Patent ID: 7127597

Claim:
A method for controlling boot options for a workstation on a computer network comprising: initiating a boot on the workstation in communication with the network; downloading a boot application to the workstation from a server in communication with the network, using the boot application to gather information about the workstation; forwarding the information to a policy server in communication with the network; determining, by the policy server, based on the forwarded information and based on a boot policy stored in a policy directory of the network, two or more boot options for booting the workstation wherein each boot option enables the workstation to boot into a specified environment based on one or more predefined features; forwarding the two or more boot options to the workstation; enabling a user to select a boot option from the two or more boot options; receiving, from the workstation, the user selection of a boot option and a request for a boot image corresponding to the user selection; forwarding the requested boot image to the workstation based on the selected boot option; and completing the boot of the workstation based upon the boot image received by the workstation.