Patent ID: 7949736

Claim:
A computer implemented method for configuring a remote data processing system, the computer implemented method comprising: identifying, using a processor, a configuration for the remote data processing system to form an identified configuration, wherein identifying comprises receiving a selection of the configuration from a plurality of configurations, wherein the identified configuration includes selected hardware configuration information and selected software configuration information for the remote data processing system, and wherein the selected software configuration information includes a selection of a set of operating systems and a set of applications for the remote data processing system; responsive to identifying the configuration, sending an agent to the remote data processing system; responsive to receiving a request for an installation application from the agent, sending the installation application to the remote data processing system across a communications link, wherein the agent establishes an operating environment for the installation application to operate and wherein the communications link is a communications link across a wide area network; responsive to sending the installation application to the remote data processing system, sending the selected hardware configuration information across the communications link to the installation application executing on the remote data processing system based on the identified configuration, wherein the installation application configures hardware resources on the remote data processing system to form a set of partitions using the selected hardware configuration information; and responsive to sending the selected hardware configuration information to the installation application, sending the selected software configuration information and installation files across the communications link to the installation application executing on the remote data processing system, wherein the installation application uses the installation files and the selected software configuration information to install the set of operating systems, install the set of applications, and configure the set of applications on the remote data processing system, wherein the computer implemented method is implemented in a server data processing system.