Patent ID: 6959331

Claim:
A client computer system, comprising: a client storage device; a processor coupled to said client storage device, wherein said processor is configured to execute software instructions stored in said client storage device; a network interface configured for connecting said computer system to a remote network server unit, wherein said remote network server unit is configured to provide a file for initializing and configuring a network environment on said client computer system when said client computer system boots up; a fail-over server implemented on said client computer system, wherein said fail-over server is configured to provide for configuring said network environment on said client computer system when said client computer system boots up if said remote network server unit is not available; and a software manager stored in said client storage device, wherein said software manager is configured to establish a connection to said remote network server unit if said remote network server unit is available to configure said network environment on said client computer system upon boot up or to establish a connection to said fail-over server if said remote network server unit is not available and to configure said network environment upon boot up to appear to a user as though said client computer system is connected to said remote network server unit when said client computer system is connected to said fail-over server, wherein the connection to said failover server functions like the connection to said remote network server unit for configuring the client computer system upon boot up.