Patent ID: 7461374

Claim:
A method of dynamic installation and activation of software packages in a node in a distributed network of nodes, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of: storing, in a software package storage of a master node in the distributed network, a plurality of software packages and a plurality of software modules that the nodes in the distributed network will be using; wherein each software package of the plurality of software packages contains at least one module and associated dependency information; receiving a software update for a node on said master node; wherein the software update contains a set of one or more software packages; storing the software update on said software package storage; wherein said master node notifies said node that a software update is being requested; wherein said master node passes said node identities of one or more software packages to be updated and module dependencies; wherein said node determines, using the module dependencies and before installing the software update, running processes on said node that will be affected by the software update.