KR100569299B1 - Saving and Cloning Method and Apparatus of Computer System Image on Network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for storing and replicating computer system images using a network.

Using a network in a network connected to a computer network, a monitoring system capable of oversizing and supervising storage and duplication commands by a plurality of clients wishing to store and replicate a computer system image and a server and a computer user for performing the storage and duplication operation. A method of storing / cloning system images of a plurality of clients online, the method comprising: making a boot diskette using the monitoring system, booting a system of a client to be stored using the boot diskette, and from the monitoring system. Switching a server to a storage mode based on a command, obtaining configuration information of a hard disk of the client, initializing an image file according to the configuration information, and writing the contents of the hard disk to a server. Storing the data in a table, and if a failure occurs in any one of the plurality of clients, switching a server to a clone mode based on a command from the monitoring system, and using a boot diskette. Booting the system, transferring the image file stored in the server to the client to be cloned, initializing a hard disk of the client to be cloned according to configuration information included in the image file, and in the image file. It provides a method for storing / cloning a computer system image using a network comprising the step of copying the contents of the included hard disk to the hard disk of the client to be cloned.

 The computer system image storage / replication method according to the present invention can store and duplicate two or more systems at the same time without the need for keyboard input or system setting of the system. Can be used for

Storage, Replication, TCP / IP, UDP, DHCP, NFS, Daemons, Multicast

Description

Apparatus and method for storing / cloning a computer system image using a network {Saving and Cloning Method and Apparatus of Computer System Image on Network}

1 is a view showing a physical structure according to the operation of the present invention,

Figure 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the monitoring system according to the present invention,

3 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the server according to the present invention;

4 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a client according to the present invention;

5 is a block diagram showing a manufacturing process of a boot diskette;

6 is a block diagram illustrating a storage process of a single computer system image;

7 is a flow chart illustrating a storage process of a single computer system image;

8 is a flow chart illustrating a save operation of a single computer system image;

9 is a flow chart illustrating the simultaneous storage operation of multiple computer system images;

10 is a block diagram illustrating an image multiplex transmission module of a multicast scheme;

11 is a block diagram showing a replication process of a single computer system image;

12 is a flow chart illustrating a cloning process of a single computer system image;

13 is a flow chart showing the cloning operation of a single computer system image;                 

14 is a flow chart illustrating a simultaneous replication operation of multiple computer system images;

15 is a flow chart illustrating the simultaneous replication operation of multiple computer system images having different disk images from each other.

Description of the main parts of the drawing

11: monitoring system 12, 61: server

13 to 16, 62: Client 21: Monitoring control unit 22: Monitor 23: Input unit 24: Boot disk management unit 25: Storage / replication management unit 26: NIC 31: Server control unit 32: DHCP server management unit 33: Mode switching unit 34: Disk image storage Apparatus 35: Server operating unit 36: Data transmission unit 41: Client control unit 42: Low-level disk management unit 43: Disk initialization unit 44: Initialization program management unit 45: Data storage unit 46: Client program management unit 47: NFS client management unit 55: Boot diskette 73: Disk 74: Image File

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for saving and cloning a computer system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for simultaneously replicating a plurality of computer system images using a multicasting transmission method while implementing a storage and duplication function of a client computer system image connected to a replication server using a network.

In computer systems, boot refers to loading the computer's operating system into the computer's memory. Once the operating system is loaded, you are ready to run your application. On the other hand, storage refers to the act of copying a file or database to a separate storage medium in case of a computer failure or other unexpected accident, and is a necessary and everyday task for a large business that operates a large computer. And cloning refers to genetically identical populations or cell populations that are biologically reproduced in a single organism in a single individual, and generally produce the same individual as if they were copied as it is.

Personal computer users can choose from two types of storage: local storage and internet storage. Local storage is a way to save important files to a floppy diskette and to a Zip drive or Jazz drive or similar hard disk. Internet storage is a method of storing important files in a safe storage location on the Internet, not on a personal computer that is using important files. When the hard disk of the personal computer is damaged and important files are lost, it is possible to download the saved files from the Internet. Way.                         

On the other hand, data replication means reviving the data remaining in the storage medium when the data necessary for various reasons is lost without being stored. However, in most cases, data replication is impossible when the media is severely damaged or overwritten by data already lost. On the other hand, in the case of data loss due to formatting or virus, most of the data remains intact on the hard disk and only the link that can access the data is broken. Often data can be replicated.

