Next Wave: Apple granted a patent for an Apple NC system

Posted by Dennis Sellers Aug 8, 2006 at 6:55am

On August 8, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple’s granted patent titled “Method and apparatus for administering the operating system of a net-booted environment.” The invention relates generally to network computing. More particularly, the invention relates to the provision, administration, and maintenance of an operating system in a net-booted environment.

Patent FIG. 12 is an example of a machine-readable medium that may be accessed by a digital processing system, such as an NC client or an NC server, according to one embodiment of the present invention

Relates to “The Next Wave” series

In 2005, I brought a series to Macsimum News called “The Next Wave of the Internet” or in short, “The Next Wave,” which discussed a grand overview of my perception of Apple’s next revolution. The series title was in fact derived from a statement which was made by Steve Jobs back in 2001, as follows: “We believe that the next wave of the Internet will be client applications that work intimately with the Internet, but not necessarily with a Web browser.”

The heart of the series was about Apple’s coming wave of iServices or web services, network computers (NC) and amongst other things, a next generation browser system which would run internet applications. Last week, I posted a patent report titled “Apple EU Patent: Is it a flashback or a hint of things to come?”,which covered such a next wave browser. One segment of that patent, defined this next gen browser as a “component-based” approach to browsing and retrieving network-oriented information as opposed to the monolithic application-based approach of prior browsing systems.”

Today’s patent revelations pertain to Apple’s NC system which in fact describes one such embodiment as being the iMac. Others include devices using a cellular network and more importantly, the clear mention of a web TV. In a Next Wave chapter back in April 2005, I pointed to Frank Casanova making it clear that they didn’t require cell phone OEMs to put the QuickTime player on the phone – which was completely different from Microsoft’s old-way approach in the market. Yes, even back then there were clues that Apple had a network computer system in-play. And lastly, back in June 2005, The Next Wave series discussed the idea of the iPod eventually being able to double as an NC to demonstrate that NC’s didn’t have to be in the form of a traditional desktop.

So for those who are fans of the Next Wave Series, you’re definitely going to appreciate reviewing today’s patent overview report – which by the way, isn’t a Next Wave Chapter. Enjoy.

Apple’s abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for supplying a reliable and maintainable operating system in a net-booted environment. According to one embodiment, a network computer (NC) system including an NC server and multiple NC clients is managed by an NC client causing the remainder of the NC clients that are subsequently booted to receive operating system software that is configured differently than that currently in effect by replacing one or more system volumes on the NC server containing the operating system software with one or more different system volumes.

Excerpts from the detailed description of the patent

A method and apparatus are described for providing a reliable and maintainable operating system in a net-booted environment. Broadly stated, embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a fault-tolerant, self-repairing, and remotely maintainable operating system for the clients in a net-booted environment. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a network computer (NC) system maintains a copy of the operating system that cannot be corrupted by ordinary users of the NC system. Additionally, the NC system may preserve user customizations, such as preferences, by maintaining individual, user, storage areas. When an NC client boots from the network and accesses a stored copy of the operating system from an NC server, the user’s preferences are dynamically merged with the system environment provided to the NC client. Advantageously, since, the user’s desktop preferences and other customized settings are all preserved from session to session and supplied to the NC client as it boots from the network, the user may login to any NC client on the network and have the same user experience. According to another embodiment, a network administrator can upgrade every NC client in the NC system to a new version of the operating system by simply replacing a single file on the NC server. Further, according to another feature of the present invention, the network administrator can perform such an upgrade remotely from any NC client of the NC system. Advantageously, in this manner, NC system administration and maintenance costs are kept low as compared to a typical network of thick clients that each has a local copy of the operating system that must be replaced.

As used herein, the terms “network computer client” or “NC client” generally refer to a client (thick or thin) that boots by accessing a copy of the operating system over a network. As such, an NC client is not required to be disk-less.

The terms “network computer server” or “NC server” generally refer to a computer system that services requests of NC clients. For example, an NC server may provide access to a copy of the operating system to an NC client in response to a boot request.

A “network computer system” or “NC system” refers to a network including one or more NC clients and one or more NC servers.

Network computer system overview

The following only covers the first 2 out of 15 paragraphs on this topic:

In order to obtain the benefits of low-cost administration, all storage of application programs and operating system software for an NC system is preferably on the NC server. This doesn’t mean the NC clients have no mass storage, but rather that the NC clients boot over the network by accessing a stored copy of the operating system from the NC server. Additionally, when NC clients want to run an application, they access it from the NC server. Advantageously, in this manner, an application may be upgraded by simply replacing the old version of the application with a new version on the NC server. Then, the next time an NC client requests the application, the NC client will receive the new version.

Patent FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram that conceptually illustrates an NC system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the NC system 100 includes an NC client 150 coupled to an NC server 170 via a data communication link 140, such as a 10, 100, or 1000 megabit/second Ethernet link. While according to one embodiment, the NC client 150 is a Macintosh computer or iMac™ computer and the NC server 170 is a Mac OS X Server, the NC client 150 and/or the NC server 170 may alternatively represent one or a combination of the devices/systems described below with reference to FIG. 2.

Exemplary digital processing system

The digital processing system 200 includes a processor 252, which may represent one or more processors and may include one or more conventional types of such processors, such as Motorola PowerPC processor, an Intel Pentium (or x86) processor.

