Abstract: A pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot extension provides a TCP/IP interface via a network interface card of the computerized system. SCSI commands are transported over the TCP/IP connection to provide access to a bootable operating system stored on a second networked computerized system, and the networked computerized system is booted from the bootable operating system stored on the second networked computerized system via the SCSI commands transported over the TCP/IP connection.

Abstract: A system includes shared Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) storage devices for processing clients coupled by a fiber channel interface. The storage devices include storage blocks, and locks controlling their use by clients. Clients issue actions to the storage devices for performing operations on the locks. A client may exclude other clients from using storage blocks using a state element to acquire the lock for shared or exclusive use. If the client modified the data, a version counter in the lock is updated when the lock is released. If an activity bit is set, the version counter is updated upon both reading and writing. Other clients can forcibly release a lock owned by a failed client by monitoring its version counter. Expiration timers associated with the locks allow acquired locks to be released by timing out. A serverless global file system (GFS) manages use of the shared storage resources, and allows remapping of the locks to the storage blocks, for example, based on activity of the locks.