Computer storage and replication technology can be classified into two categories: data storage and replication, and system storage and replication. Data storage refers to a method of storing and replicating user data existing in a computer system on a specific medium. General storage and duplication means the storage and duplication of data.

In contrast, system storage and cloning means storing and duplicating data of a user existing in a system, as well as storing and duplicating an operating system, a hard disk setting of a system, and the like, which are software necessary for operating the system.

Existing system storage and cloning methods are generally performed using disk media. In other words, the image of the system in the form of a file, and the image file is stored in a specific media, such as a hard disk or CD, and the system is copied through an image file when the operation is impossible. The image file of the system includes not only all the software installed in the system, but also a hard disk such as a root directory entry, a file cluster, information related to the system's hard disk structure, such as partition information. All information of is included.

On the other hand, the use of personal computers in groups using local area networks (LANs), such as computer labs of universities, offices of large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as PC rooms, which are rapidly increasing in recent years, is increasing. In such cases, computer administrators find it difficult to keep personal computers optimal for use.

Intermittent hardware problems can be solved by replacing or repairing the system. However, much more problems arise in the area of software management. In particular, operating systems such as Microsoft Windows (MS-WINDOWS) have little user management compared to operating systems such as Linux or Unix, which makes computer management more difficult. In other words, Linux or Unix requires users to enter a user ID and password to operate the system. However, Windows sets the system to allow the user to personally authenticate the system. Unless otherwise specified, this authentication procedure is generally omitted.

Personal computer users often change computer system settings arbitrarily, corrupt important files on the system, install illegal software on the system or infect viruses, making the system unusable. In this case, the computer administrator has to reinstall the system software or duplicate the damaged files individually for each computer, which requires a lot of time and effort. In particular, since such reinstallation or cloning work is not made online, each computer has to be reinstalled or cloned individually, thereby increasing the inconvenience.

In addition, the conventional method of storing and duplicating a system image has a disadvantage in that the size of the capacity of the system image is limited by the size of the capacity of the media to store it. In other words, if you want to store an entire hard disk, you usually need several CDs. In addition, since one media is used to copy one, there is a disadvantage that two or more systems can not be duplicated at the same time by using one stored media.

In order to solve this problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for simultaneously storing and duplicating two or more computer system images while implementing a storage and duplication function of a computer system image using a network.

To this end, the present invention, a network and a monitoring system that can be stored and replicated with a plurality of clients to be stored and replicated server and computer users to perform the storage and replication commands and supervise the storage and replication commands are connected to the network in a computer communication network A method of storing / duplicating a system of a plurality of clients online, comprising: manufacturing a boot diskette using the monitoring system, booting a system of a client to be stored using the boot diskette, from the monitoring system Switching the server to a storage mode based on a command of the client; obtaining configuration information of the hard disk of the client; initializing an image file according to the configuration information; Saving in form And if a client system of any of the plurality of clients fails, switching a server to a clone mode based on a command from a monitoring system, booting a system of a client to be cloned using the boot diskette. Transmitting an image file stored in the server to a copy target client, initializing a hard disk of a copy target client according to configuration information included in the image file, and a hard disk included in the image file. It provides a method for storing / cloning a computer system image using a network comprising the step of copying the contents of the disk to the hard disk of the client to be cloned.

Meanwhile, according to another object of the present invention, a network connected to a computer communication network is connected to a plurality of clients to be stored and replicated, and a monitoring system capable of giving and supervising storage and replication commands by a server and a computer user for performing a storage and replication operation. In the storage / replication of a plurality of client systems on-line using the network in the network, the monitoring system is a monitoring control unit for controlling and managing the monitoring system, the command and the storage and replication of the user input and storage of the monitoring system and A monitor showing the progress or result of the cloning, an input unit for a user to input a command to the monitoring system, a boot disk management unit for making a boot diskette for booting the client system, and a storage and cloning unit for the client system. And a server control unit for controlling and managing a server, a dynamic host configuration protocol server manager for allocating an Internet protocol address in response to a client's request for lending an Internet protocol address, and storing the server in a storage mode or Mode switching unit for switching to the replication mode, a disk image storage unit for converting and storing the hard disk of the client in the form of an image file, a server operating unit for performing data exchange between the monitoring system and the server and the client through the server, the server And a data transmitter for transmitting data from the client to the client, wherein the client includes a client controller for controlling and managing the client, a low level disk manager for inputting and outputting a disk image of the client, and the client. A disk initialization unit that reads configuration information of a disk or initializes the disk based on the configuration information, an initialization program manager that determines whether to store or duplicate the system of the client, a data storage unit that stores data in the client, and Client program management unit which initializes the image file, delivers the result of saving and duplication to the Save and Replicate Wizard, or delivers the number of clients to be replicated to the Replica Wizard, and stores the disk contents of the client in the form of an image file on the server. A network file system client manager, and a multicast client manager receiving the image file from the server, wherein the monitoring system, the server, and the client each have a network interface card. The present invention provides a storage / replication device for a computer system image using a network connected to a computer communication network.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the present invention.

