It is often desirable to provide computer systems with software updates designed to fix problems (e.g., security vulnerabilities) or to improve the usability or performance on the computer systems. A computer system typically receives an update from a server and then installs the update.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various examples of the principles described herein and are a part of the specification. The illustrated examples are given merely for illustration, and do not limit the scope of the claims.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and the size of some parts may be exaggerated to more clearly illustrate the example shown. Moreover, the drawings provide examples and/or implementations consistent with the description; however, the description is not limited to the examples and/or implementations provided in the drawings.
The present subject matter is now described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which several embodiments of the subject matter are shown. The present subject matter may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be complete and will fully convey principles of the subject matter.
An update server is set up to listen to a predetermined port for broadcast messages, and respond to the broadcast messages with an identifier of an update service. The update service listens for messages requesting available updates, and provides information about the available updates in response. The administrator may store update packages in the update server (e.g., a file server) without knowledge of how updates are triggered or administration using server side update management tools, and thereby the management and distribution of updates both may be simplified.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present systems and methods. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present apparatus, systems, and methods may be practiced without these specific details. Reference in the specification to “an example” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that example is included as described, but may or may not be included in other examples.
The data store 130 stores data used by the update server 100. Examples of the data stored in the data store 130 include computer files containing software updates for client systems. The data store 130 may be a file system or a database stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.
In one example, an installation package can be locally or remotely installed onto the update server 100 by a user or administrator to set up the broadcast service module 110, the update service module 120, and the data store 130. In another example, the installation package can be pre-installed in the update server 100 by the manufacturer.
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The client system 310 manages updates for its components (e.g., operating systems, applications, etc.). As shown, the client system 310 is a computer system that includes a boot-up module 312 and an update module 314. When the client system 310 is powered up, the boot-up module 312 is configured to automatically determine a network address (e.g., an Internet Protocol (IP) address) of the client system 310 and an identifier (e.g., a URL, an IP address) of an update service at which the client system 310 can obtain software updates. To determine the network address of the client system 310, the boot-up module 312 broadcasts a message on a connected computer network to request a network address from an available network configuration server (e.g., a DHCP server), receives from the server a responding message containing the network address, and parses the responding message to determine the network address. To determine the identifier of the update service, the boot-up module 312 broadcasts a message containing identification information of the client system 310 (e.g., the network address, model information, etc.) on a connected computer network to a predetermined port, receives from a server (e.g., the update server 100) a responding message containing the identifier, and parses the responding message to determine the identifier. In one example, the boot-up module 312 examines the responding message from the network configuration server for a static tag indicating an identifier of an update service, and if such a static tag is present, then the boot-up module 312 parses the message for the identifier without broadcasting the message containing the identification information. The boot-up module 312 passes the identifier to the update module 314 for it to communicate with the update service.
The update module 314 uses the identifier to contact the update service for available updates. To obtain available updates, the update module 314 transmits a request for available updates to the update service as identified by the identifier, and receives from the update service information about the available updates in response. In one example, the update module 314 generates signatures (also called update signatures) for available updates based on the received information. Example information includes file header information such as file name, size, creation/last modification date and time, permissions, and metadata (e.g., file type, tags). To generate a signature for an available update, the update module 314 applies an algorithm such as a hashing algorithm to the information of the update. The update module 314 maintains a collection of signatures for updates already applied (or installed) in the client system 310, and determines whether an update has been applied in the client system 310 by searching the signature of that update in the collection for matches. If the signature has no match in the collection, the update module 314 determines that the update has not been applied and applies the update. Otherwise, if the signature has at least one match in the collection, the update module 314 determines that the update has already been applied and thus does not need to be applied again.
The network configuration server 330 automatically configures computer systems (e.g., the client system 100) connected to the network 340 such that the computer systems can communicate with other computer systems (e.g., the update server 100) on the network 340. One example of the network configuration server 330 is a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. In response to a message from a computer system (e.g., the client system 100) requesting a network address, the network configuration server 330 assigns a network address to the computer system, and transmits to the computer system a responding message containing the assigned network address. In one example, the network configuration server 330 can be configured to include in the responding message an identifier of an update service in the network 340 identified by a static tag.
The network 340 is configured to connect the client system 100, the update server 100, and the network configuration server 330. The network 340 may be a wired or wireless network. Examples of the network 340 include an intranet, a WiFi network, a WiMAX network, a mobile telephone network, the Internet, or a combination thereof.
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The storage device 760 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as a hard drive, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), DVD, or a solid-state memory device. The memory 730 holds instructions and data used by the processor 710. The pointing device 780 is a mouse, track ball, or other type of pointing device, and is used in combination with the keyboard 770 to input data into the computer system 700. The graphics adapter 740 displays images and other information on the display 750. The network adapter 790 couples the computer system 700 to one or more computer networks.
The computer system 700 is adapted to execute computer program modules for providing functionality described herein. As used herein, the term “module” refers to computer program logic used to provide the specified functionality. Thus, a module can be implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or software. In one embodiment, program modules are stored on the storage device 760, loaded into the memory 730, and executed by the processor 710.
The types of computer systems 700 used by entities can vary depending upon the embodiment and the processing power required by the entity. For example, the update server 100 might comprise multiple blade servers working together to provide the functionality described herein. As another example, the client system 310 might comprise a mobile telephone with limited processing power. A computer system 700 can lack some of the components described above, such as the keyboard 770, the graphics adapter 740, and the display 750. In addition, one or more of the entities may be implemented in a cloud computing environment. As used herein, cloud computing refers to a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet.
One skilled in the art will recognize that the configurations and methods described above and illustrated in the figures are merely examples, and that the described subject matter may be practiced and implemented using many other configurations and methods. It should also be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure of the described subject matter is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the subject matter, which is set forth in the following claims.
Aspects of the present system and method are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to examples of the principles described herein. Each block of the flowchart illustrations and block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and block diagrams, may be implemented by computer usable program code. The computer usable program code may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the computer usable program code, when executed via, for example, the processor (710) or other programmable data processing apparatus, implement the functions or acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. In one example, the computer usable program code may be embodied within a computer readable storage medium; the computer readable storage medium being part of the computer program product. In one example, the computer readable storage medium is a non-transitory computer readable medium.
The preceding description has been presented to illustrate and describe examples of the principles described. This description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit these principles to any precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/193,452 filed Jul. 28, 2011. This application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20170163767 A1 | Jun 2017 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13193452 | Jul 2011 | US |
Child | 15438486 | US |