Patent ID: 7155713

Claim:
One or more computer-readable media having stored thereon a computer program that installs an operating system on a computer, wherein the computer program includes computer readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the computer, causes the one or more processors to perform acts including: accessing a bill of materials (BOM) to identify a first set of operating system components; accessing a higher-level manifest corresponding to an individual component of the first set of components, the higher-level manifest including a sub-component list of any sub-components upon which the individual component depends, a priority order for the individual component relative to other components, and a version indicator for the individual component: accessing a lower-level manifest of an individual sub-component, the lower-level manifest including a sub-component list of any hierarchical components upon which the individual sub-component depends, a priority order for the individual sub-component relative to other components, and a version indicator for the individual sub-component; updating the higher-level manifest consistent with the sub-component priority order and version indicator in an instance where information of the higher-level manifest is outdated relative to the lower-level manifest; updating the BOM based upon the higher-level updated manifest in an instance where information of the BOM is outdated relative to the higher-level manifest; and, generating an operating system image based upon the BOM, the higher-level manifest and the lower-level manifest.