Patent ID: 7055148

Claim:
A computer system communicatively coupled to a network, comprising: an operating system; a programmable non-volatile memory; at least one microprocessor operatively coupled to execute at least one instruction from the programmable non-volatile memory in response to a boot request, the microprocessor configured to controllably write to the programmable non-volatile memory; and at least one fixed storage device operatively coupled to the at least one microprocessor, wherein the at least one fixed storage device receives from the network at least a portion of a boot image comprising: a system loader; a firmware patch; a configuration file modifiable to direct the system loader to execute the firmware patch instead of the operating system in response to a subsequent boot request; and the firmware patch configured to write a firmware upgrade to the programmable non-volatile memory, the firmware patch comprising: an install application; a firmware revision containing at least one instruction different from firmware within the programmable non-volatile memory; and a flash application having a bootable kernel, firmware update logic, and a non-volatile memory interface, wherein the firmware update logic is executable on the microprocessor to write the firmware revision to the programmable non-volatile memory.