1 is a view showing the physical structure of a storage and replication system according to the operation of the present invention.

The monitoring system 11 issues a command to perform a storage and duplication process according to the present invention, displays a process of performing a task according to the command, and shows a result of the process. The server 12 which directly performs the storage and replication process according to the invention is connected with client computers via Ethernet 17. Nodes 1 to n (14 to 16) represent clients 13 that are subject to storage and replication in accordance with the present invention. In the detailed description of the present invention, the client 13 is used in two cases, meaning an entire computer or an individual computer connected to the server 12.

2 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the monitoring system 11.

The monitoring control unit 21 is an essential part of the monitoring system 11 that functions to control and manage the monitoring system 11.

The monitor 22 is a peripheral device connected to the morning-turning control unit 21 and used to display information input by the user or information generated in the computer to the user, and the input unit 23 is used by the monitoring system 11 user. As a device capable of inputting commands and data, a keyboard or a mouse are typically used.

The boot disk management unit 24 is a part for manufacturing the boot diskette 55 and has a low disk write module 53 and a boot image 54. The raw disk write module 53 writes the boot image 54 to the boot diskette 55.

The storage / replication manager 25 is responsible for storing and duplicating the client 13 system image according to the present invention. In the present invention, a storage and duplication wizard will be described below. A GUI (Graphic User Interface) program that sends commands related to and receives the results.

The network interface card (NIC) 26 is a card for connecting a computer to the Internet and is generally called a network card or an Ethernet card. In the present invention, the network interface card is used to connect the monitoring system 11, the server 12, and the client 13 with each other on a network using an internet communication network.

3 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the server 12.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 simultaneously, the server controller 31 is an essential part of the server 12 which functions to control and manage the entire server 12.

The DHCP server manager 32 dynamically allocates an IP address in response to an IP address allocation request from the client 13. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a protocol that allows network administrators to centrally manage and assign IP addresses on networks within an organization.                     

On the other hand, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) is referred to as a set of over 100 data communication protocols used to connect computers and data communication devices to a communication network. For a common name. TCP / IP is included in the third through seventh layers except the first and second layers (physical and data link layers) of the seventh layer of Open System Interconnect (OSI), which is presented as a network standard model. Among these, IP is located in the network layer, which is the third layer of the OSI model, and is a protocol processed on a router. In TCP / IP, each computer must have a unique IP address to access the Internet. If you are not using DHCP, you will need to manually enter an IP address for each computer, and if the computers are moved to a different part of the network, you will need to enter a new IP address. On the other hand, the advantage of using DHCP is that DHCP automatically assigns an IP address to the computer, even if the computer is moved to another part of the network, without the computer administrator having to manually enter the IP address.

The DHCP client requests the DHCP server for an IP address corresponding to its system when the system starts up, and the DHCP server responds to an IP address assignment request from the DHCP client. For this purpose, a scope is an area of assignable IP addresses. Maintain and manage.

The mode switching unit 33 is a part that functions to switch the server 12 to the storage or replication mode, which corresponds to the mode switching module 64 to be described later in the present invention. Since the boot diskette used for storing and cloning according to the present invention is exactly the same diskette, when the system of the client 13 is booted with the boot diskette, the client 13 may decide whether to save or clone the server. The query is sent to (12), and the server mode switching unit 33 switches the server 12 to the storage or replication mode.

The disk image storage unit 34 stores the hard disk of the client 13 as an image file and stores the image file for storage. When the system of the client 13 is duplicated, the disk image storage unit 34 34), the image file is read and written back to the client 13's hard disk. Here, the image file includes not only all the software installed in the system, but also the root directory entry, the file cluster, information related to the system's hard disk structure, such as partition information, and the like. It is a collection of data files necessary for computer operation.

The server operating unit 35 enables the exchange of data between the monitoring system 11, the server 12, and the client 13 through the server. The daemon 67, which will be described later, corresponds to the present invention. The daemon 67 is a program that executes tasks related to the operation of the system in the background, and a user who uses the system does not know whether the daemon program is currently running. However, when a daemon program receives a task request related to the operation of the system, the daemon program is automatically started to perform a task corresponding to the request. For example, a web server that provides web services on the Internet is also a daemon.

The data transmitter 36 transmits data related to storage and replication from the server 12 to the client 13, and the sender 101 to be described later corresponds to this. The sender 101 is a program for transmitting the image file 74 of the client 13 owned by the server 12 to the client 13.                     

4 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of each of the client 13 computers.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 simultaneously, the client controller 41 is an essential part for controlling and managing the client 13.

The low level disk manager 42 includes a low disk input module 72 for creating a disk image of the client 13 and a low disk output module 114 for writing the disk image back to the disk of the client 13.

The disk initialization unit 43 bases on the disk configuration module 71 for reading the disk configuration information of the client 13 to store the client 13 system image and the disk configuration information for replicating the client 13 system image. There is a disk configuration format module 113 which initializes (formats) the disk of the client 13. Herein, the disk configuration information refers to partition information of a hard disk in which a user divides one physical hard disk into several hard disk drives and software partitions one physical hard disk on a computer operating system.

The initialization program manager 44 has an initialization program 68. When the initialization program 68 boots a system of the client 13 using a boot diskette, the initialization program 68 loads a boot kernel into a memory. The part that resides in memory is called the boot kernel image. The initialization program 68 is a program that is executed first after the boot kernel is loaded and functions to determine whether to store or duplicate the client system image through the daemon 67 of the server 12.                     

Here, the kernel is the core part of the system that is read first when the computer system starts up. It manages all the resources of the computer system and allows you to prepare and work with resources when you request them.

The data storage unit 45 stores programs and data as a hard disk of the client 13.

The client program 69 is present in the client program manager 46. The client program 69 is a program that plays a pivotal role in storing and replicating the client 13 system image. That is, in the case of storing the client 13 system image, the disk configuration information of the client 13 is transmitted to the storage wizard 63, and the storage wizard 63 delivers the currently stored process and results. When the client 13 system image is copied, the number of clients 13 to be duplicated is transmitted to the replication wizard 111.

The NFS client management unit 47 includes an NFS client 70. When NFS is described, a network file system (NFS) is referred to as a different system architecture and an operating system. (Operating System) Refers to a system that allows sharing of resources through a network. An NFS resource refers to a file system or a partition within a file system, and an NFS server refers to a system that allows a remote machine to share its file system or partition over a network. An NFS client is a system that installs and uses network resources shared by an NFS server on a network. In the present invention, the NFS client 70 functions to store the disk contents of the client 13 input to the server in the form of an image file on the server. Here, the contents of the disk include not only the general data of the user existing on the disk, but also all the operating system and hard disk setting information of the system.

The multicast client manager 48 receives the image file from the sender 101 of the server 12, and the multicast client 112 belongs to it.

5 is a block diagram of a boot diskette 55 manufacturing system according to the present invention.

Sometimes the computer won't even boot up while using the computer. This is often the case when no action can be taken to duplicate the system image on that computer. In this case, a file capable of booting the system is stored in a medium such as a diskette and stored separately. This is called a boot diskette 55. This boot diskette 55 should be manufactured in a system in which the system operates normally.

On the other hand, in the boot diskette 55 according to the present invention there is Linux (Linux ^TM) kernel running on Intel (Intel ^TM) compatible processor into a slightly modified form. In more detail, the modified contents are about the network booting of the Linux kernel, and the boot diskette 55 includes LAN card drivers supported by Linux and the DHCP protocol, so that the client may boot to the boot diskette 55. (13) When the system is booted, the server 12 and the NFS client 70 are connected. In addition, in the present invention, the same boot diskette 55 is used in the step of booting the client 13 system for storing and replicating the computer system image. Therefore, boot diskette 55 is not created separately according to the storage and duplication of the computer system image.

When a computer user issues a command to create a boot diskette 55 using the command and watch module 51, the command and watch module 51 passes a command to the boot disk management module 52 (step 2). The management module 52 reads the boot image 54 which it has internally into the raw disk write module 53 (step 4).

Here, the command and monitoring module 51 is a module that allows an administrator or a user of a computer to give or monitor a process of storing or duplicating a system, and serves as a core function of the monitoring system 11 described with reference to FIG. 1.

In addition, the boot image 54 refers to a stored copy of a master boot record (MBR) of a hard disk. The master boot record exists in what form and where the operating system of the computer system is located. It is usually stored in the first sector of the hard disk as information for identifying whether the memory card can be loaded into the main memory of the computer.

When the low disk write module 53 writes the boot image 54 to the low level, which is the physical level of the floppy disk 55 (step 6), the command and monitor module 51 is mounted in the system where the command and monitor module 51 is running. The boot diskette 55 is manufactured in the floppy disk drive. Then, the boot disk management module 52 transfers the process and the result of the boot diskette 55 to the command and monitoring module 51 (step 8).                     

6 is a block diagram illustrating a storage process of a single computer system image, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a storage operation process of the computer system image illustrated in FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 simultaneously, in case a case arises where a system image of the client 62 needs to be stored, a system administrator or a user issues a storage command through the monitoring system 11 ( Step 10) (S100). Then, the storage wizard 63 in the command and monitoring module 24 of the monitoring system 11 transmits the storage command to the storage and replication server 61 (step 12) (S102).

5, the system is booted by inserting the boot diskette 55 manufactured in the process of FIG. 5 into the floppy diskette drive of the client 62 to be stored by the system administrator or the user (step 14) (S104), and the server 61. The included DHCP server 66 provides IP information to be newly assigned to the client 62 to be stored (step S106).

When client 62 executes an initialization program 68 in the boot kernel image of boot diskette 55 and sends a query to server 61 via daemon 67 to save or clone client 62 ( In operation 18, in operation S108, the mode switching module 64 of the server 61 converts the server 61 into a storage mode in operation S110. The lock management module 65 of the server 61 transmits the information about the storage mode to the initialization program 68 through the daemon 67 (step 22) (S112), and the initialization program 68 again. When information about the storage mode is transmitted to the client program 69 (step 24) (S114), the client program 69 is started to perform a work related to storage.                     

Subsequently, the disk configuration module 71 of the client 62 approaches the disk 73 of the client 62 to obtain configuration information of the disk 73 (step 26) (S116), and obtains the obtained configuration information from the client program ( 69) (28) (S118).

Then, the client program 69 transmits the configuration information to the storage wizard 63 of the command and monitoring module 51 (step 30) (S120).

The client program 69 accesses the disk 73 of the client 62 to initialize the image file 74 according to the configuration information of the disk 73, and the low disk input module 72 stores the contents of the disk 73. After reading (step 32) (S122), the contents of the disk 73 are transferred to the NFS client 70 (step 34) (S124). The NFS client 70 stores the contents of the input disk 73 in the form of an image file 74 in the server 61 (step 36) (S126), and the client program 69 returns the result to the daemon 67. Using the command and transfer to the storage wizard 63 of the monitoring module 51 (step 38) (S128). Here, the image file stored in the server 61 refers to a set of data files necessary for the operation of the client 62 computer, and not only all the software installed in the system, but also a root directory entry, a file cluster, and a system. All information of the hard disk, such as information related to the hard disk structure of the partition, for example, partition information. However, since the client 62 computer is already booted, the contents necessary for the booting process may not be included.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a step in which a computer administrator or a user directly stores a single computer system image according to the method described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

Referring to FIG. 8, a computer administrator or a user creates a boot diskette for booting a system of a client to be stored according to the method described with reference to FIG. 5 (S200), inputs a storage command through a command and monitoring module (S202), After inserting the boot diskette into the floppy diskette drive of the monitoring system and booting the client system (S204), and checks the progress of the storage through the command and monitoring module (S206). The computer administrator or the user confirms the storage of the client system to be stored through the command and monitoring module (S208), and then ends the storing operation of the client system.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a computer administrator or a user directly stores a plurality of computer system images simultaneously according to the method described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

Multiple computer simultaneous storage means that different computers are stored separately at the same time. That is, if a storage request is received from the other computer to the monitoring system while the storage of one computer is in progress, the process returns to the storage command input step and simultaneously performs a new storage. In FIG. 9, steps S300 to S306 go through the same processes as steps S200 to S206 of FIG. 8.

During the storage progress check (S306), it is determined whether there is a storage request from another client (S308). If it is determined that there is a new storage request (YES), the flow returns to the storage command input step (S302) and proceeds with the storage process again. If it is determined that there is no storage request (No), after confirming the storage of the client system through the command and the monitoring module (S310), the storage operation of the client system is terminated.

10 is a block diagram of an image multiplex transmission module of the multicast technique.