It will be appreciated that the digital processing system 200 represents only one example of a system, which may have many different configurations and architectures, and which may be employed with the present invention. Similarly, a Web TV system, which is known in the art, may be considered to be a digital processing system of the present invention, but such a system may not include one or more I/O devices, such as those described above with reference to I/O device(s) 266.

Additionally, a portable communication and data processing system, which may employ a cellular telephone and/or paging capabilities, may be considered a digital processing system which may be used with the present invention.

The processor 252 may execute one or more routines to redirect read and write requests from the file system 152 of the NC client to an appropriate volume on the NC server. Such routines may be stored in the mass memory 262, the memory 264, and/or another machine-readable medium accessible by the digital processing system 200. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a network computer (NC) system maintains a copy of the operating system in the mass memory 262 (and/or the memory 254) that cannot be corrupted by ordinary users of the NC system. Additionally, the NC system may preserve user customizations, such as preferences, by maintaining individual, user, storage areas in the mass memory 262 (and/or the memory 254). When an NC client boots from the network and accesses the operating system from an NC server, the user’s preferences are dynamically merged with the system environment provided to the NC client. Advantageously, since, the user’s desktop preferences and other customized settings are all preserved from session to session and supplied to the NC client as it boots from the network, the user may login to any NC client on the network and have the same user experience. According to another embodiment, a network administrator can upgrade every NC client in the NC system to a new version of the operating system by simply replacing a single file on the NC server. Further, according to another feature of the present invention, the network administrator can perform such an upgrade remotely from any NC client of the NC system. Advantageously, in this manner, NC system administration and maintenance costs are kept low as compared to a typical network of thick clients that each has a local copy of the operating system that must be replaced.

Exemplary server directory structure

Patent FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram illustrating the layout of an exemplary hierarchical directory structure that may be used by an NC server according to one embodiment of the present invention.

According to the embodiment depicted, a hard drive 610 of the NC server 170 or other mass storage device associated with the NC server 170 includes an NC folder (directory) 620. Within the NC folder 620 are an NC admin folder 630 and an NC shared data folder 640. The NC admin folder 630 is preferably inaccessible to ordinary users that do not have proper access privileges and includes a read-only, master operating system image 650.

The NC shared data folder 640 includes a shared operating system image 660, a boot image 670, and a clients folder 680. The shared operating system image 660 is a read-write version of the read-only master operating system image 650 and may be mounted by the NC client 150 as part of step 395. The boot image 670 is downloaded and executed by the NC client 150 after the first phase of the bootstrapping process in order to create an operating environment on the NC client 150, such as a Macintosh or Windows environment.

The client’s folder 680 is an area that may be used to store non-persistent client-specific information, such as modifications to the shared operating system 660. In this example, the NC clients are numbered from 1 to N and the clients folder 680 includes a folder for each NC client. For example, an NC #1 folder 690 is an area for storing client-specific information, such as a shadow image 695, corresponding to NC client #1. As described above, the shadow image 695 preferably contains only portions of the shared operating system image 660 that have been modified by the user. However, the shadow image 695 may be a user-specific copy of the shared operating image 660 in its entirety.

Split operating system

Patent FIG. 9 is a block diagram that conceptually illustrates NC client interaction with a SplitOS 920 according to one embodiment of the present invention. According to the example depicted, the SplitOS 920 of the NC server 170 contains a read-only core system volume image 922 and a read-write user system volume image 924.

The core system volume 922 preferably contains those parts of the system that do not need to be written back to during system operation. One goal of the core system volume 922 is to provide all the system components that are mandatory for system operation. By separating these essential components from the user system volume 924 and protecting them as read-only, an additional level of stability is provided to the NC system 100 since a user will be unable to delete or move items that are essential to system operation.

The user system volume 924 contains all the user-configurable system components, including preferences and all the system additions installed by application software, such as application-installed extensions and libraries. Additionally, the user system volume 924 may contain applications that cannot be run from an AppleShare server and/or other system components that do not function on a read-only volume.

Preferably, the NC server 170 also creates a shadow system volume 930 for each connected NC client. The shadow system volume 930 shadows the user system volume 924 by storing modifications that are made to the user system volume 924. In alternative embodiments, the NC server 170 may provide a separate user system volume 924 for each connected NC client.

Other detailed sections of the patent, which are not covered in this report, include: Net-booting Overview; System Read/Write Redirection; Network Computer System Administration; Shadow System Volume; Banding; Exemplary Machine-Readable Medium

Notice

Macsimum News presents only a brief summary of patents with associated graphic(s) for journalistic news purposes as each such patent application and/or grant is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trade Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any patent applications and/or grants should be read in its entirety for further details.

Inventors listed on granted patent 7,089,300: Cameron Stuart Birse and Keith Stattenfield.

Neo’s Notes

Well, it doesn’t get any clearer than that. Apple has an NC System in the works – if not already in play on servers today—used by more than 50 cellcos and Telcos, according to Frank Casanova. What we have here are facts which obviously have nothing to do with my imagination, as the idiotic cultists once claimed. Yes, Apple’s next wave of the Internet strategy is alive and well, and it definitely involves an NC System as this patents presents.

Cheers!

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