Automatic appliance server re-provision/re-purposing method

US6898705B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Akram Abboud · Durham, US
• John Michael Brantly · Raleigh, US
• William Buchanan · Wake Forest, US
• Peter Chin · Seattle, US
• Simon Chu · Chapel Hill, US
• Richard A. Dayan · Wake Forest, US
• Peter Donovan · Mississauga, CA
• David Green · Hillsborough, US
• Timothy J. Green · Holly, US
• Thomas William Lange · Cary, US
• Gregory B. Pruett · Raleigh, US
• Karl Ross Shultz · Cary, US
• Paul Brian Tippett · Durham, US
• Andrew H. Wray · Hillsborough, US
• William Paul Zeggert · Morrisville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 31, 2001
• Grant date: May 24, 2005
• Expiry date: Jan 5, 2023

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F9/4406
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for automatically re-provisioning an appliance server without significant user-interaction. The disk drive of a server to be utilized as an appliance server is partitioned into at least three partitions, including a systems partition, a network operating system partition, and an images partition. A re-provisioning utility is provided, which, when activated by a user, removes the present application from the server and forwards it to a storage location on the network or in a fourth storage partition and installs another application on the server. The system is re-booted and re-configured to provide full operation of the new application.