Multicast transmission techniques can be used at both the data link layer (layer 2) and the network layer (layer 3), where there must be a third layer address used to communicate with groups of recipients. In addition to using a third layer address, there is a method of mapping the address to a second layer multicast address of a physical network. In the case of an IP network, a D class address for multicast addressing is set. One class D address consists of the upper octet of the first octet '1110' followed by an arbitrary 28-bit group address. When mapping an IP multicast address to an Ethernet address, the lower 23 bits of the class D address are mapped to an Ethernet address block reserved for multicast. This mapping structure allows each Ethernet multicast address to match an IP multicast address.

Referring to FIG. 10, the sender 101 of the server system sends an image of the server through the multicast IP band based on the UDP protocol. Multicast IP band refers to class D and uses a band of 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. The multicast clients 103 and 104 transmit the assigned IP address to the multicast IP address 102 so that they are connected to each other on the network, and routers present in the network are UDP packets having the multicast IP address 102 as destinations. Transmits to an IP address connected to the multicast IP address 102. This transmission technique is called multicast transmission.

Here, the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a communication protocol that provides only limited services when messages are exchanged between computers in a network using IP. That is, although the sender divides the message to be sent into packets (datagrams), it does not provide a service such as reassembling the received packet at the receiver, and in particular, does not provide an order of arriving data packets.

Since multicast transmission is a one-to-many transmission composed of one sender and several receivers as described above, a TCP / IP transport that basically supports point-to-point transmission is not implemented. impossible. That is, error correction or flow control performed at the protocol level over TCP / IP cannot be expected. Multicast transmission is a method widely used for real-time transmission such as video conferencing and broadcast relaying, and it is a method to bear the loss of UDP packets transmitted within the limit to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) due to the characteristics of real-time transmission. .

However, the transmission method used in the present invention is a reliable multicast transmission method that does not allow the loss of UDP packets as described below. For this purpose, the transmission method of the packet loss transmitted between the sender 101 and the multicast client 103 and 104 is used. Reliability is guaranteed by correcting the error using the correctable TCP / IP transport packet.

That is, as shown in FIG. 10, when the multicast client 103, 104 having the IP connected to the multicast IP address 102 on the network receives the packet transmitted by the sender 101 in the UDP protocol, and then the packet is properly transmitted. An acknowledgment signal (ACK) is transmitted to the sender 101 using the TCP / IP protocol. The sender 101 checks the number of acknowledgment signals received from the multicast clients 103 and 104 to check whether a packet suitable for all the multicast clients 103 and 104 has been delivered.

In addition, if the number of acknowledgment signals and the number of multicast clients 103 and 104 are different, data transmission is interrupted, and the acknowledgment signal cannot be transmitted to the multicast client that does not return using the TCP / IP protocol using the UDP protocol. By sending packets, you guarantee the reliability of the transmission. The acknowledgment signal is a signal that the receiving side informs the transmitting side that the data has been received without error in communication.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a replication process of a single computer system image, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of FIG. 11. Here, since the block configuration itself of FIG. 11 is the same as that of FIG. 9, the same reference numerals and step numbers are used for the same parts, and a separate description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 simultaneously, when a failure occurs in the client 62 and a case where the client 62 system image needs to be duplicated, the monitoring system of the user has a failure of the client 62 via the network. Is displayed. Then, the system administrator or the user recognizes that the client 62 system image needs to be copied through the monitoring system 11 and issues a copy command via the monitoring system 11 (step S400). Then, the replication wizard 111 in the command and monitoring module 51 of the monitoring system 11 transmits the command to the storage and replication server 61 (step 12) (S402).

After inserting the boot diskette 55 produced in the above-described process of FIG. 5 into the floppy diskette drive of the monitoring system 11 and booting the system of the client 62 to be cloned (step 14) (S404), the server 61 IP information is transmitted to the client 62 to be replicated through the DHCP server 66 included in the (step 16) (S406).

The client 62 executes an initialization program 68 in the boot kernel image of the boot diskette 55 and sends a query to the server 61 as to whether to save or clone the client 62 (step 18) ( In step S408, the mode switching module 64 switches the server 61 to the replication mode (step S410).

When the lock management module 65 transfers the clone mode to the initializer 68 through the daemon 67 (step 22) (S412), the initializer 68 transfers the clone mode to the client program 69 again. (Step 24) (S414), the client program 69 is started to perform work related to duplication.

 It can be seen that this step is the same as the storage mode described in FIG. 6. Only mode has changed from save mode to clone mode.

