US5875306A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Reconfiguring computer resources in a distributed computer enterprise environment
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1996-10-01
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Granted: 1999-02-23
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Expires: 2016-10-01
Abstract
Abstract A large distributed enterprise includes computing resources that are organized into one or more managed regions, each region being managed by a management server servicing one or more gateway machines, with each gateway machine servicing a plurality of endpoint machines. Upon power-up, an endpoint machine attempts to connect to its last known gateway. If the connection fails, the endpoint machine broadcasts a boot request with an extension unique to the management server but that is ignored by other servers in the network, including a boot server that would normally handle the boot request. The management server responds to the boot request by assigning the endpoint to a new host gateway.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas W. Bereiter
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 22:39
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/22; G06F9/28; H; H04; H04L; H04L41/00; H04L41/08; H04L41/0803; H04L41/0813; H04L41/0816; G06F9/44; G06F9/4401; G06F9/4416; H04L41/085; H04L41/0853; H04L41/0856; H04L67/00; H04L67/01; H04L67/10; H04L67/1001; H04L67/1034
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
109 words
A method of reconfiguring a dynamic network environment having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each of which is associated with a set of endpoint machines, comprising the steps of: determining whether an endpoint machine can establish communication with a first gateway machine upon power-up; if the endpoint machine cannot establish communication with the first gateway machine upon power-up, having the endpoint machine broadcast a boot request with an extension unique to the management server; and having the management server respond to the boot request by assigning the endpoint machine to a second gateway machine to facilitate execution of system management tasks within the managed region.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
109 words
A method of reconfiguring a dynamic network environment having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each of which is associated with a set of endpoint machines, comprising the steps of: determining whether an endpoint machine can establish communication with a first gateway machine upon power-up; if the endpoint machine cannot establish communication with the first gateway machine upon power-up, having the endpoint machine broadcast a boot request with an extension unique to the management server; and having the management server respond to the boot request by assigning the endpoint machine to a second gateway machine to facilitate execution of system management tasks within the managed region.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein the first gateway machine is a last known gateway machine to which the endpoint was connected.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method as described in claim 1 further including the step of assigning the endpoint machine to the first gateway machine if the endpoint machine can establish communication with the first gateway machine upon power-up.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein the step of having the management server respond to the boot request includes the steps of: recording a current IP address of the endpoint machine; and identifying the second gateway machine based on the current IP address of the endpoint machine.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein the boot request is normally serviced by a boot server in the network but is ignored by the boot server because of the extension.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method as described in claim 5 further including the step of having the endpoint machine wait for a random time before broadcasting the boot request so that the boot server does not receive multiple boot requests having the extension at the same time.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein the endpoint machine is a notebook computer that cannot connect to the first gateway machine because the notebook computer has been relocated within the dynamic network environment.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein the endpoint machine cannot establish communication with the first gateway machine because the endpoint machine has been relocated within the dynamic network environment, because a configuration of the dynamic network environment has changed, because the first gateway machine is inoperative or because local configuration files have been deleted from the endpoint machine.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
169 words
A method of reconfiguring a dynamic network environment having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each of which service a set of endpoint machines, and wherein a system management task is normally initiated at a central location and distributed to all endpoint machines, comprising the steps of: determining whether an endpoint machine can establish communication with a first gateway machine upon a predetermined occurrence; if the endpoint machine can establish communication with the first gateway machine upon the predetermined occurrence, connecting the endpoint machine to the first gateway machine; if the endpoint machine cannot establish communication with the first gateway machine upon the predetermined occurrence, having the endpoint machine broadcast a boot request with an extension unique to the management server; having the management server respond to the boot request by assigning the endpoint machine to a second gateway machine; and verifying that the endpoint machine can establish communication with the second gateway machine prior to execution of the system management task within the managed region.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
169 words
A method of reconfiguring a dynamic network environment having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each of which service a set of endpoint machines, and wherein a system management task is normally initiated at a central location and distributed to all endpoint machines, comprising the steps of: determining whether an endpoint machine can establish communication with a first gateway machine upon a predetermined occurrence; if the endpoint machine can establish communication with the first gateway machine upon the predetermined occurrence, connecting the endpoint machine to the first gateway machine; if the endpoint machine cannot establish communication with the first gateway machine upon the predetermined occurrence, having the endpoint machine broadcast a boot request with an extension unique to the management server; having the management server respond to the boot request by assigning the endpoint machine to a second gateway machine; and verifying that the endpoint machine can establish communication with the second gateway machine prior to execution of the system management task within the managed region.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method as described in claim 9 wherein the step of having the management server respond to the boot request includes the steps of: recording a current IP address of the endpoint machine; identifying the second gateway machine based on the current IP address of the endpoint machine; and notifying the endpoint machine of a location of the second gateway machine.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as described in claim 9 wherein the boot request is normally serviced by a boot server in the network but is ignored by the boot server because of the extension.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method as described in claim 11 wherein the boot request is BOOTP.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method as described in claim 9 wherein the extension is selectable.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method as described in claim 9 wherein the first and second gateway machines are the same.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
