FR2862402A1 - Information management system manufacturing system, has analyzing engine to analyze client image to verify if hardware configuration of management system is compatible with hardware configuration of control, and to generate production image - Google Patents

Abstract

The system has an analyzing engine (24) to analyze a client image (14) to determine hardware configuration of an information management system. The image is analyzed to verify if the configuration is compatible with hardware configuration of a control (18), and to generate a production image to be engraved on a client information management system (42). An engraving support (40) copies the image on the system (42). The analyzing engine (24) has an interface with a control engine (12). The engraving support (40) has an interface with the engine (24). Independent claims are also included for the following: (a) a method for automated processing of an information management system (b) an information management system.

Description

The present invention relates generally to the field of the manufacture of

  information management systems, and in particular a method and system for manufacturing compliant information management systems

to customer image controls.

  As the value and use of information continues to grow, individuals and managers are looking for additional ways to process and store information. A first choice made available to users consists of information management systems. An information management system, in general, processes, compiles, stores, and / or communicates information or data for commercial, personal, or other purposes, thereby enabling users to take advantage of the value of the information. Due to the requirements of technology and information management and the fact that the requirements vary between different users or different applications, the information management systems can also vary taking into account the information that is managed, in the way that information is managed, the amount of information processed, stored or communicated, and the level of speed and efficiency with which information can be processed, stored, or communicated. The varieties of the information management systems allow the information management systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, air travel bookings, memorization of enterprise data, or global communications. In addition, the information management systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and data storage systems. , and network management systems.

  The wide variety of hardware and software configurations available for information management systems often presents a logistical problem to commercial staff who use a large number of information management systems. Information technology administrators often try to reduce the variety of information management systems by standardizing hardware and software components as much as possible for information management systems of a sales or service organization. a commercial unit. One way that IT administrators can achieve standardization is to place large orders for custom-made information management systems. Hardware standardization is generally accomplished by placing the order with a single manufacturer and specifying the components used to build the information management systems. Software standardization is more difficult to achieve because software applications often allow users to define various options during installation. One of the ways in which IT administrators can standardize software configurations is to also install the desired software on a hard drive in the information management system and then send hard disk to the manufacturer to use the image on the hard disk drive in the manufacture of information management systems according to the customer's order.

  Although the burn media of an information management system is capable of loading images onto fabricated information management systems, client images delivered on hard disk drives are not typically capable of a direct transfer to a factory workflow process. In general, customer images received on hard drives are manually validated and prepared for use in the factory workflow process. For example, an engineer typically loads a client image on a test information management system having the hardware configuration ordered by a client to verify the validity of the client image, such as the compatibility of the client image with the configuration hardware. The manual verification process requires a lot of time and is prone to errors. For example, the engineer typically needs to design the test unit according to the sales order specification, run tests on the uni-té to ensure the correct operation of the test unit, and change the software configuration in case any abnormalities detected, a process that can last for weeks. Errors in the design of the test information management system, errors or incompleteness in the test verification process and errors in the modification of the software configuration may delay the production of the sales order or have as a result the shipment of non-functional units.

  Therefore, there is a need for a method and system for automating the validation of a client image for integration of the customer image into a workflow process of information management systems.

  In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method and a system which greatly reduces the drawbacks and problems associated with the prior methods and systems for preparing a client image for use in the production of image management systems. information. An analysis engine automatically generates a production image and customization scripts to integrate the manufacturing of information management systems having a customer image into a manufacturing workflow process. The analysis engine analyzes an image to determine a client image hardware configuration database and compares the determined base with the ordered information management systems to validate a customer image for production.

  More specifically, a client image processing system includes a command engine for accepting information management system commands having client images and an analysis engine for automatically analyzing an image. client to validate the production image at a desired level of customization for each information management system. The command engine interfaces with a hard disk drive to receive a client image and control the integrity of the image, and also accepts command customization information to fabricate image-based information management systems. customer. The scan engine receives the client image and the customization information from the command engine to verify the validity of the client image and to prepare an image and production scripts for the manufacture of information management systems. A scan engine configuration module electronically determines the basic hardware configuration of the information management system that generated the client image and controls the client image to ensure that no erroneous configurations exist . A verification module compares the basic hardware configuration with the ordered configurations to ensure that the client image is compatible with information management systems that are manufactured to accept the client image. A personalization parameterization module determines the level of personalization parameters for each manufactured information management system image. Once a client image is verified and the customization level established, a production module generates a production image for use by an engraving medium, and a manufacturing script module generates scripts to guarantee settings. level of correct customization of the information management systems manufactured.

  The present invention offers many important technical advantages. A first example of an important technical advantage is the automation of the validation of the client image for the integration thereof into a process of production operations of information management systems. Automated validation of a customer image reduces the time it takes to bring a custom image into production by removing manual validation by engineers. For example, a client image is validated without building a physical information management system to load and execute the client image. The compatibility of the client image with associated information management system commands is validated by automatically determining the hardware configuration base that generated the client image and comparing the database to the hardware configuration of the sales order. Incorrect configurations of the client image for the hardware configuration database are automatically detected and excluded from automation for correction. The different levels of customization of information management systems are supported by customization scripts that are automatically generated based on the level of customization of the information management system command. The automation of customer image processing for the production of customer order information management systems greatly reduces the time that passes from the moment a customer image is received until customer image can be ordered.

