the source partition information from the previous loads.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the status of software installation attempts is recorded in a database.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, comprising:

a module for verifying that the level of software was loaded off of the primary partition;

wherein if the load was from the primary partition and the installation at that level was successful, then indicating success for that level; and

wherein if the primary load was unsuccessful, then the backup partition for that level is copied over the primary partition and a failure indication for that level is recorded.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein finalizing the installation for the top application level of software may be delayed until all parts of the application environment have been successfully loaded and started.

18. An apparatus for installing software and recovering from errors and problems arising from the storage and installation of said software in a persistent storage system without the use of redundant hardware in a computer environment, comprising:

an initial bootstrap sequence of instructions;

a bootstrap loader;

wherein said initial bootstrap instructions initialize low-level parameters of the client device, initialize said persistent storage system, and load said bootstrap loader from said persistent store into program memory, to which execution is then passed;

a second stage boot loader;

wherein said second stage boot loader locates the operating system in said persistent store, loads said operating system into program memory, and passes execution to said operating system;

wherein said operating system performs necessary hardware and software initialization, loads the viewing object database code and other application software from said persistent store, and begins execution of the applications;

a boot sector located in said persistent store;

wherein said boot sector contains sufficient information for said initial bootstrap to understand the partitioning of said persistent store, and to locate said second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the operating system kernel;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the application software;

a partition table;

wherein said partition table resides in said boot sector; and

wherein an indication for duplicated partitions is recorded in said partition table in which one of the partitions is marked primary and another is marked backup; and

wherein when installing a new software image, the new software image is first copied into the appropriate backup partition, an indication is made in the database that a software installation is underway, the primary and backup partition indications in said partition table are then swapped, and the system rebooted.

19. A program storage medium readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps for installing software and recovering from errors and problems arising from the storage and installation of said software in a persistent storage system without the use of redundant hardware in a computer environment, comprising the steps of:

providing an initial bootstrap sequence of instructions;

providing a bootstrap loader;

wherein said initial bootstrap instructions initialize low-level parameters of the client device, initialize said persistent storage system, and load said bootstrap loader from said persistent store into program memory, to which execution is then passed;

providing a second stage boot loader;

wherein said second stage boot loader locates the operating system in said persistent store, loads said operating system into program memory, and passes execution to said operating system;

wherein said operating system performs necessary hardware and software initialization, loads the viewing object database code and other application software from said persistent store, and begins execution of the applications;

providing a boot sector located in said persistent store;

wherein said boot sector contains sufficient information for said initial bootstrap to understand the partitioning of said persistent store, and to locate said second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the operating system kernel;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the application software;

providing a partition table;

wherein said partition table resides in said boot sector;

wherein an indication for duplicated partitions is recorded in said partition table in which one of the partitions is marked primary and another is marked backup; and

wherein said second stage boot loader reads said partition table, locates the primary operating system kernel, and attempts to load the program into program memory, wherein if the kernel cannot be loaded, the backup kernel is located and loaded instead and control is passed to the operating system along with an indication of the source partition, along with the passed source partition from the previous loads.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said persistent store contains at least one partition to be used as scratch memory.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein said initial bootstrap sequence resides in a read-only or electrically programmable memory.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein on boot, said bootstrap loader reads said boot sector, scans said partition table, locates the primary partition for said second stage boot loader, and attempts to load the program into program memory, wherein if the load of the primary partition of said second stage boot loader fails, said bootstrap loader attempts to load said second stage boot loader located in the backup partition into program memory, and wherein the boot loader then passes control to the newly loaded program, along with an indication of which partition the program was loaded from.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein said operating system locates the primary partition containing the application software and attempts to load the initial application, wherein if this fails, then the operating system locates the backup partition, loads the initial application from it, wherein said application software is started and an indication of the source partition is passed to the initial application, along with the source partition information from the previous loads.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the status of software installation attempts is recorded in a database.

25. The method of claim 19, comprising the steps of:

verifying that the level of software was loaded off of the primary partition;

wherein if the load was from the primary partition and the installation at that level was successful, then indicating success for that level; and

wherein if the primary load was unsuccessful, then the backup partition for that level is copied over the primary partition and a failure indication for that level is recorded.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein finalizing the installation for the top application level of software may be delayed until all parts of the application environment have been successfully loaded and started.

27. A program storage medium readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps for installing software and recovering from errors and problems arising from the storage and installation of said software in a persistent storage system without the use of redundant hardware in a computer environment, comprising the steps of:

providing an initial bootstrap sequence of instructions;

providing a bootstrap loader;

wherein said initial bootstrap instructions initialize low-level parameters of the client device, initialize said persistent storage system, and load said bootstrap loader from said persistent store into program memory, to which execution is then passed;

providing a second stage boot loader;

wherein said second stage boot loader locates the operating system in said persistent store, loads said operating system into program memory, and passes execution to said operating system;

wherein said operating system performs necessary hardware and software initialization, loads the viewing object database code and other application software from said persistent store, and begins execution of the applications;

providing a boot sector located in said persistent store;

wherein said boot sector contains sufficient information for said initial bootstrap to understand the partitioning of;

said persistent store, and to locate said second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the second stage boot loader;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the operating system kernel;

wherein said persistent store contains at least two partitions, each containing a copy of the application software;

providing a partition table;

wherein said partition table resides in said boot sector;

wherein an indication for duplicated partitions is recorded in said partition table in which one of the partitions is marked primary and another is marked backup; and

wherein when installing a new software image, the new software image is first copied into the appropriate backup partition, an indication is made in the database that a software installation is underway, the primary and backup partition indications in said partition table are then swapped, and the system rebooted.