Method and system for configuring and updating networked client stations using a virtual disk and a snapshot disk

• US 6,567,774 B1
• Filed: 01/30/1998
• Issued: 05/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Compaq Computer Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Edward K., Thekkath, Chandramohan A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jones, Hugh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomson, W.
• Application Number:
  US09/016,315
• Time in Patent Office: 1,936 Days
• Field of Search: 395/712, 713/100, 713/1, 713/2, 717/11, 717/168, 717/169, 717/170, 717/171, 717/172, 717/173, 717/174, 717/176-178, 709/220, 709/221, 709/222, 709/214, 709/215, 709/216, 709/219, 709/250, 709/217, 709/227, 714/13, 714/4, 714/6, 711/161, 711/203, 711/162
• US Class Current: 703/23
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/63 Image based installation; Cloning; Build to order

Abstract

A system and method for facilitating configuration of client stations in a computer network. A virtual disk representing configuration information is formed and selectively exported via the network to the client stations. The stations are configured with the configuration information identified by the virtual disk. Snapshot disks representing modifications to the configuration information required at the client stations can also be created, transported across the computer network, and used to upgrade client station.

Claims

1. A system for configuring and updating networked client stations, comprising:

a plurality of client stations connected to a network;

a storage device connected to the plurality of client stations via the network and storing configuration information, wherein each of the plurality of client stations is configurable with the configuration information;

a virtual disk containing configuration information identifiers each including a representation of the configuration information and mapping information pointing to the storage device location where the configuration information is stored, wherein the configuration information is retrievable from the storage device by the plurality of client stations with the configuration information identifiers in the virtual disk; and

a snapshot disk created for a modified version of the virtual disk, the snapshot disk containing at least one configuration information identifier that is different than the configuration information identifiers in the virtual disk, wherein the snapshot disk is exportable to any one of the plurality of client stations and the configuration information is retrievable with the configuration information identifiers in the snapshot disk.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the snapshot disk is formed by a copy-on-write technique.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of client stations includes a local storage device configured to store the configuration information.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual disk is formed of a plurality of identifier files each including configuration information identifiers related to the configuration information for one or more of the plurality of client stations.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the identifier files are consecutively-numbered.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein a one-to-one relationship exists between the identifier files and the configuration information location in the storage device.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the storage device is distributed on a plurality of storage servers, and wherein two or more of the identifier files are associated with the configuration information stored on a single storage server.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the storage device is distributed on a plurality of servers, and wherein the network is scalable.

21. The system of claim 4 wherein the storage device is distributed on a plurality of storage servers and a single identifier file is associated with the appropriate configuration information stored on at least two of the storage servers.

9. A method for configuring networked client stations with configuration information stored on one or more storage devices, the client stations being connected by network connections with the one or more storage devices, the method comprising the steps of:

storing configuration information identifiers in a virtual disk, each of the configuration information identifiers including a representation of the configuration information and mapping information pointing to one or more storage devices locations, wherein each of the plurality of client stations is configurable with the configuration information;

storing a configuration information identifier in a snapshot disk that indicates a modified version of the virtual disk, the snapshot disk containing at least one configuration information identifier that is different than the configuration information identifiers in the virtual disk;

retrieving the configuration from the one or more storage devices with one or more of the configuration information identifiers in the virtual disk and the snapshot disk; and

configuring each client station with the configuration information.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

storing an identifier that indicates a locations of a master configuration information;

wherein a snapshot includes a pointer mapped to the identifier of the configuration information of the master configuration information.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein there is more than one virtual disk each associated with configuration information, the method further comprising the steps of:

retrieving by first and second of the plurality of client stations configuration information from corresponding ones of the virtual disks with the configuration information identifiers therein; and

configuring the first and second client stations with the configuration information.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

selecting by a third client station a virtual disk from among the virtual disks;

retrieving by the third client station the configuration information with the configuration information identifiers in the selected virtual disk; and

configuring the third client station with the configuration information.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the virtual disk is formed by a copy-on-write technique.

14. A system for configuring and updating the configuration of networked client stations, comprising:

one or more storage devices including respective configuration information for configuring client stations connected via a network to each other and to the one or more storage disk devices, wherein each of the client stations is configurable with respective configuration information;

one or more virtual disks respectively containing configuration information identifiers each including a representation of respective configuration information and mapping information pointing to corresponding one or more of the locations in the storage devices where the respective configuration information is stored; and

,

a logical copy of each of the one or more virtual disks from which a second virtual disk is respectively created for updating the configuration of any of the client stations;

wherein each of the client stations obtains respective configuration information with the one or more virtual disks and the configuration information identifiers therein, and each client station obtains an updated version of the configuration information with the second virtual disk.

15. The system of claim 14 in which a particular configuration information identifier stored in the one or more virtual disks corresponds to a location of the respective configuration information characterized as a master configuration information, and the logical copy corresponds to a location of an updated version of the master configuration information.

16. The system of claim 14 in which each second virtual disk is a snapshot that embodies only modifications to the location from a corresponding virtual disk of the one or more virtual disks, wherein the identifier, respectively, in the one or more virtual disks is unchanged.

17. The system of claim 14, in which more than one of the client stations have respective configuration information obtained from one virtual disk.

18. The system of claim 14 in which the one or more virtual disks are formed of a plurality of identifier files, each of the identifier files including identifiers related to the configuration information for one or more of the plurality of client stations, wherein two or more of the identifier files include mapping into storage device.

19. The system of claim 14 in which the one or more virtual disks are formed of a plurality of configuration information identifier files, wherein only configuration information identifier files that are modified are embodied in their respective second virtual disks.

20. The system of claim 14 in which each second virtual disk includes a pointer to its respective virtual disk.

22. The system of claim 14 in which the one or more virtual disks are formed of a plurality of identifier files, each of the identifier files including identifiers related to the configuration information for at least one of the plurality of client stations and wherein one identifier file includes mapping to at least one of the storage devices.