  The present invention may be better understood, and its many purposes, features and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art with reference to the accompanying drawings. The use of the same numerical reference designates a similar element or the like in all the figures, in which: FIG. 1 describes a block diagram of a client image processing system, and FIG. a process for manufacturing information management systems according to customer image-based commands.

  The customer images of the information management systems are automatically checked for the production of personalized information management systems by electronically analyzing a customer ordered image.

  Electronic analysis reduces or eliminates the need to mount and test an information management system with the commanded configuration, reducing the time, cost, and risk of errors in processing a customer image in production of information management systems. For the purpose of this application, an information management system may include any combination of instruments or functional instrument assembly to calculate, classify, process, transmit, receive, search, send, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, manage, or use any form of information, intelligence, or data for commercial, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an information management system may be a personal computer, a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The information management system may include a random access memory (RAM), one or more processing sources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a hardware or software control logic, a read-only memory ( ROM), and / or other types of non-volatile memory. Additional components of the information management system may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output devices, such as a keyboard, mouse, and a video display. The information management system may also include one or more functional buses for transmitting communications between the various hardware components.

  Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram describes a client image processing system 10 for receiving client image commands and automatically processing customer image commands to generate production images on the customer image systems. management of manufactured information. A control engine 12 accepts an image 14, such as by having an interface with a hard disk drive 16, and a command 18 that specifies the consumer's conditions and information concerning the hardware configuration of the information management systems ordered. . For example, a consumer configures an information management system according to the specification desired by the consumer on a hard disk drive 16 and then sends the hard disk drive to the manufacturer together with the command 18 to load the image 14 of the hard dis-unit on the information management systems having the predetermined hardware configurations. An image integrity module 20 of the controller 12 interacts with the hard disk drive 16 to check whether image integrity has not deteriorated during delivery, such as the loss of memory. sectors. A personalization module 22 of the control engine 12 accepts personalization information from the control 18 or from a user interface to define the level of customization for each image of the information management system in production. For example, customization infor- mations may include changes to each image to create unique SID names or computer names.

  The control engine 12 provides a copy of the image and the personalization information to the analysis engine 24 for image validation and integration of the image and control into the process of processing the images. production operations. A configuration module 26 analyzes the image to determine the operating system, the basic hardware configuration and any misconfigured hardware. For example, the configuration module 26 analyzes the operating system parameters and the hardware identifiers that are in the operating system registers to determine the hardware configuration base that was used to create the image. The base is compared to the registers of the registers to determine any erroneous configurations in which the registers parameters do not correspond to the hardware base. These erroneous configurations can result in erroneously configured production images that can not support the hardware of the information management systems in production. The configuration module 26 provides a notification of the detected erroneous configurations or, alternatively, modifies this image to obtain the correct configuration.

  Once the configuration module 26 determines the basic configuration, the capture module 28 captures and stores the basic hardware configuration. The captured hardware configuration and the hardware configuration of the controlled information management system are compared by the verification module 30 to determine the existence of a match or only compatible differences. For example, if the client image was generated with an information management system having a hardware configuration that differs significantly from the ordered information management system, then the verification module 30 sends a warning message of a incompatibility of the ordered image and the hardware configuration of the information management system in production.

  A verified image is prepared for custom production by the personalization setting module 32 which defines the correct level of personalization in the image, such as by assigning personalization parameters determined by the personalization module 22 in the registers. of the operating system. A virus detection module 34 controls the customized image to detect viruses before a production image is generated. A production module 36 and a manufacturing script module 38 then use the verified image and the level of customization to generate a production image and manufacturing scripts for the manufacture of the information management systems. For example, the production module 36 generates a PowerQuest image for use on an etch medium 40, and the manufacturing script module 38 generates manufacturing scripts that instruct the etch medium 40 to download the etched image to an engraving medium 40. Customer information management system 42. The production image and manufacturing scripts are downloaded to a server associated with the burning medium 40 and called when customer order information management systems 42 are fabricated to satisfy the order 18. Customer orders for a different ordered quantity of information management systems that include the production image are realized as different orders specifying the customer image arrive at the factory from the customer. client.

  Referring now to FIG. 2, a flowchart describes a method of automatically preparing a customer image in a production image for the manufacture of information management systems based on a sales order. The method begins at step 44 by an interface between the client image and an image processing system. For example, a consumer creates a customer image on an information management system that matches the image that the consumer orders and then sends the hard disk drive containing the customer image to a manufacturing site. In step 46, the integrity of the image is confirmed by checking that all parts of the image are included on the hard disk drive and, in step 48, the image is copied to the engine control. In step 50, the level of personalization is determined according to the consumer's command and, in step 52, the image and the personalization level are downloaded to the analysis engine.

