Method and apparatus for managing computing devices on a network

• US 7,165,104 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2001
• Issued: 01/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wang, Gang
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaroenchonwanit; Bunjob
• Assistant Examiner(s): LESNIEWSKI, VICTOR D
• Application Number:
  US09/840,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20030055948A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,094 Days
• Field of Search: 709223-226, 707 3- 5, 707/10, 707/100
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/044 comprising hierarchical management structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0846 based on copy from other elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0889 Techniques to speed-up the configuration process
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

Apparatus and method for configuring and monitoring multiple computers coupled to a network. A management computer includes software for monitoring multiple monitored computers such as server computers that are networked together on a network. The management computer includes an aggregator component that accumulates information regarding the multiple monitored computers. A video display displays a result from the aggregator component. Each of the monitored computers implement a schema for responding to queries by the aggregator component of the management computer by providing an access point to information about the monitored computer. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention the schema is implemented using WMI functionality of Windows 2000® which is a specific implementation of the Web-Based Enterprise Management protocol (WBEM).

Claims

1. A machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon a repository data structure for storing data corresponding to a schema for defining relations between objects of a server computing device coupled by means of a network to a management computing device, said repository data structure derived from a compilation of a managed object format language rendering of the schema, said rendering including:

a) a base class of type management element from which a plurality of classes of type web element are derived, the base class of type management element providing at least one access point to instances of the derived classes, which can be traversed to dynamically discover information about one or more associated computing devices that satisfies one or more queries, based on one or more query triggering events defined in at least one on event class derived from the base class, the derived classes of type web element providing the information that satisfies the one or more queries;

b) a first derived class of the base class being at least two managed elements having one or more attributes comprising a display format attribute defining a manner for presenting information at one or more client devices which is obtained by an aggregator component on the management computing device via the at least one access point and a display name attribute that identifies the information to be presented at the one or more client devices; and

c) a second derived class of the base class being the at least one on event class that defines a source and result relationship between the at least two managed elements having at least one particular result object being provided for at least one particular source object based on the aggregator component requesting the information via the at least one access point.

2. The repository data structure stored on the machine-readable storage medium of claim 1 additionally comprising a third derived class of the base class being an aggregate class that defines elements having a parent and child relation between instances of the derived classes of type web element.

3. The repository data structure stored on the machine-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the first derived class further includes a datatype field and a data field and wherein one type of datatype causes the data in the data field to be interpreted as a SQL statement.