Diskless Client Remote Booting for Transparence Computing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer systems, such as legacy NC and Thin Client, face issues like excessive dependence on servers, limited support for multimedia applications, difficult software upgrades, and poor manageability, due to their design paradigms which require users to perceive the location of computing resources and lack flexibility in OS and application usage.
Innovation Solution
The MMNC system, based on the Transparence Computing paradigm, employs a diskless client with a remote booting chip that downloads OS and applications from servers on demand, allowing users to choose preferred OS and applications, and features a cooperative booting method and self-organizing server clusters to improve performance, availability, and scalability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If OS and applications are pre-installed on client devices, then users can immediately use the devices, but the hardware requirements increase and software systems become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the OS and application storage from the client device to remote servers. The client device only retains minimal booting components, while the full OS and applications are stored remotely and loaded on-demand. This resolves the contradiction by eliminating the need for complex pre-installed software while maintaining immediate usability through rapid remote loading.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring remote booting capabilities and maintaining ready-to-load OS images on servers. When a user needs to use the device, the OS is already prepared and can be immediately transferred, providing instant usability without requiring complex pre-installation on the client device.
2Adaptability or versatility
If hardware is continuously upgraded to support newer software, then software capabilities improve, but usage and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal platform where a single client device configuration can support multiple different OS versions and applications by loading them from remote servers. This multi-functionality allows the same hardware to adapt to different software capabilities without upgrading, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of upgrading physical hardware, the system creates virtual copies of different OS environments that can be loaded onto the client device as needed. This allows access to advanced software capabilities through software copies rather than hardware upgrades, maintaining cost-effectiveness while improving adaptability.
3Speed
If computing resources are stored locally on client devices, then access speed is fast, but storage and computing resources are wasted on devices with limited capability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a remote server as an intermediary between the client device and the computing resources. The server acts as a mediator that stores the full OS and applications, and rapidly transfers only the necessary portions to the client device when needed. This resolves the contradiction by providing fast access to resources without requiring the client device to permanently store them.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic resource allocation where the client device can dynamically load and unload OS and application components based on current needs. This dynamic approach allows fast access to required resources while minimizing the storage burden on the client device, as resources are transferred only when needed rather than being permanently stored.
4Device complexity
If servers store and process all computing resources, then client devices can be simplified, but server burden increases and response time lengthens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the computing system into distinct functional components: the client device handles user interaction and local processing of active applications, while the server handles storage and management of the full OS and applications. This segmentation allows the client to be simplified while the server maintains high performance through specialized storage and rapid transfer capabilities, resolving the contradiction between client simplicity and server productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A computing system based on Transparence Computing consists of clients and a server. There is no disk and no preinstalled OS on the client; a remote booting chip is set on the client's mainboard for downloading and loading the OS. Boot-supporting services, OS kernel mirrors, and applications are preset on the server; After being powered, the client broadcasts the boot request to the network and the server allocates network parameters for it. The client downloads an OS-selecting script from the server. After the user selects the needed OS, the client downloads and loads the selected OS from the server. Hence, the client fulfills the user's computing requirements just as a normal PC. The computing work is implemented on the client-side, during which the client can acquire corresponding resources such as applications, data, and documents from the server on demand. The client can be provided with private storage across the network by presetting a service in the mirror for creating virtual disks on the server, and thus data generated during or after the computing can be persistently stored on the server's storage.