Abstract: There is provided, in relation to a terminal lending system, a system that is capable of setting a terminal in a usable state only during a period that is set in advance. A deadline management server for managing a return deadline for a terminal for lending, where, in response to a request for terminal activation issued to the deadline management server by an agent program executed on the terminal, the deadline management server issues activation period data including deadline data regarding the return deadline for the terminal, the deadline data being set in advance by the deadline management server, and causes the agent program to change setting of the terminal.

Abstract: To provide a terminal rental system that can efficiently perform rental management and maintenance operations. A terminal rental system includes a reservation management server for managing stock of terminals or rental reservation information for the terminals, a terminal management server for distributing a disk image of an operating system or its update data to the terminal, and a power feed control server for managing a system state and a power feed state of the terminal on the basis of the rental reservation information, a charge state of the terminal, and information relating a distribution status of the disk image or its update data.

Abstract: A disk distribution system, assuming “local-boot”, that is capable of efficiently executing an update or a generation management of OS image data. The disk distribution system includes at least one master server that is connected with a plurality of terminals through the network, in which OS image data including an operating system for the terminals is processed as the master data managed by the master server, and a copy of the data for a copy of the data converted into a predetermined format) is deployed as a boot image for the terminals. When the master data is updated, the terminals receive differential data reflecting the update to the master data through the network from the master server while the terminals are operating, and the boot images of the terminals are updated by rebooting the terminals.

Abstract: In a network boot system 100, a network boot server and a terminal 20a are connected through a network 30, the network boot server providing a disk image as a virtual disk 22a that includes an operating system operating on the terminal, the terminal 20a being provided with a physical storage device 21a. The operating system is provided with a read cache mechanism that stores data read from the server as cache data in the storage device. Further, the read cache mechanism is provided with generation management data for generation-managing a transition of revision that represents revise information of the virtual disk. The generation management data is divided for each transition of the revision and stored in the server and a copy of at least one division of the divided generation management data is also stored in the storage device.

Abstract: [SUBJECTS] In a network boot system having a read cache mechanism, the subject is to suppress a decreased boot time of a terminal due to an access with respect to a local disk. [SOLVING MEANS] Network boot system 100 includes server 10 and terminal 20 having recording device 22a connecting each other through network 30. The terminal includes a read cache mechanism that stores a cache in a read cache region by a read cache driver. The read cache mechanism includes a mapping table that indicates an address of the read cache region corresponding to an address of data that was at a reading time from the server, a means that sequentially and in order stores the data that was at the reading time from the server from a top side, a means that stores the address with respect to the cache, and when using the cache data, the read cache mechanism accesses the address of the read cache region based on the mapping table.

Abstract: [SUBJECTS] To suppress decrease in boot speed and slowness in operation of a terminal even when the terminal is booted the second or subsequent time in a private mode in which the terminal directly writes to a virtual disk. [SOLVING MEANS] In a network boot system 100, a network boot server 10 and a terminal 20a are connected over a network 30, the network boot server 10 providing a disk image, as a virtual disk 22b, containing an operating system that operates on the terminal, the terminal 20a being provided with a storage device 21a. The OS is provided with a read cache mechanism that stores data read from the server as cache data in the storage device. Generation management data M and rewrite management table T2 are provided.

Abstract: In a network boot system, a client terminal is caused to detect a revision of a virtual disk so as to decide operations of a read cache driver. The client terminal has a physical storage device. An operating system operating on the client terminal has a read cache mechanism that read-caches data that has been read out from a boot server. The read cache mechanism includes a filter driver for converting an access to a local bus of the client terminal into an access to the network, and a read cache driver for driving a storage device. The data in the virtual disk is compared with the revision of the read cache data. The operations of the read cache driver are decided based on the comparison result.

Abstract: To minimize network access to a server in a network boot system. A server which stores an OS operating on a client terminal and a client terminal which includes a physical storage device are connected to each other over a network. The client terminal includes a physical memory and a network interface, and the OS includes a network driver for driving the network interface, a filter driver for converting access to a local bus of the client terminal into access to the network, and a read cache driver for driving the storage device. The read cache driver caches data which is read out from the server by the filter driver in the storage device.

Abstract: In a network boot system, a client terminal is caused to detect a revision of a virtual disk so as to decide operations of a read cache driver. The client terminal has a physical storage device. An operating system operating on the client terminal has a read cache mechanism that read-caches data that has been read out from a boot server. The read cache mechanism includes a filter driver for converting an access to a local bus of the client terminal into an access to the network, and a read cache driver for driving a storage device. The data in the virtual disk is compared with the revision of the read cache data. The operations of the read cache driver are decided based on the comparison result.

Abstract: To minimize network access to a server in a network boot system. A server which stores an OS operating on a client terminal and a client terminal which includes a physical storage device are connected to each other over a network. The client terminal includes a physical memory and a network interface, and the OS includes a network driver for driving the network interface, a filter driver for converting access to a local bus of the client terminal into access to the network, and a read cache driver for driving the storage device. The read cache driver caches data which is read out from the server by the filter driver in the storage device.