Patent ID: 6934853

Claim:
A method of configuring a client computer connected to a network, wherein a remote computer is capable of communicating with the client computer over the network, comprising: storing sets of configuration parameters in a non-volatile storage unit, wherein the sets of configuration parameters instruct at least one program how to initialize operational parameters and load programs into the client computer memory during a power on; for each set of configuration parameters, storing a token in the non-volatile storage unit indicating access rights to the set of configuration parameters, wherein the token specifies whether management entities running on the remote computer and client computer can access the set of configuration parameters for that token, and wherein if the sets of configuration parameters are overlapping then a first management entity running on the remote computer and a second management entity running on the client computer can configure a same set of configuration parameters; launching a configuration program from a removable storage unit interfaced with the client computer, wherein the configuration program is used to modify sets of configuration parameters in the non-volatile storage unit; launching a setup program from the removable storage unit during a power on when the client computer has not previously been configured; receiving settings for at least one set of configuration parameters via the setup program; and storing the received settings in the non-volatile storage unit, wherein the configuration program is launched to provide an interface to allow a user to set configuration parameters for other sets of configuration parameters.