System and method for enabling automated run-time input to network bootstrapping processes

Abstract

A system and method are provided for enabling runtime parameter value input into a computer device during a network bootstrapping process. The system and method may use a memory block to store values needed at runtime that are ordinarily input by a user. A configuration file having one or more macros included may be stored at a TFTP server. A first bootstrap program is loaded on the computer device to initialize a memory block with the name of the configuration file to be used by the computer device during booting and the values for any macros included in the configuration file. The first bootstrap program then calls a second bootstrap program to parse the memory block and/or the configuration file in order to use the contents of the configuration file to boot the computer device. Using macros in the configuration files enable the same configuration file to be used by devices with differing booting needs.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of providing runtime input to a computer device during a network bootstrapping process, comprising:
 providing a first set of bootstrap instructions to the computer device, the first set of bootstrap instructions configured to:
 determine a configuration file corresponding to the computer device based at least in part on a unique attribute associated with the computer device; 
 determine one or more values associated with one or more macros in the configuration file; and 
 initialize a memory block with the one or more values associated with the one or more macros; and 
 
 generating a second set of bootstrap instructions, wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is configured to parse the memory block to retrieve the one or more values and to initiate the booting bootstrapping process of on the computer device. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions configured to initialize the memory block further comprises instructions configured to store the one or more values associated with the one or more macros. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions configured to initialize the memory block further comprises instructions to:
 store a signature identifying the an existence of the memory block; and 
 store a value indicating the a number of the macros used in the configuration file. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1  wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions is terminated when the second set of bootstrap instructions is generated. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is launched by the first set of bootstrap instructions. 
     
     
       6. The A method of  claim 1  for providing runtime input values to a computer device during a network bootstrapping process, comprising:
 providing a first set of bootstrap instructions to the computer device; 
 determining a configuration file corresponding to the computer device based at least in part on a unique attribute associated with the computer device; 
 initializing a memory block with parameter values identified in the configuration file; and 
 generating a second set of bootstrap instructions, wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is further configured to:
 determine what the configuration file corresponding to employ the computer device; 
 parse the configuration file corresponding to the computer device; and 
 parse the memory block to retrieve the parameter values for the macros identified in the parsed configuration file; and 
 initiate the bootstrapping process on the computer device with the parameter values retrieved from the parsed memory block. 
 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is further configured to determine what the configuration file corresponding to employ the computer device by parsing the memory block to determine an appropriate the configuration file corresponding to the computer device. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is further configured to determine what the configuration file corresponding to employ the computer device by identifying the configuration file from a customized DHCP tag. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the unique attribute is the a media access control (MAC) address associated with the computer device. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions is further configured to determine an appropriate boot environment for the computer device. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the boot environment is PXELINUX. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions configured to initialize the memory block further comprises instructions configured to store the a name of the determined configuration file. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions is further configured to determine one or more values associated with one or more macros by consulting a device profile associated with the computer device. 
     
     
       14. A system for providing runtime input into a computer device during a network bootstrapping process, comprising:
 a first server mechanism configured to provide a first set of bootstrap instructions, the first set of bootstrap instructions including an initialization module and a boot determination module; 
 a second server mechanism configured to provide one or more configuration files comprising one or more macros, wherein the one or more configuration files control the boot bootstrapping process of on the computer device; and 
 a bootstrap loading module, incorporated within the computer device, configured to retrieve and install the first set of bootstrap instructions; 
 wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions is configured to launch a second set of bootstrap instructions, and 
 wherein the boot determination module comprises:
 a mechanism for determining an appropriate boot environment for the computer device; 
 a mechanism for determining a configuration file associated with the computer device; and 
 a mechanism to determine one or more values associated with the one or more macros in the configuration file. 
 
 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the second server mechanism is a TFTP server. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the initialization module further comprises a memory initialization mechanism for selecting a memory block for storing boot processing information relating to the bootstrapping process. 
     
     
       17. A computer device capable of accepting runtime input during a network bootstrapping process, comprising:
 a bootstrap loading module configured to retrieve and install a first set of bootstrap instructions; and 
 a memory device configured to store one or more values associated with one or more macros in one or more configuration files used in the bootstrapping process; 
 wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions is configured to:
 determine a configuration file corresponding to the computer device; 
 determine one or more values associated with the one or more macros in the configuration file; and 
 initialize the memory device and store the one or more values associated with the one or more macros. 
 
 
     
     
       18. The computer device of  claim 17 , wherein the bootstrap loading module is configured to contact a server mechanism to retrieve the first set of bootstrap instructions when the device starts up. 
     
     
       19. The computer device of  claim 17 , wherein the bootstrap loading module is further configured to retrieve a second set of bootstrap instructions. 
     