The client program 69 connects to the replication wizard 111 of the command and monitor module 51 through the daemon 67 (step S416). When the client program 69 is connected to the cloning wizard 111, the cloning wizard 111 finds out the number of clients 62 that are connected to clone the current system.

Then, the daemon 67 transmits a replication command to the sender 101 (step 42) (S418), and the sender 101 has an image file 74 held by the server 61 in the client 62. The multicast client 112 transmits the multicast client 112 (step S420). At this time, if there are two or more clients 62 to which the computer system image is to be replicated, the sender 101 transmits the image file 74 existing on the server 61 to all the clients 62 connected to the replication wizard 111. Is simultaneously delivered to the multicast client 112 (step 44).

Here, the method of delivering the image file 74 existing in the server 61 to all of the plurality of clients 62 to be replicated uses the multicast transmission technique described with reference to FIG. 10. That is, the sender 101 of the server 61 is a multicast client 112 existing in each client 62 having an IP address assigned to the clients 62 to be replicated by the DHCP server 66 in step 16. ) Will simultaneously deliver the image file 74.

The multicast client 112 transmits the disk 73 configuration information included in the received image file 74 to the disk configuration format module 113 (step 46) (S422), and the disk configuration format module 113 The disk 73 of the client 62 is initialized (formatted) using the disk 73 configuration information (step 48) (S424).

Then, the multicast client 112 transfers the contents of the disk 73 to the low disk output module 114 of the client 62 (step 50) (S426), and the low disk output module 114 transmits the disk ( By writing the actual contents of 73 to the disk 73 of the client 62 (step 52) (S428), the disk 73 of the client 62 is duplicated. The client program 69 transmits the replication result to the replication wizard 111 of the command and monitoring module 51 (step 54) (S430).

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the replication operation of a single computer system image, and FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing the simultaneous replication operation of multiple computer system images.

Referring to FIG. 13, a system administrator or a user creates a boot diskette for booting a system of a client to be cloned according to the method described in FIG. 5 to clone a system image of a failed client (S500), and generates a command and monitoring module. After inputting a replication command through (S502), inserting a boot diskette into the floppy diskette drive of the monitoring system and booting the client's system (S504), and checks the replication progress through the command and monitoring module (S506). After checking the duplication of the client system image to be replicated through the command and monitoring module (S508), the duplication of the client system image is terminated.

Referring to FIG. 14, steps S600 to S604 are the same as those of steps S500 to S504 of FIG. 13.

Insert the boot diskette into the client to be cloned, boot the system of the client (S604), check the number of clients to be cloned (S606), and determine whether the number of clients to be cloned and the number of booted clients are the same (S608). ).

If the number of clients to be cloned and the number of clients booted are not the same (No), return to the step of booting the system of the clients to be cloned (S604), and perform the operations of step S604 as many as the number of clients to be cloned. Example) Check the replication progress through the command and monitoring module (S610). After checking the system replication of the client to be replicated through the command and monitoring module (S612), the replication operation of the system image of the client is terminated.

15 is a flow chart illustrating the simultaneous replication operation of multiple computer system images having different disk images from each other.

In the method of duplicating the computer system image described with reference to FIG. 14, the disc images of the computer to be duplicated are the same, and the method of duplicating the computer system image with reference to FIG. 15 is when the disc images of the computer to be duplicated are different.

Simultaneous replication of multiple computer system images with different disk images means that the disk images of the computers to be replicated are divided into groups instead of one and copied into different disk images for each group. In other words, if you need to clone a large number of computer system images from one of the many disk images that the server has to a disk image other than the one currently being used for the cloning operation, the server reads the disk images for each system. It is the proper placement of these images on multiple computer systems and the simultaneous replication of multiple computer system images.

The system administrator or user creates a boot diskette for booting the system of the client to be cloned according to the method described in FIG. 5 (S700), inputs a cloning command through the command and monitoring module (S702), and floppy diskette drive of the monitoring system. After inserting a boot diskette into the system and booting the client system (S704), the number of clients to be cloned is checked through the command and monitoring module (S706).

It is determined whether the number of the cloned clients and the number of booted clients are the same (708). If not, the process returns to the system booting step (S704) and boots up the system of the cloned clients as many as the number of cloned clients (S704). If it is the same (Yes), the process of copying is checked through the command and monitoring module (S710).

If a replication request of another client occurs during the check of the replication process (S710) (S712), it is determined whether the disk image of the client currently being duplicated and the disk image of the client for which the new replication request has been generated are the same (S714).