  In step 54, the analysis engine determines the operating system of the image and the hardware base used to create the image. The analysis of the operating system parameters and drivers allows a determination whether the image has been misconfigured for the base system hardware. In step 56, the determined hardware configuration is captured and, in step 58, the captured hardware configuration of the basic information management system is compared to the hardware configurations of the information management systems controlled by the information management system. consumer. For example, if the consumer has ordered hardware configurations that are different from or incompatible with the basic hardware configuration, then the manufactured information management systems that include the client image may not work properly.

  In step 60, the verified client image is persisted using the customization parameters from the sales order by placing the personalization parameters in the operating system registers of the image. In step 62, the personalized image is scanned for viruses, and in step 64 a production image is created from the customized image for use in the manufacturing process. In step 66, the scripts for manufacturing customization are created using customization instructions during the production process, and in step 68, the production image and the customization scripts are returned to the production line for use by an engraving medium as customer information management systems are manufactured.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the scope and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. attached.

Claims (20)

  A system for manufacturing information management systems according to a customer order (42) according to a customer image (14), the system being characterized in that it comprises: a control motor (12) operable to receive a customer image (14) associated with a customer order (18) of information management systems to be constructed in accordance with the customer image (14), an analysis engine (24) having an interface with the engine control (12) and operative to analyze the image (14) to determine the hardware configuration of the information management system that generated the image (14), to check whether the determined hardware configuration is compatible with the hardware configuration of the sales order (18), and for generating a production image to be engraved on production information management systems, and an engraving medium (40) having an interface with the analysis engine (24) and operational to copy the production image on controlled information management systems {42).   2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the control motor (12) further comprises an image integrity module (20) operable to confirm the integrity of a stored client image (14). on a disk drive (16).   3. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the control motor (12) further comprises a personalization module (22) operative to define a personalization level for the production image according to the order customer (18).   4. System according to claim 3, characterized in that the analysis engine (24) further comprises a personalization parameterization module (32) operational for assigning personalization parameters in the registers of the production image.   5. System according to claim 4, characterized in that the analysis engine (24) further comprises a manufacturing script module (38) operational to generate a production script for the customization of the production image at the level of the engraving medium (40).   The system of claim 1, characterized in that the analysis engine (24) is further operative to analyze the client image (14) to determine if the client image (14) has been misconfigured for configuration determined material.   7. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the analysis engine (24) further comprises a virus detection module (34) operative to scan the image to detect viruses.   8. A method for automated processing of client image information management systems (42), the method being characterized in that it comprises the steps of: receiving a client image (14) associated with a customer order (18) of information management systems to be constructed in accordance with the client image (14), analyzing the image (14) to determine the hardware configuration of the information management system that generated the image (14), check whether the determined hardware configuration is compatible with the hardware configuration of the client image information management systems (42).   The method of claim 8, wherein receiving a client image (14) further comprises forming an interface with a hard disk drive (16) associated with a configured information management system. according to the customer image (14).   The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: receiving personalization information with the client image (14), and defining a personalization level for the client image (14) based on the personalization information.   11. A method according to claim 10, characterized in that the definition of a customization level further comprises the loading of personalization parameters in the registers of the image (14).   The method of claim 8, characterized in that the analysis further comprises analyzing the basic configuration of the information management system that generated the image (14) to determine any associated erroneous configurations. to the customer image (14). 20   13. The method of claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises the generation of a manufacturing customization script to proceed with the customization of the information management systems manufactured according to the customer image (14).   14. An information management system for client image processing for manufacturing customer information management systems (42) in a workflow process, the information management system being characterized in that it comprises: a control engine (12) operative to receive a client image (14) to be burned on information management systems to satisfy a customer order (18), and an analysis engine (24) having an interface with the control engine (12) and operative to automatically generate a production image and a personalization script which integrates the manufacture of controlled information management systems having the client image (14) in the process of performing manufacturing operations.   An information management system according to claim 14, characterized in that the control motor (12) is further operative to receive the client image (14) from a hard disk drive (16), the control engine (12) further comprising an image integrity module (20) for confirming the integrity of the client image (14) stored on the hard disk drive (16). 20 25   An information management system according to claim 14, characterized in that the analysis engine (24) further comprises a configuration module (26) operable to determine the basic hardware configuration of the control system. information management that generated the customer image (14).   An information management system according to claim 16, characterized in that the configuration module (26) is further operable to compare the image (14) with the basic hardware configuration to identify any erroneous configurations of the computer. picture (14).   An information management system according to claim 16, characterized in that the analysis engine (24) further comprises a verification module (30) operative to compare the basic hardware configuration for compatibility with a predetermined hardware configuration of the controlled information management systems.   An information management system according to claim 16, characterized in that the image analysis (14) further comprises a virus detection module (34) operative to scan the client image (14) for virus detection.   An information management system according to claim 19, characterized in that the analysis engine (24) is further operative to form an interface with an etching medium (40) for transferring the production image. and the personalization script to the burner (40) for manufacturing information management systems having the client image (14).