     
       20. The computer device of  claim 19 , wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is configured to parse the configuration file and parse the memory device to retrieve the values for the macros identified in the parsed configuration file, and to use the retrieved values and the configuration file to boot the computer device. 
     
     
       21. A method of providing runtime input to a computer device during a network bootstrapping process, comprising:
 providing a first set of bootstrap instructions to the computer device, the first set of bootstrap instructions configured to:
 determine a configuration file associated with the computer device; 
 consult a device profile to determine one or more values associated with one or macros in the configuration file, the one or more values needed to complete the bootstrapping process; and 
 initialize a memory block with the one or more values; and 
 
 generating a second set of bootstrap instructions, wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is configured to parse the memory block to retrieve the one or more values to complete the bootstrapping process. 
 
     
     
       22. The method of claim 6, wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions initializes the memory block by storing the parameter values identified in the configuration file in the memory block. 
     
     
       23. The method of claim 6, wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions is terminated in response to generating the second set of bootstrap instructions. 
     
     
       24. The method of claim 6, wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions launches the second set of bootstrap instructions. 
     
     
       25. The method of claim 6, wherein the unique attribute comprises a media access control (MAC) address associated with the computer device. 
     
     
       26. The method of claim 6, wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions determines an appropriate boot environment for the computer device. 
     
     
       27. The method of claim 26, wherein the boot environment is PXELINUX. 
     
     
       28. The method of claim 6, wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions initializes the memory block by storing a name of the determined configuration file in the memory block. 
     
     
       29. The method of claim 6, wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions identifies the parameter values in the configuration file by consulting a device profile associated with the computer device. 
     
     
       30. A system for providing runtime input values to a computer device during a network bootstrapping process, comprising:
 a first server mechanism configured to provide a first set of bootstrap instructions to the computer device;   a second server mechanism configured to provide a configuration file corresponding to the computer device, wherein the configuration file comprises one or more parameter values that control the bootstrapping process on the computer device; and   a bootstrap loading module, incorporated within the computer device, configured to retrieve and install the first set of bootstrap instructions on the computer device, wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions is configured to:
 determine the configuration file corresponding to the computer device based at least in part on a unique attribute associated with the computer device; 
 initialize a memory block with the one or more parameter values in the configuration file; and 
 launch the second set of bootstrap instructions, wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is configured to:
 determine the configuration file corresponding to the computer device; 
 parse the configuration file corresponding to the computer device; 
 parse the memory block to retrieve the parameter values identified in the parsed configuration file; and 
 initiate the bootstrapping process on the computer device with the parameter values retrieved from the parsed memory block. 
 
   
     
     
       31. A computer device for providing runtime input values to a computer device during a network bootstrapping process, comprising:
 a bootstrap loading module configured to retrieve and install a first set of bootstrap instructions, wherein the first set of bootstrap instructions is configured to:
 determine a configuration file corresponding to the computer device based at least in part on a unique attribute associated with the computer device; and 
 initialize a memory block with one or more parameter values identified in the configuration file; 
   a memory device configured to store the one or more parameter values in the memory block for use in the bootstrapping process; and   a second set of bootstrap instructions, wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is configured to:
 determine the configuration file corresponding to the computer device; 
 parse the configuration file corresponding to the computer device; 
 parse the memory block to retrieve the parameter values identified in the parsed configuration file; and 
 initiate the bootstrapping process on the computer device with the parameter values retrieved from the parsed memory block. 
   
     
     
       32. A method for providing runtime input values to a computer device during a network bootstrapping process, comprising:
 providing a first set of bootstrap instructions to the computer device, the first set of bootstrap instructions configured to:
 determine a configuration file corresponding to the computer device based at least in part on a unique attribute associated with the computer device; 
 identify one or more parameter values in the configuration file; and 
 initialize a memory block with the one or more parameter values identified in the configuration file; and 
   generating a second set of bootstrap instructions, wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is configured to:
 parse the memory block to retrieve the one or more parameter values identified in the configuration file; and 
 initiate the bootstrapping process on the computer device with the parameter values retrieved from the parsed memory block. 
   
     
     
       33. A method of providing runtime parameter value input to a computer device during a network bootstrapping process, comprising:
 providing a first set of bootstrap instructions to the computer device;   determining a configuration file corresponding to the computer device based at least in part on a unique attribute associated with the computer device;   initializing a memory block with parameter values identified in the configuration file; and   generating a second set of bootstrap instructions, wherein the second set of bootstrap instructions is configured to:
 determine what configuration file to employ; 
 parse the configuration file; 
 parse the memory block to determine the values of the parameters identified in the configuration file; and 
 initiate the booting process of the computer device.