Remotely booting devices in a dense server environment without manually installing authentication parameters on the devices to be booted

US7194619B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Antonio Abbondanzio · Raleigh, US
• Simon Chu · Chapel Hill, US
• Gregory W. Dake · Durham, US
• Michael Day · American Fork, US
• William Joseph Piazza · Holly Springs, US
• Gregory B. Pruett · Raleigh, US
• David B. Rhoades · Apex, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 26, 2002
• Grant date: Mar 20, 2007
• Expiry date: Apr 21, 2024

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F21/575
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product for remotely booting devices. A deployment server may remotely transmit authentication parameter(s), e.g., public key, secret key, to a service unit configured to establish a private connection between server blades and the deployment server. The service unit may remotely install the authentication parameter(s) onto the server blade(s) to be booted by either the deployment server or another boot server. By the service unit remotely installing the authentication parameter(s) onto the server blade(s), the need to manually install them during each network boot operation may be alleviated. By remotely transmitting authentication parameter(s) instead of manually installing them on the devices to be booted during each network boot operation, the deployment server may be able to generate unique authentication parameter(s), e.g., public/private key pair, secret key, for each network boot operation thereby substantially reducing the exposure to replay attacks.