Apparatus and method for managing configuration of computer systems on a computer network
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- at least one processor;
a memory coupled to the at least one processor;
a system configuration manager residing in the memory, the system configuration manager including;
model configuration settings that specify desired configuration settings for a computer system; and
a configuration mapping mechanism that maps at least one configuration setting for at least one computer system to the model configuration settings.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system configuration manager provides a graphical user interface that allows a system administrator to easily administer configuration settings for different computer systems and platforms on a computer network. The system configuration manager of the present invention allows identifying one system configuration or a settings profile as a “model system”. Once the model system is defined, other computer systems may be compared to the model system. Differences between the selected computer systems and the model system are then displayed, and the system configuration manager may be used to update the selected computer systems with configuration settings specified in the model system. Cross-platform support is provided by a configuration mapping mechanism that maps configuration information from one platform to corresponding configuration information for another platform. The configuration mapping mechanism effectively hides the differences between platforms by translating the configuration information from a selected platform to corresponding configuration information for the model system.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one processor;
a memory coupled to the at least one processor;
a system configuration manager residing in the memory, the system configuration manager including;
model configuration settings that specify desired configuration settings for a computer system; and
a configuration mapping mechanism that maps at least one configuration setting for at least one computer system to the model configuration settings. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A networked computer system comprising:
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(A) a server computer system that includes model configuration settings that specify desired configuration settings for a computer system;
(B) a plurality of endpoint computer systems coupled to the server computer system, each endpoint computer system including corresponding configuration settings;
(C) a system administration workstation coupled to the server computer system, the system administration workstation including a graphical user interface for administration of the configuration settings of the plurality of endpoint computer systems, the graphical user interface including at least one display panel that allows a user to select the model configuration settings, that allows a user to select from the plurality of endpoint computer systems for comparison with the model configuration settings, that displays differences between the selected endpoint computer systems and the model configuration settings, that allows a user to select from the selected endpoint computer systems for updating, and that automatically updates the configuration settings of the endpoint computer systems selected for updating according to the model configuration settings. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for managing configuration settings for a plurality of computer systems coupled together via a network, the method comprising the steps of:
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(A) defining configuration settings for a model system;
(B) determining differences, if any, between the configuration settings for at least one of the plurality of computer systems and the configuration settings for the model system;
(C) selecting at least one of the plurality of computer systems for updating; and
(D) updating the configuration settings for the selected at least one computer system according to the configuration settings for the model system. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19)
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18. A method for managing configuration settings for a plurality of computer systems coupled together via a network, the method comprising the steps of:
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(A) collecting configuration settings from each of the plurality of computer systems;
(B) defining configuration settings for a model system;
(C) selecting at least one of the plurality of computer systems for analysis;
(D) determining differences, if any, between the configuration settings for at least one of the plurality of computer systems and the configuration settings for the model system;
(E) displaying the differences on a graphical user interface;
(F) selecting at least one of the plurality of computer systems for updating;
(G) performing any required mapping between the configuration settings for the model system and the configuration settings for each computer system selected for updating;
(H) updating the configuration settings for each computer system selected for updating according to the configuration settings for the model system.
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20. A program product comprising:
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(A) a system configuration manager that includes;
(A1) model configuration settings that specify desired configuration settings for a computer system; and
(A2) a configuration mapping mechanism that maps at least one configuration setting for at least one computer system to the model configuration settings; and
(B) computer-readable signal bearing media bearing the system configuration manager. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification