KR20040097852A - Client computer and method of upgrading thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a client computer having a self-upgrade function and an update method thereof capable of performing an upgrade in an environment in which damage to computer resources can be suppressed. The storage device of a client computer connected to communicate with the host server through the network is configured to be executed first before execution of an operating system supporting a user interface whenever a signal corresponding to system startup is input. It is further equipped with an update client manager that checks whether there are upgrade contents by accessing it, and downloads, installs, and reboots the upgrade contents if there are upgrade contents. According to the client computer having the self-upgrading function and the upgrade method thereof, damage to the computer can be suppressed by being performed every time the computer is started while the user's operation and the drive are blocked.

Description

Client computer with self-upgrade function and upgrade method {Client computer and method of upgrading}

The present invention relates to a client computer having a self-upgrade function and an upgrade method thereof, and more particularly, to a client computer having a self-upgrade function and an update method thereof capable of performing an upgrade in an environment in which damage to computer resources can be suppressed. It is about.

As the use of computers through networks such as the Internet and LANs is becoming more common, various methods have been attempted to reduce the damage caused by virus infection and hacking of computers.

The types of infections of viruses can be broadly classified into infections through recording media such as floppy disks or CD-ROMs, infections via the network or the Internet, and infections by e-mail or download.

Infections caused by recording media, and e-mails and downloads during virus infections are mostly caused by a user performing a desired action using an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard.

Meanwhile, a client computer management system constructed through a network to efficiently manage a large number of client computers at a remote location is commonly used in a network service system that provides a network service to an enterprise or a member.

However, such a client computer management system typically registers a managed client computer to a host server through a manager computer so as to download and download the upgrade software module, and the user connects the client computer to the host server to check whether there is an upgrade. If there is an upgrade and a user upgrades, the user directly downloads using the input device.

In this case, the conventional client computer management system can download the upgrade software module after the operating system of the client computer is completely loaded so that the user can perform a necessary action by using an input device. There is a problem that a virus infection may occur while performing a multi-task different from the download using the multi-task. Such a computer infected with a virus can infect other computers, it takes a long time to recover the system, and there is a problem that the computer cannot be used until recovery.

The present invention has been made to improve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a client computer and an upgrade method thereof capable of performing an upgrade in an environment in which virus infection can be suppressed.

1 is a view showing a client computer management system according to the present invention,

2 is a block diagram of a client computer of FIG. 1,

3 is a flowchart illustrating an upgrade process of a client computer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

100: host server 200: client computer

300: administrator computer 400: network

In order to achieve the above object, a client computer according to the present invention is a client computer connected to communicate with a host server through a network, wherein a user inputs a signal corresponding to system startup to a storage device of the client computer. Update client manager that is set to be able to be performed before the operating system supporting the interface, and checks whether there are upgrade contents by accessing the host server, and downloads and installs the contents after the upgrade, and reboots; It is further provided.

In addition, the upgrade method of the client computer according to the present invention to achieve the above object is a. Loading a set network service system when a signal corresponding to system start of a client computer is input; I. Connecting to a host server connected via a network with the client computer; All. Checking whether there is an upgrade in the connected host server; la. Downloading and installing a corresponding software module if there is an upgrade content in the host server; hemp. And if the step D is completed, rebooting the client computer and then returning to step A.

Preferably, in the multi-step, if it is determined that there is no upgrade content in the host server, executing the operating system supporting the user interface; further includes.

The method may further include maintaining a drive of the client computer in a protected mode between the step B and the step C; And releasing the protected mode set for the drive of the client computer before executing the operating system.

More preferably, the step of storing the updated BIOS information of the client computer in the set restore location; further comprises.

Hereinafter, a client computer and an upgrade method thereof according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing a client computer management system according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, a host server 100, a manager computer 300, and a plurality of client computers 200 are connected through a network 400.

The network 400 includes supporting a connection between computers, such as a local network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and the Internet.

The host server 100 is configured to support the download / upload of the software module for registration and upgrade / downgrade of the client computers 200 connected through the network 400 to the client computer 200.

The host server 100 is equipped with a software module that can register and download the management target client computer 200 by the manager computer 300 used by the administrator.

Herein, the manager computer 300 refers to a computer used by an administrator who has authority to update data on the host server 100.

The administrator computer 300 may be physically the same structure as the client computer 200, and typically, the administrator accesses the host server 100 using the administrator computer 300 and then hosts the administrator through a login process. The server 100 is granted the right to update data.

Referring to FIG. 2, which is an example, the client computer 200 may include a CPU 210, a ROM 220, a RAM 230, a display 240, and an input device. 250, a storage device 260, and a communication device 270.