130 words
In a large distributed enterprise having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each of which services a set of endpoint machines, a method of reconfiguring a dynamic network environment, comprising the steps of: for each endpoint machine at power-up, determining whether the endpoint machine can connect to a last known gateway machine; if the endpoint machine cannot connect to the last known gateway machine upon power-up, having the endpoint machine broadcast a boot request with an extension unique to the management server but that is ignored by at least a boot server in the enterprise; and having the management server respond to the boot request by assigning the endpoint machine to a new gateway machine to facilitate execution of the system management tasks within the managed region.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
130 words
In a large distributed enterprise having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each of which services a set of endpoint machines, a method of reconfiguring a dynamic network environment, comprising the steps of: for each endpoint machine at power-up, determining whether the endpoint machine can connect to a last known gateway machine; if the endpoint machine cannot connect to the last known gateway machine upon power-up, having the endpoint machine broadcast a boot request with an extension unique to the management server but that is ignored by at least a boot server in the enterprise; and having the management server respond to the boot request by assigning the endpoint machine to a new gateway machine to facilitate execution of the system management tasks within the managed region.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method as described of claim 15, wherein the step of having the management server respond to the boot request includes the steps of: recording a current IP address of the endpoint machine; identifying the new gateway machine based on the current IP address of the endpoint machine; and notifying the endpoint machine of a location of the new gateway machine.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method as described in claim 15, further including the step of having each endpoint machine wait for a random time before broadcasting the boot request so that the boot server does not receive multiple boot requests having the extension at the same time.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
128 words
A computer connectable into a large distributed enterprise having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each of which services a set of endpoint machines, the computer comprising: a processor; an operating system; and a reconfiguration mechanism, comprising: means responsive to a predetermined start condition of the computer for determining whether the computer can establish communication with a first gateway machine; means responsive to the determining means for broadcasting a boot request with an extension unique to the management server if the computer cannot establish communication with the first gateway machine upon the predetermined start condition; and means responsive to information received from the management server for assigning the computer to a second gateway machine to facilitate execution of system management tasks within the managed region.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
128 words
A computer connectable into a large distributed enterprise having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each of which services a set of endpoint machines, the computer comprising: a processor; an operating system; and a reconfiguration mechanism, comprising: means responsive to a predetermined start condition of the computer for determining whether the computer can establish communication with a first gateway machine; means responsive to the determining means for broadcasting a boot request with an extension unique to the management server if the computer cannot establish communication with the first gateway machine upon the predetermined start condition; and means responsive to information received from the management server for assigning the computer to a second gateway machine to facilitate execution of system management tasks within the managed region.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
32 words
The computer as described in claim 18 wherein the reconfiguration mechanism further includes for verifying that the endpoint can establish communication with second gateway machine prior to executing a system management task.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
153 words
A computer program product for use in a computer having a processor, a memory, and means for connecting the computer into a large distributed enterprise having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each gateway machine servicing a set of endpoint machines, the computer program product comprising: a computer-readable storage medium having a substrate; and program data encoded in the substrate of the computer-readable storage medium, wherein the program data comprises: means responsive to power-up of the computer for determining whether the computer can connect to a first gateway machine; means responsive to the determining means for broadcasting a boot request with an extension unique to the management server if the computer cannot connect to the first gateway machine upon power-up; and means responsive to information received from the management server for assigning the computer to a second gateway machine to facilitate execution of system management tasks within the managed region.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
153 words
A computer program product for use in a computer having a processor, a memory, and means for connecting the computer into a large distributed enterprise having a management server servicing a set of gateway machines, each gateway machine servicing a set of endpoint machines, the computer program product comprising: a computer-readable storage medium having a substrate; and program data encoded in the substrate of the computer-readable storage medium, wherein the program data comprises: means responsive to power-up of the computer for determining whether the computer can connect to a first gateway machine; means responsive to the determining means for broadcasting a boot request with an extension unique to the management server if the computer cannot connect to the first gateway machine upon power-up; and means responsive to information received from the management server for assigning the computer to a second gateway machine to facilitate execution of system management tasks within the managed region.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-02-22 | 2002-08-24 | 2003-02-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-02-22 | 2006-08-24 | 2007-02-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-02-22 | 2010-08-24 | 2011-02-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |