Patent ID: 7376870

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a processor to run an operating system; firmware having a first portion and a second portion including configuration data, the first portion including logic to monitor the second portion to determine whether the second portion is corrupted; and a controller including firmware to send a message over a network to a server to request updated configuration data, wherein the message is to request the updated configuration data from a database stored in a memory of the server, to receive the updated configuration data over the network, and to write over at least a portion of the second portion with the returned updated configuration data, and wherein the message includes an identification of a computing system that includes the processor and the firmware; wherein the first portion includes logic to monitor a clock signal to determine whether it is a selected time or whether a period of time has expired indicating that an update of the configuration data is required and wherein the first portion activates one of a hardware component to send a predefined notification signal, and a software component to send a predefined communications software notification message to the controller to indicate to the controller whether booting of the computing system has been initiated.