REDISTRIBUTION OF OPERATING ENVIRONMENTS FOR THE REDEPLOYMENT OF GRID CLIENTS

摘要

A client-server network environment is temporarily transformed into a grid computing environment through the deployment of a network -booted grid operating system to each of a plurality of network clients. Each participating client operates in the client-server mode under a local operating system. At an appropriate time, a server transmits to each client a thin-client boot image (a dynamically built customized image or an image obtained from a store of predefined boot images) along with a grid application for which the thin-client has been optimized for peak performance. Each client re-boots using the thin-client image, thereby entering the grid mode and executing the grid application.

主权项

1. A method for temporarily transforming a client-server network into a grid network, comprising:
allowing each of a plurality of client devices to operate under a local operating system in a client-server mode; at a first predetermined time, configuring a server, with which the client devices are coupled through a network, to operate under a thin-client operating system, whereby the server becomes a master node on the network; for each client device:
determining whether a boot image is available for deployment to the client device;after determining that a boot image is not available for the client device, generating a boot image for the client device;directing that the client device initiate a network boot in a thin-client mode, whereby the client device becomes a processing node for the server;transmitting a thin-client image and a grid application to the processing node, whereupon the client device boots the thin-client image; andlaunching the grid application on the processing node, whereby the processing node operates in a grid mode for use by the grid application, the grid application able to launch different grid applications on different processing nodes.