International Business Machines Corporation

Lenovo (singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Norbert M Blam

Maximino Aguilar, Jr

James Michael Stafford

Charles Edward Tysor

Yuan-Chang Lo

James Arthur Brewer

John William Gorrell, Jr

Sanjay Gupta

Raymond F Romon

Michael Edward Criscolo

Roy Moonseuk Kim

Mark Plunkett

A method for adjusting failover intervals in a computer network is provided. In one embodiment of the present invention transport protocol requests are sent to a backup server, receiving response messages from the server, and then the rate of transport protocol requests is adjusted according to the response messages.

Network station adjustable fail-over time intervals for booting to backup servers when transport service is not available

A method of and software for booting a network computer with universal boot code is disclosed. Initially, the type of a boot device is determined from among a set of possible boot devices. A command in a high level boot code segment of the boot code software is then translated to a command executable by the boot device based upon the determined device type. The converted command is then executed on the boot device to transfer data between the network computer and the boot device. The boot code is preferably compatible with a variety of boot devices including a hard disk boot device, an NFS server boot device, as well as a TFTP server boot device. In an embodiment in which the boot device is a TFTP boot device, a READ command from the high level boot code is translated to a TFTP read request. The data transferred by the TFTP read request may be stored in a file cache on the network computer. During a subsequent high level boot code READ command, the software interface may determine if the requested data is cached in the file cache, and if so, it may retrieve the data from the file cache. If the high level boot command is a SEEK command, and the boot device is a TFTP device, the converted command may include a TFTP read request. The software interface may determine the relative location of a file location indicated by the SEEK command and a current location of a file pointer and abort the current TFTP transfer if the file location indicated by the SEEK precedes the current location of the file pointer. The interface may then resend a TFTP read request to advance the file pointer to the file location indicated by the SEEK command. In this manner, the software interface and device specific segments can emulate a file type device when the boot device is a TFTP device.

Universal boot code for a computer network

A method and system for automatically configuring a boot process of a network computer initially connected within a network comprising at least one server. A request is broadcast from a network computer to a network for an available server, upon a first initiation of the network computer within the network. Responses from the broadcast are gathered which indicate whether a server is available. A selected boot program is then executed from among multiple boot programs available in the network computer. The selected boot program and the identity of an available server are stored as boot process configuration settings in a nonvolatile storage of the network computer, in response to successful execution of the boot program, such that a subsequent boot process of a network computer is automatically configured.

Method and system for automatically configuring the boot process of a computer having multiple bootstrap programs within a network computer system

A computer network and network client where the network client includes a nonvolatile storage device for storing a packet replication indicator and a third party host identifier. The client further includes means for modifying the state of the packet replication indicator and the third party host identifier. The client has means for initiating a boot code sequence stored on a client boot code storage device. If the client detects a specified state of the packet replication indicator, the boot code sequence establishes a communication socket with a third party host identified by the third party host identifier and forwards copies or replicates of packets that are exchanged between the network client and a network server. In one embodiment the packets are replicated to the third party host until the boot sequence terminates. The third party host identifier is preferably comprised of an IP address portion and a third party host port identifier portion. In one embodiment, the means for modifying the packet replication indicator is invoked through a user interface that is produced in response to a specified input sequence during execution of the boot sequence. The boot code sequence may be initiated through the use of a reset button on the client or through a network wakeup event initiated by the network server. Packets are preferably replicated at the device link layer to minimize the effect of various hardware and media specific network implementations. The network client, for example may reside within a token ring or Ethernet subnet.

Third party host packet replication

A method and system for monitoring the boot process of a data processing system. In accordance with the method and system of the present invention, data detailing each operation performed during a boot process of a data processing system is stored within a memory of the data processing system. All the stored data is then displayed in response to a halting of the boot process, such that step-by-step details of the boot process are available to a user prior to operation of the data processing system by an operating system.

Method and system for monitoring a boot process of a data processing system providing boot data and user prompt

A computer system including a processor, a system memory, and a boot code storage device. The system memory is connected to the processor and is suitable for storing processor data and instructions. The boot code storage device includes an image selection indicator for indicating which of multiple boot code images are to be loaded. The computer system further includes means for initiating a boot sequence stored on the boot code storage device. The boot sequence selects from first and second boot images based upon the state of the image selection indicator and loads the selected image into the system memory in response to a boot event. In one embodiment, the image selection indicator is in an initial state until the boot code sequence successfully loads a boot image. The image selection indicator is set to a value indicative of the loaded image when one of the boot images is successfully loaded. The boot code storage sequence attempts, in the preferred embodiment, to load the previously load boot image when the system detects a setting of the image selection indicator indicative of a previously loaded boot image. In the preferred embodiment, the boot code sequence responds to a specified user input sequence by presenting the user with a configuration screen suitable for altering the value of the image selection indicator such that the user may later the boot image that will be loaded during a subsequent execution of the boot sequence. In one embodiment, the first boot image is a BIOS based boot image and the second image is a network based (non-BIOS) boot image. The boot code storage device is preferably a flash memory device.

Method and system for selecting from multiple boot code images to be loaded in a data processing system

A computer network that includes a network server and a network client. The network server includes a storage medium configured with boot code data preferably comprising operating system software for the network client. The network client includes a power status indicator and is configured to query the power status indicator as part of a boot code sequence that is initiated in response to a boot event. The network client is configured to schedule retrieval of boot code data from the network server based upon the power status indicator. Preferably, the power status indicator includes a power fail circuit that indicates whether power to the network client has failed since a previous boot event. In one embodiment, the power fail circuit includes a flip flop arranged such that the output of the flip flop is preset when power is restored to the network client after a power failure. Preferably the clear input of the flip flop is programmably assertable. The power status indicator preferably further includes a power mode indicator that conveys information about the last known power mode of the network client. Preferably, the power mode indicator includes at least one nonvolatile memory bit.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Norbert M Blam