Remote BIOS upgrade of an appliance server by rebooting from updated BIOS that has been downloaded into service partition before flashing programmable ROM
First Claim
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1. An appliance server system comprising:
- a server including a programmable Read Only Memory (ROM) including a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS);
a storage device partitioned into a plurality of different partitions, said plurality of different partitions including a service partition to store an updated BIOS;
an upgrade element operative to cause the server to re-boot off of the updated BIOS in the service partition, write the updated BIOS to the programmable ROM, and then re-boot from the updated BIOS on the programmable ROM;
a network connection coupled to the server; and
a remote administrator coupled to the server via said network connection operative to initiate a download of the upgraded BIOS to the partition.
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Abstract
An appliance server system having remote-configurable capability is disclosed. The server system includes a server, a remote interfacing computer, and a network connection. The server receives and extracts configuration upgrade information. The remote interfacing computer formulates and provides the configuration upgrade information. The network connection couples the server to the remote interfacing computer.
75 Citations
12 Claims
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1. An appliance server system comprising:
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a server including a programmable Read Only Memory (ROM) including a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS);
a storage device partitioned into a plurality of different partitions, said plurality of different partitions including a service partition to store an updated BIOS;
an upgrade element operative to cause the server to re-boot off of the updated BIOS in the service partition, write the updated BIOS to the programmable ROM, and then re-boot from the updated BIOS on the programmable ROM;
a network connection coupled to the server; and
a remote administrator coupled to the server via said network connection operative to initiate a download of the upgraded BIOS to the partition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method comprising:
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obtaining remote upgraded Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) information;
transferring said upgraded BIOS information into a designated partition of a storage device at a headless client;
re-booting the headless client using the upgraded BIOS information in the designated partition;
upgrading BIOS information in a programmable Read Only Memory (ROM) in said headless client based on said upgraded BIOS information; and
re-booting the headless client using the upgraded BIOS information in the programmable ROM. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus comprising a computer-readable storage medium having executable instructions that enable the computer to:
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obtain remote upgraded Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) information;
transfer said upgraded BIOS information into a designated partition of a storage device at a headless client;
re-boot the headless client using the upgraded BIOS information in the designated partition;
upgrade BIOS information in a programmable Read Only Memory (ROM) based on said upgraded BIOS information; and
re-booting the headless client using the upgraded BIOS information in the programmable ROM. - View Dependent Claims (12)
invoke memory flash.
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Specification