Automatic detection and installation of client peripheral devices by a server

Claim 3

The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the client computer automatically initiates transmission of the peripheral identifier to the server in response to connecting a peripheral device to the client computer.

Claim 4

The method recited in claim 1 , wherein: the detecting and recognizing are performed by a peripheral detection subsystem of the client computer in response to connecting a peripheral device to the client computer; and the client computer automatically initiates transmission of the peripheral identifier to the server without requiring user intervention.

Claim 5

The method recited in claim 1 , wherein: the detecting and recognizing are performed by the server in response to connecting a peripheral device to the client computer; and the transmission of the peripheral identifier from the client computer to the server is performed without requiring user intervention.

Claim 6

The method recited in claim 3 , wherein the peripheral detection subsystem is a Plug And Play system.

Claim 7

The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the peripheral identifier is a Plug And Play identifier.

Claim 8

The method recited in claim 1 , wherein utilizing the transmitted peripheral identifiers at the server to locate and install one or more peripheral drivers is an automatic process that is performed without requiring intervention by a user.

Claim 9

The method recited in claim 1 , further comprising: automatically initiating transmission from the client computer to the server of a peripheral identifier identifying a newly disconnected peripheral device at the client computer; and uninstalling the peripheral driver installed for the peripheral device that has been disconnected.

Claim 10

The method recited in claim 1 , further comprising: automatically initiating transmission from the client computer to the server of a peripheral identifier identifying a newly disconnected peripheral device at the client computer; and removing the peripheral driver installed for the perpheral device that has been disconnected.

Claim 11

The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the one or more peripheral devices comprises one or more printers.

Claim 12

The method recited in claim 10 , wherein the one or more printers comprises one or more Plug And Play compatible printers.

Claim 13

The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the server performs acts comprising: periodically sending requests to the client computer for enumerations of peripheral devices connected at the client computer; receiving a first peripheral list from the client computer in response to an initial request, the first peripheral list comprising peripheral, identifiers of peripheral devices connected to the client computer at the time of the initial request; receiving a second peripheral list from the client computer in response to a subsequent request, the second peripheral list comprising peripheral identifiers of peripheral devices connected to the client computer at the time of the subsequent request; and comparing the second peripheral list with the first peripheral list to determine the peripheral identifier of a peripheral device that has been added since the initial request.

Claim 14

One or more computer-readable media having a computer program which, when executed on a computer, performs the method of claim 1 .

Claim 17

The method recited in claim 14 , the automatically identifying one or more peripheral devices comprising: receiving a peripheral identifier from the client computer that uniquely identifies the newly connected peripheral device; and wherein the server utilizes the peripheral identifier to automatically install the peripheral driver.

Claim 18

The method recited in claim 14 , the automatically identifying one or more peripheral devices comprising: periodically sending requests from the server to the client computer requesting an enumeration of peripheral devices connected at the client computer; receiving a first peripheral list of one or more peripheral identifiers in response to a first enumeration request; receiving a second peripheral list of one or more peripheral identifiers in response to a second enumeration request; and comparing the peripheral identifiers of the first peripheral list with the peripheral identifiers of the second peripheral list to determine the identity of newly connected peripheral devices and to determine the identity of newly disconnected devices.

Claim 21

The method recited in claim 17 , wherein the comparing further comprises identifying a peripheral identifier that has been removed since the first enumeration, and wherein the method further comprises uninstalling the peripheral driver used with a client computer peripheral device corresponding to the removed peripheral identifiers.

Claim 22

The method recited in claim 17 , wherein the comparing further comprises identifying a peripheral identifier that has been removed since the first enumeration, and wherein the method further comprises removing the peripheral driver used with client computer peripheral devices corresponding to any removed peripheral identifiers.

Claim 23

The method recited in claim 17 , wherein the peripheral identifiers are Plug And Play identifiers.

Claim 24

The method recited in claim 17 , wherein the peripheral devices are Plug And Play compatible devices.

Claim 25

A client/server computer system, comprising: a server configured to provide services utilizing one or more peripheral devices connected to at least one client computer having an input/output port, and to automatically detect a newly connected peripheral device by performing the steps of: periodically sending requests to a client computer for enumerations of peripheral devices connected at the client computer; receiving a first peripheral list from the client computer in response to an initial request, the first peripheral list comprising peripheral identifiers of peripheral devices connected to the client computer at the time of the initial request, one peripheral identifier corresponding to each of the peripheral devices; receiving a second peripheral list from the client computer in response to a subsequent request, the second peripheral list comprising peripheral identifiers of peripheral devices connected to the client computer at the time of the subsequent request; and comparing the second peripheral list with the first peripheral list to determine the peripheral identifier of a peripheral device that has been added since the initial request; and wherein the peripheral identifier is utilized to install the peripheral driver.

