Establishing one computer as a replacement for another computer

In a networked system including a plurality of server computers and a network infrastructure over which the server computers can download operating system components to client computers, a method of recognizing a new client computer as being new to the networked system, the method comprising:

• establishing a connection over the network infrastructure between the new client computer and the server computer prior to booting the operating system components on the new client computer, the new client computer not having been previously connected to the server;
• transmitting, from the new client computer to the server computer, a unique identifier associated with the second client computer;
• transmitting, from the new client computer to the server computer, information indicating that the new client computer has not been previously connected to the server;
• transmitting, from the new client computer to the server computer, hardware information identifying a hardware component of the new client computer;
• assigning the new client computer to one of the plurality of server computers;
• storing the unique identifier in a repository wherein the unique identifier is associated with the one of the plurality of server computers to which the new client computer has been assigned;
• downloading, from the server computer to the new computer, operating system components having been configured to support the hardware component;
• and
• booting the operating system components on the server computer.

In a server computer having operating system components that can be downloaded to client computers over a network infrastructure, a computer program product for implementing a method of treating a second client computer as a replacement for a first client computer, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer-readable medium for carrying computer-executable instructions, wherein said computer-executable instructions comprise:
• code means for maintaining a connection between the server computer and the second client computer prior to booting the operating systems components on the second client computer, the second client computer being a replacement for the first client computer;
• code means for receiving from the second client computer a second unique identifier associated with the second client computer;
• code means for receiving from the second client computer information identifying the first client computer;
• code means for locating a first unique identifier associated with the first client computer in a repository accessible to the server computer;
• and
• code means for replacing, in the repository, the first unique identifier with the second unique identifier, whereby the server computer recognizes the second client computer as a replacement for the first client computer;
• code means for transmitting from the server computer to the second client computer information identifying hardware components of the first client computer;
• code means for transmitting from the second client computer to the server computer the identity of hardware components of the second client computer which are of a different type than the hardware components of the first client computer;
• code means for modifying the operating system components at the server computer to support the hardware components of the second client computer which are of a different type than the hardware components of the first client computer;
• code means for downloading the operating system components from the server computer to the client computer;
• and
• code means for booting the operating system components on the second client computer.