Peripheral device driver maintenance scheme for networked peripheral device clients

A network peripheral device driver maintenance framework and corresponding method is disclosed. The framework includes a driver version identification level comprising a set of driver version descriptions. Each driver version comprises a set of component versions that make upon each particular driver version. A driver component level, under the driver version identification level, comprises uniquely identified component versions (containers) comprising sets of driver files that make up the component versions identified by the driver versions. A method for maintaining multiple simultaneously active networked peripheral device drivers is disclosed. The method includes storing a new driver on the machine in a manner including the following steps performed by a machine. Initially, the machine establishes, within a directory structure, a container for storing a set of driver files constituting a version of a driver component. A unique identifier name is assigned to the new container. A set of driver files associated with the component version is inserted within the container