Patent ID: 7689679

Claim:
In an InfiniBand (IB) network environment, a method for retrieving a boot image for an IB host device comprising: receiving a set of boot arguments including a command keyword; determining whether the command keyword is a first keyword, wherein the first keyword triggers utilization of a corresponding first support package that enables communication with a first boot server via an Internet Protocol (IP) over IB (IPoIB) boot method; when the command keyword is the first keyword, automatically forwarding first-type boot arguments to the first support package, which is configured to respond to receipt of the first-type boot arguments by dynamically initiating access to the first boot server to retrieve the boot image; determining whether the command keyword is a second keyword, wherein the second keyword triggers utilization of a second support package that enables communication with a second boot server via an IB network boot method; and when the command keyword is the second keyword, automatically forwarding second-type boot arguments to the second support package, which is configured to respond to receipt of the second-type boot arguments by dynamically initiating access to the second boot server to retrieve the boot image.