Managing headless computer systems
First Claim
1. In a management computer system capable of communicating with a plurality of diverse headless computer systems, each comprising at least one in-band communication channel for monitoring operation of the corresponding headless computer system and at least one out-of-band communication channel typically for use when the at least one in-band communication channel is unavailable, a method of remotely monitoring one or more diverse headless computer systems, over one or more corresponding out-of-band communication channels, that allows each of the one or more diverse headless computer systems to be monitored in a similar manner, the method comprising acts of:
- receiving status information over the one or more diverse headless computer systems'"'"' corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels in an extensible status format that (i) is independent of the one or more diverse headless computer systems, and (ii) separates the status information from physical placement information for displaying the status information;
processing the status information against one or more rules to identify one or more commands to issue in response to the status information;
formatting the one or more commands in an extensible command format that is independent of the one or more diverse headless computer systems; and
sending the one or more commands to be remotely executed at the one or more diverse headless computer systems using the one or more diverse headless computer systems'"'"' corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, systems, and computer program products for remotely monitoring diverse computer systems in a similar manner over an out-of-band communication channel. Remote monitoring ordinarily is performed over an in-band communication channel. However, hardware and/or software problems may make the in-band communication channel unavailable for a time. While the in-band communication channel is unavailable, the management computer receives status information over the out-of-band communication channel. Based on received status information, the management computer identifies actions to take, such as controlling processes or otherwise configuring the remote computer system, and communicates the actions to the remote computer system over the out-of-band communication channel. The management computer is capable of communicating with any of several diverse computers and exchanges data in a format that is independent of any particular computer system. The format also separates status information from placement information used to display the status information, and may conform to an XML schema.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. In a management computer system capable of communicating with a plurality of diverse headless computer systems, each comprising at least one in-band communication channel for monitoring operation of the corresponding headless computer system and at least one out-of-band communication channel typically for use when the at least one in-band communication channel is unavailable, a method of remotely monitoring one or more diverse headless computer systems, over one or more corresponding out-of-band communication channels, that allows each of the one or more diverse headless computer systems to be monitored in a similar manner, the method comprising acts of:
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receiving status information over the one or more diverse headless computer systems'"'"' corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels in an extensible status format that (i) is independent of the one or more diverse headless computer systems, and (ii) separates the status information from physical placement information for displaying the status information;
processing the status information against one or more rules to identify one or more commands to issue in response to the status information;
formatting the one or more commands in an extensible command format that is independent of the one or more diverse headless computer systems; and
sending the one or more commands to be remotely executed at the one or more diverse headless computer systems using the one or more diverse headless computer systems'"'"' corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. For a management computer system capable of communicating with a plurality of diverse headless computer systems, each comprising at least one in-band communication channel for monitoring operation of the corresponding headless computer system and at least one out-of-band communication channel typically for use when the at least one in-band communication channel is unavailable, a computer program product comprising one or more computer readable media carrying computer executable instruction that implement a method of remotely monitoring one or more diverse headless computer systems, over one or more corresponding out-of-band communication channels, that allows each of the one or more diverse headless computer systems to be monitored in a similar manner, the method comprising acts of:
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receiving status information over the one or more diverse headless computer systems corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels in an extensible status format that (i) is independent of the one or more diverse headless computer systems, and (ii) separates the status information from physical placement information for displaying the status information;
processing the status information against one or more rules to identify one or more commands to issue in response to the status information;
formatting the one or more commands in an extensible command format that is independent of the one or more diverse headless computer systems; and
sending the one or more commands to be remotely executed at the one or more diverse headless computer systems using the one or more diverse headless computer systems'"'"' corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. In a management computer system capable of communicating with a plurality of diverse remote computer systems, each comprising at least one in-band communication channel for monitoring operation of the corresponding remote computer system and at least one out-of-band communication channel typically for use when the at least one in-band communication channel is unavailable, a method of remotely monitoring one or more diverse computer systems, over one or more corresponding out-of-band communication channels, that allows each of the one or more diverse computer systems to be monitored in a similar manner, the method comprising steps for:
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requesting status information over the one or more diverse computer systems'"'"' corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels using an extensible request format that is independent of any particular one of the one or more diverse computer systems;
identifying one or more actions to take based on status information that is received from the one or more diverse computer systems in an extensible status format that separates presentation information from the received status information; and
communicating the identified one or more actions to the one or more diverse computer systems over the one or more diverse computer systems'"'"' corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels in an extensible action format that is independent of any particular one of the one or more diverse computer systems. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. For a management computer system capable of communicating with a plurality of diverse remote computer systems, each comprising at least one in-band communication channel for monitoring operation of the corresponding remote computer system and at least one out-of-band communication channel typically for use when the at least one in-band communication channel is unavailable, a computer program product comprising one or more computer readable media carrying computer executable instructions that implement a method of remotely monitoring one or more diverse computer systems, over one or more corresponding out-of-band communication channels, that allows each of the one or more diverse computer systems to be monitored and controlled in a similar manner, the method comprising steps for:
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requesting status information over the one or more diverse computer systems'"'"' corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels using an extensible request format that is independent of any particular one of the one or more diverse computer systems;
identifying one or more actions to take based on status information that is received from the one or more diverse computer systems in an extensible status format that separates presentation information from the received status information; and
communicating the identified one or more actions to the one or more diverse computer systems over the one or more diverse computer systems'"'"' corresponding one or more out-of-band communication channels in an extensible action format that is independent of any particular one of the one or more diverse computer systems. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification