Server Management Apparatus for Centralized iPXE Boot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional PXE boot techniques require multiple DHCP and TFTP servers across network segments, making it inefficient and complicated to deploy servers in large-scale mobile networks, especially when geographically distributed data centers need remote OS installation.
Innovation Solution
A server management apparatus that acquires configuration and identifier information of servers, generates scripts for booting, writes them to remote disks, and issues commands to mount these disks on servers, eliminating the need for DHCP and TFTP servers by using iPXE scripts and remote disk configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If DHCP server and TFTP server are deployed in each data center or rack for PXE boot, then server booting functionality is ensured, but device complexity and deployment difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the DHCP server and TFTP server into a single integrated server system. This consolidation reduces the total number of servers needed across distributed data centers while maintaining all necessary booting functionalities, directly addressing the complexity issue without sacrificing reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated server is designed to perform multiple functions - acting as both DHCP server and TFTP server simultaneously. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate specialized servers in each location, reducing overall system complexity while ensuring comprehensive booting support
2Adaptability or versatility
If DHCP relay is set up to enable communication across network segments, then server booting across networks is enabled, but device complexity and configuration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the need for DHCP relay configuration by implementing a unified server architecture that communicates directly with client devices across network segments. This eliminates the intermediate relay layer and its associated complexity while maintaining cross-network booting capability
3Adaptability or versatility
If remote OS installation is performed in geographically distributed data centers, then server deployment coverage is expanded, but deployment time and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated server prepares and stores boot images and OS installation files in advance, making them readily available for rapid deployment. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming file transfers during actual installation, enabling fast remote OS installation across distributed data centers
Solution Approach 2:
The unified server acts as an intermediary that provides centralized access to boot and installation resources for multiple distributed data centers. This mediator approach enables remote installations without requiring local server infrastructure, reducing deployment time while maintaining geographic coverage
4Reliability
If each node makes separate requests to DHCP server and TFTP server, then booting protocol requirements are met, but operational complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the DHCP and TFTP server functionalities into a single system that client nodes communicate with. This consolidation reduces the number of separate requests and connections nodes must establish, simplifying operations while maintaining full protocol compliance for reliable booting
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a server management apparatus, comprising: a server information acquisition unit configured to acquire configuration information and identifier information of a plurality of servers that constitute a network; a script generation unit configured to generate a script for booting each server for each of the plurality of servers based on the configuration information and the identifier information of the plurality of servers acquired; a remote disk setting unit configured to write the script generated by the script generation unit to a remote disk to be mounted on each of the plurality of servers to set the remote disk; and a command issuance unit configured to issue, to each of the plurality of servers via the network, a command to mount the remote disk set by the remote disk setting unit on a corresponding server.