Claim 26

A client/server computer system, comprising: a server configured to provide services utilizing one or more peripheral devices connected to at least one client computer having an input/output port, and to automatically detect a newly connected peripheral device by performing the steps of: periodically sending requests to a client computer for enumerations of peripheral devices connected at the client computer; receiving a first peripheral list from the client computer in response to an initial request, the first peripheral list comprising peripheral identifiers of peripheral devices connected to the client computer at the time of the initial request, one peripheral identifier corresponding to each of the peripheral devices; receiving a second peripheral list from the client computer in response to a subsequent request, the second peripheral list comprising peripheral identifiers of peripheral devices connected to the client computer at the time of the subsequent request; and comparing the second peripheral list with the first peripheral list to determine the peripheral identifier of a peripheral device that has been added since the initial request; and wherein the peripheral identifier is utilized to install the peripheral driver.

Claim 27

The client/server computer system recited in claim 22 wherein the peripheral identifier is a Plug And Play identifier.

Claim 28

The client/server computer system as recited in claim 22 , the server being further configured to create a peripheral device input/output queue on the server and to redirect input/output for the peripheral device to the input/output port of the client computer.

Claim 29

One or more computer-readable media having a computer program for automatically configuring a server for use with peripheral devices connected at a client computer, the program comprising the following steps: detecting one or more peripheral devices connected at the client computer; recognizing a peripheral identifier associated with each of the identified one or more peripheral devices; automatically initiating transmission from the client computer to the server of a peripheral identifier identifying a newly connected peripheral device at the client computer; utilizing the one or more peripheral identifiers at the server to locate and install peripheral drivers for use with the peripheral device.

Claim 30

One or more computer-readable media having a computer program for automatically configuring a server for use with peripheral devices connected at a client computer, the program comprising the following steps: detecting one or more peripheral devices connected at the client computer; recognizing a peripheral identifier associated with each of the identified one or more peripheral devices; automatically initiating transmission from the client computer to the server of a peripheral identifier identifying a newly connected peripheral device at the client computer; utilizing the one or more peripheral identifiers at the server to locate and install peripheral drivers for use with the peripheral device.

Claim 31

The computer-readable media as recited in claim 25 , wherein the detecting and recognizing are performed at the client computer by a Plug And Play subsystem.

Claim 32

The computer-readable media as recited in claim 25 , wherein the peripheral device is a Plug And Play compatible printer.

Claim 33

One or more computer-readable media having a computer program for automatically configuring a server for use with peripheral devices connected at a client computer, the program comprising the following steps: periodically requesting an enumeration of the peripheral devices from the client computer; receiving a first peripheral list from the client computer in response to an initial request, the first peripheral list comprising peripheral identifiers of all peripheral devices connected to the client computer at the time of the initial request, there being one unique peripheral identifier associated with each peripheral device; receiving a second peripheral list from the client computer in response to a subsequent request, the second peripheral list comprising peripheral identifiers of all peripheral device connected to the client computer at the time of the subsequent request; comparing the second peripheral list with the first peripheral list to determine the peripheral identifier of a peripheral device that has been added or deleted since the initial request; utilizing the one or more peripheral identifiers at the server to locate and install peripheral drivers for use with the peripheral device; and installing a peripheral driver on the server to control operations related to the peripheral device.

Claim 34

One or more computer-readable media having a computer program for automatically configuring a server for use with peripheral devices connected at a client computer, the program comprising the following steps: periodically requesting an enumeration of the peripheral devices from the client computer; receiving a first peripheral list from the client computer in response to an initial request, the first peripheral list comprising peripheral identifiers of all peripheral devices connected to the client computer at the time of the initial request, there being one unique peripheral identifier associated with each peripheral device; receiving a second peripheral list from the client computer in response to a subsequent request, the second peripheral list comprising peripheral identifiers of all peripheral device connected to the client computer at the time of the subsequent request; comparing the second peripheral list with the first peripheral list to determine the peripheral identifier of a peripheral device that has been added or deleted since the initial request; utilizing the one or more peripheral identifiers at the server to locate and install peripheral drivers for use with the peripheral device; and installing a peripheral driver on the server to control operations related to the peripheral device.

Claim 35

The computer-readable media as recited in claim 28 , wherein the peripheral device is a printer.

Claim 36

The computer-readable media as recited in claim 28 , wherein the peripheral device is a Plug And Play compatible printer.