Patent ID: 8527578
Filing Date: 2013-09-03
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of managing a software provisioning environment, comprising: storing, in a first provisioning server, a set of one or more profiles that each define a function to be performed by a computing system and a set of provisioning objects for the software provisioning environment, wherein the first provisioning server is a central provisioning server configured to centrally manage a plurality of provisioning servers, wherein the set of provisioning objects comprise a set of software distributions, a set of one or more configuration templates for configuration file generation, a set of one or more configuration files, and a set of one or more distribution profiles that maps the set of profiles to the set of software distributions, wherein the plurality of provisioning servers are not previously installed and configured to provision one or more computing systems with the set of provisioning objects; receiving, by the first provisioning server, input selecting one of the set of profiles, the selected profile defining a function to be performed by a computing system that is to be provisioned by one or more provisioning servers without identifying any specific software to be installed at the computing system, wherein the software distribution comprises a collection of software to be installed on the computing system by the one or more provisioning servers; independently selecting, by the first provisioning server, two or more provisioning objects from the set of provisioning objects to be supported by the one or more of the plurality of provisioning servers based on the selected profile; providing the selected provisioning objects to the one or more provisioning servers to complete a software installation on the one or more computing systems; receiving an update to one of the set of provisioning objects; determining, by the first provisioning server, whether the update applies to any of the plurality of provisioning servers; and providing the update to the provisioning servers to which the update applies.