Patent ID: 8689048

Claim:
A method of upgrading a computer in a distributed cluster of computers, comprising: executing a workflow comprising a sequence of actions on said computer, said actions corresponding to a sequence of steps in an upgrade of said computer; following each action, dynamically checking a state of the action to determine whether the action was completed, and, if so, proceeding to a next action in said sequence of actions; otherwise, upon the state indicating that the checked action is uncompleted, running on the computer an executable program corresponding to said uncompleted action, and rechecking the state of said uncompleted action after said running; upon said rechecking indicating that said uncompleted action is complete, resuming said executing of said workflow with the next action in said sequence, otherwise indicating a failure of said uncompleted action; and wherein, upon an action in said workflow of actions requiring a reboot of the computer, the computer restarts execution of said workflow from a first action in said sequence of actions and proceeds through the workflow skipping actions that are completed.