If it is determined that the images are the same (Yes), after confirming the duplication of the client system through the command and monitoring module (S716), the duplication operation is terminated, but if the images are not the same (No), the duplication command input step (ST702) Back on, we will go through the cloning of the client system image again.

As described above, the method for storing and duplicating a computer system image according to the present invention can be connected to a server via a network and automatically save and duplicate two or more systems simultaneously without the need for keyboard input or system setting of the computer. Management is very easy. In addition, the method of storing and duplicating a computer system image according to the present invention supports both the Windows and Linux operating systems, so that in addition to the PC lab using Windows, a small and medium server replication system using Linux, and several Has the advantage that it can be used as a group setup system in groups with hundreds of personal computers. Further, by using the TCP / IP transport packet, the UDP packet loss, which is a disadvantage of the conventional multicast transmission scheme, is corrected, thereby enabling reliable data transmission.

Claims (5)

In a network connected to a computer communication network, a monitoring system capable of overseeing and supervising the storage and duplication commands by a plurality of clients wishing to store and duplicate a system image, and a server and a computer user for performing a storage and duplication operation of the system image, may be used. In the method of storing / replicating the system image of the plurality of clients online using a network, (a) manufacturing a boot diskette using the monitoring system, (b) booting a system of a client to be stored using the boot diskette; (c) switching the server to a storage mode based on an instruction from the monitoring system, (d) acquiring configuration information of the hard disk of the client; (e) initializing the image file according to the configuration information, (f) storing the contents of the hard disk in the form of the image file on the server; If one or more client systems of the plurality of clients fail, (g) switching the server to clone mode based on an instruction from the monitoring system, (h) booting the clone target client system using the boot diskette; (i) delivering the image file stored in the server to a client to be cloned; (j) initializing a hard disk of the client to be cloned according to the configuration information included in the image file;      (k) duplicating the hard disk of the client to be cloned by recording the contents of the hard disk included in the image file on the hard disk of the client to be cloned; Storage / cloning method of a computer system image using a network comprising a.       The method of claim 1,      The boot diskette includes LAN card drivers in the system kernel and a built-in DHCP protocol. When booting the client system using the boot diskette, the client is automatically connected to the server using the DHCP protocol. How to save / copy a computer system image over a network. The method of claim 1, (b) and (h), the same boot diskette is used, so that the boot diskette is not produced separately according to the storage and duplication of the computer system image. The method of claim 1, If the sender has two or more replication target clients, the sender simultaneously delivers the image file owned by the server to the clients to all of the replication target clients connected to the server in a multicast manner. When the disk images of the clients are not identical, the computer system using the network, wherein the image files owned by the server are simultaneously delivered to the clients in an appropriate multicast manner for each image using a multicast transmission technique. How to save / duplicate images. The network in a network connected to a computer network by a monitoring system that allows a plurality of clients to store and duplicate a system image and a server and a computer user for storing and duplicating a system image to issue and monitor the storage and duplication commands. An apparatus for storing / cloning system images of a plurality of clients online using The monitoring system, A monitoring control unit for controlling and managing the monitoring system, a monitor for indicating a command of storage and duplication inputted by a user of the monitoring system and a process or result of storage and duplication, an input unit for a user to input a command to the monitoring system A boot disk management unit for manufacturing a boot diskette for booting the client, a storage and duplication management unit for storing and copying the client, The server, A server controller for controlling and managing the server, a dynamic host configuration protocol server manager for allocating an Internet protocol address in response to an Internet protocol address allocation request of the client, a mode switching unit for switching the server to a storage mode or a replication mode, and Disk image storage unit for converting and storing the hard disk of the client in the form of an image file, Server operating unit for performing data exchange between the monitoring system and the server and the client via a server, Sending data from the server to the client Consists of a data transmitter The client,       A client controller for controlling and managing the client, a low level disk manager for inputting and outputting a disk image of the client, and a disk initialization for reading configuration information of the disk of the client or initializing the disk based on the configuration information. An initialization program manager for determining whether to store or duplicate the system of the client, a data storage unit for storing data in the client, to initialize the image file, or to transmit or replicate the storage and replication results to the storage and replication wizard. A client program manager for transmitting the number of clients to the duplication wizard, and a network file system client manager for storing a disk content of the client in a form of an image file on a server. It is composed of a multicast client management unit for receiving the image file from the server, the monitoring system, the server and the client are each provided with a network interface card connected to the computer communication network, characterized in that the network system Storage / cloning device.

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