Method and apparatus for remote modification of system configuration

• US 8,990,366 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2010
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Bolay, Frederick H., Nalawadi, Rajeev K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazaro, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): KOROBOV, VITALI A
• Application Number:
  US12/965,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20120151020A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,565 Days
• Field of Search: 709/221, 709/227, 709/220, 713/100, 455/418
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A method and apparatus for updating the system configuration settings of a computer system Embodiments include a remote system configuration system that enables a user to update the system configuration of a target machine from a server machine over a network or similar communications system. Another embodiment includes a system configuration method using a bus master device to write system configuration data into a target computer system.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a server computing device including logic to send at least a portion of an up-to-date version of a client system settings configuration and handling information to identify an active update or a passive update to a client computing device;

the client computing device including logic to

compare the at least portion of the up-to-date version of the client system settings configuration with a current version of the client system settings configuration being utilized on the client computing device;

determine whether the current version of the client system settings configuration needs to be updated;

determine whether a change on the current version of the client system settings can be made without rebooting the client computing device based at least in part on the handling information; and

update the current version of the client system settings configuration being utilized on the client computing device, based at least in part on the at least portion of the up-to-date version of the client system settings configuration received from the server computing device without rebooting the client computing device when said update can be made without rebooting the client computing device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least portion of the up-to-date version of the client system settings configuration is essentially equal to a set of differences in the up-to-date version of the client system settings configuration that are not present in the current client system settings configuration being utilized on the client computing device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the client computing device stores the received at least portion of the up-to-date version of the client system settings configuration locally for a period of time prior to performing the update to the current version of client system settings configuration being utilized on the client computing device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the client computing device comprises a mobile device capable of sending and receiving cellular telephony communications, the client computing device being communicatively coupled to the server computing device over a cellular network.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the client computing device further comprises:

a non-volatile, rewriteable memory to store at least the current version of the client system settings configuration being utilized on the client computing device.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the server computing device further includes logic to send an indication of whether the change on the current version of the client system settings can be made without rebooting the client computing device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the client computing device determines whether to update the current version of the client system settings without rebooting the client computing device based at least in part on the indication received from the server computing device.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the client computing device reboots before updating the current version of the client system settings configuration based at least in part on the indication received from the server computing device.

6. A client computing device, comprising:

a memory;

a processor coupled to the memory; and

logic operable on the processor to;

retrieve an up-to-date version of a client system settings configuration and handling information to identify an active update or a passive update from a server computing device;

determine whether one or more settings in the up-to-date version of the client system settings configuration are modified from a corresponding one or more settings in a current version of the client system settings configuration being utilized on the client computing device; and

in response to at least one of the one or more settings in the up-to-date version of the client system settings configuration being modified, update the current version of the client system settings configuration being utilized on the client computing device according to the handling information and the at least one of the one or more modified settings in the up-to-date version of the client system settings configuration without rebooting the client computing device when said update can be made without rebooting the client computing device.

7. The client computing device of claim 6, wherein the client computing device communicates with the server computing devices over a cellular network.

8. The client computing device of claim 6, wherein the client computing device comprises a mobile device capable of sending and receiving cellular telephony communications, the client computing device being communicatively coupled to the server computing device over a cellular network.

9. The client computing device of claim 6, wherein the up-to-date version of the client system configuration is stored in a non-volatile, rewriteable memory, and the current version of client system configuration being utilized on the client computing device is updated to the up-to-date version of the client system configuration during a reboot of the client computing device.

10. The client computing device of claim 6, wherein the logic is configured to determine whether the one or more settings in the up-to-date version of the client system settings configuration are modified from the corresponding one or more settings in the current version of the client system settings configuration being utilized in the client computing device, during a reboot of the client computing device.

11. The client computing device of claim 6, wherein the client computing device determines whether said update can be made without rebooting the client computing device based at least in part on an indication, received from the server device, indicating whether said update can be made without rebooting the client computing device.

12. The client computing device of claim 6, wherein the client computing device reboots before updating the current version of the client system settings configuration based at least in part on an indication, received from the server device, indicating whether said update can be made without rebooting the client computing device.