US 8,412,769 B2Granted

Scalably imaging clients over a network

AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation

InventorsHitesh Kanwathirtha, Manson Ng, Prashant Khanduri, Jason A. Antonelli

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Abstract

Techniques exist for imaging clients over a network, such as the preboot execution environment (PXE) protocol. However, such techniques may not scale well (e.g., using broadcast messages and having few facilities for distributing the imaging service over several servers) and limited capacity to choose a particular image for a particular client. Instead, a set of servers may be configured such that each server is assigned a set of clients, and when a client sends an imaging query, only the server to which the client is assigned sends a reply. For example, a PXE server also comprising a DHCP server may reply to queries only for clients having a DHCP reservation on the server. The servers may also be configured to refer to a network map (e.g., a manageability data store) in order to identify the role of the client and the appropriate image to direct the client to apply.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system for configuring a server to image clients using a network map and at least one image identified by an image reference, the server comprising a memory component, a processor, a network map identifying a role of at least one client, and an assignment set specifying at least one assignment of a role to the server, the system comprising:

a client management determining component stored in the memory component that, when executed on the processor, upon receiving an imaging query from a client:
determine, according to the network map, the role of the client;
and
determine whether the server is assigned to manage the client by determining, according to the assignment set, whether the server is assigned to manage clients associated with the role of the client;
a client image determining component stored in the memory component of the that, when executed on the processor:
upon the client management determining that the server is assigned to manage the client, determine, according to the network map, whether the client is directed to apply an image identified by an image reference;
and
upon determining that the server is not assigned to manage the client, refraining from sending the image reference to the client;
and
a client image applying component stored in the memory component that, when executed on the processor:
upon the client image determining component determining that the client is directed to apply an image, send the image reference to the client;
and
upon the client image determining component determining that the client is not directed to apply an image, refrain from sending the image reference to the client.

10 more elements

A nonvolatile computer-readable storage device comprising instructions that, when executed on a processor of a server configured as a dynamic configuration host protocol server and a preboot execution environment boot server to image at least one client, the server comprising:

a dynamic configuration host protocol table comprising at least one reservation of a client to a network address,
an imaging log indicating at least one imaging of a client with an image,
a configuration object identifying at least one role assigned to the server, and
a network map associating respective clients with a role and at least one assignment to a network address,
by:
monitoring the network map to detect an update of at least one assignment specifying a client assigned to the server;
upon detecting an update, synchronizing the assignments of the network map with the assignments of the dynamic host configuration protocol table by:
identifying the at least one role assigned to the server;
using the network map, identifying the roles associated with respective clients;
and
for respective clients associated with a role assigned to the server according to the configuration object:
identifying a scope associated with a role, the scope comprising at least two contiguous addresses among the reservations of clients associated with the role;
creating the scope in the dynamic host configuration protocol table by:
storing in the dynamic host configuration protocol table the scope;
storing in the dynamic host configuration protocol table an assignment exclusion range covering the contiguous addresses of the reservations of the clients associated with the role;
and
for respective clients associated with the role, storing in the dynamic host configuration protocol table a reservation assigning the client to an address within the assignment exclusion range;
and
upon failing to detect at least one client associated with a role of scope, deleting the scope from the dynamic host configuration protocol table;
upon receiving from a client an imaging query comprising a dynamic host configuration protocol request:
determining whether the server manages the client by determining whether the dynamic host configuration protocol table comprises at least one reservation associating the client with a network address;
and
upon determining that the server manages the client:
using the network map, determining whether the client is directed to apply an image identified by an image reference by:
identifying a current client image version of the client, and
identifying a target client image version of the client that is different from the current client image version;
upon determining that the client is directed to apply an image:
sending a preboot execution environment boot command to the client specifying the image reference of the image, and
logging in the imaging log the imaging of the client with the image;
and
upon determining that the client is not directed to apply an image, sending a preboot execution environment abort command.

28 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.