The storage device 260 is provided with an operating system (O / S) 261 and an update client manager 262.

The operating system (O / S) can be applied to anything known to support network services such as Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows XP, Linux.

The update client manager 262 is configured to be executed first before the operating system 261 supporting the user interface is executed every time the system startup mode is performed, and checks whether there is an upgrade content by accessing the host server 100. If there is an upgrade, it is a software module that downloads, installs and reboots.

Here, the system start mode is provided on a power button (not shown), a reset button (not shown), or an execution mode of the operating system 261 provided in the client computer 200. Refers to the mode performed when the 'Restart' menu is selected.

The update client manager 262 which performs these functions is installed with the support of the operating system at the time of initial installation. In the case of the Microsoft-based operating system, the Windows 95 and Windows 98 will be described first. It can be programmed to register the contents in a directory (My Computer | Hkey_local Machine \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Currentversion \ Runservices) that can support editing and registration of files.

In Windows NT and above, you can register the process contents in "system service".

An upgrade process by executing a client computer in which such an update client manager is installed will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

First, it is determined whether a system start signal is input (step 110). Here, the system start signal includes a signal in which the power button is turned on to start power input to the system, a reset button operation signal, or a signal for selecting a restart menu provided by the operating system.

If it is determined in step 110 that the system start signal is input, booting is started (step 120). Booting here means loading a BIOS program. In operation 120, however, the OS may be loaded to enable user interfacing.

The network service is then loaded (step 130). In this case, the network service refers to loading a network service support module equipped to transmit and receive data through the network.

When the network service loading is complete, the host server is connected (step 140). The address on the network of the host server 100 necessary for the client computer 200 to access the host server 100 is registered in advance in the update client manager 262 of the client computer 200. In addition, when an ID and / or an authentication key of the client computer 200 are required according to a connection method to the host server 100, the ID and authentication key are stored in advance in the update client manager 262 of the client computer 200. And, when the host server 100 is connected to the corresponding information is processed to be transmitted together.

Thereafter, the drive of the client computer 200 is maintained in the protected mode (step 150). The drive protection mode may include various drives such as a floppy disk drive (not shown), a CD-ROM drive (not shown), an input device drive (not shown) that processes key input signals of an input device 250 such as a mouse keyboard. To block the execution of the.

Thereafter, it is checked whether there is an upgrade content in the connected host server 100 (step 160).

If it is determined in step 160 that there is an upgrade content, the corresponding software module is received from the host server 100 and installed (step 170). In this case, the software module is constructed so that the download and installation process to the client computer 200 can be automatically performed and is registered in the host computer 100.

Thereafter, when the installation is completed, the current setting condition is stored in the storage location set as the recovery condition information (step 180). In this case, the recovery condition storage location may be applied to a recovery device mounted separately from the hard disk applied as the storage device 260. The recovery condition information is intended to be used when an operation error of the client computer 200 subsequently occurs.

Reboot when the recovery condition save is completed (step 190).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 160 that there is no upgrade content, the drive protection mode is released (step 210), and the operating system is loaded (step 220).

The user can use the client computer 200 after step 220 is executed.

Therefore, each time the client computer 200 is newly started by this process, the user's operation and the drive are blocked during installation of the upgrade target software module registered in the host server 100, thereby damaging the computer due to virus infection. Can be suppressed.

In the above description, only the upgrade and download process has been described in order to avoid the complexity of the description, but the downgrade and upload may be performed to perform data communication with the host server 100 in the same principle, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As described so far, the client computer having the self-upgrading function and the upgrade method thereof according to the present invention are performed every time the computer is started while the user's operation and the drive are blocked, thereby preventing damage to the computer. Can be.

Claims (5)

In a client computer connected to communicate with a host server over a network, Whenever a signal corresponding to system startup is input into the storage device of the client computer, the memory device may be set to be performed first before execution of an operating system supporting a user interface. And an update client manager for rebooting after downloading, installing, and rebooting the upgrade contents. In the upgrade method of a client computer connected to communicate with a host server through a network, end. Loading a set network service system when a signal corresponding to system start of the client computer is input; I. Connecting to the host server; All. Checking whether there is an upgrade in the connected host server; la. Downloading and installing a corresponding software module if there is an upgrade content in the host server; hemp. And if the step La is completed, rebooting the client computer and then returning to the step. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: executing an operating system supporting a user interface when it is determined that there is no upgrade content in the host server. 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: maintaining a drive of the client computer in protected mode between step b and step c; and Releasing the protected mode set for the drive of the client computer before executing the operating system. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising storing updated BIOS information of the client computer in a set restoration place in the step of setting the client. 4.