System and method for providing a server control interface

• US 7,392,485 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2001
• Issued: 06/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hodge, Kevin A., DeLuca, Steve A., Lee, Juhan, Darcy, Paul B., Snover, Jeffrey P., Martin, Sally J., Kiernan, Casey L.
• Primary Examiner(s): BAUTISTA, XIOMARA L
• Application Number:
  US09/824,484
• Publication Number:
  US 20020140743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,643 Days
• Field of Search: 345/733, 345/734, 345762-764, 345/771, 345/810, 345/835, 345/846, 709/201, 709/203, 709/223, 709/224, 715/733, 715/734, 715/736, 715/762, 715/763, 715/764, 715/769, 715/771, 715/781, 715/810, 715/835, 715/837, 715/846, 715/853, 702/127, 702/182, 702/188, 702/189, 719/315, 719/316
• US Class Current: 715/763
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

A method and system for providing a computing device control interface are provided. A system administrator accesses a graphical user interface and selects a group of actions that are to be executed by a number of computing devices. The actions selected by the system administrator are embodied in a graphical action icon and displayed on the graphical user interface. The system administrator initiates the actions by manipulating the action icon such that it overlaps a computer icon, which embodies one or more computing devices within the network that will execute the selected actions. The computing device icon is also displayed on the user interface. The user interface executes the selected action on the selected computer and then generates an archive file embodying the execution of the selected actions on the selected group of computing devices.

Claims

1. A method of providing a computing device control interface for centrally controlling a plurality of networked computing devices, the method comprising:

displaying a number of actions to be executed on one or more counters related to specific functions of a number of networked computing devices, the counters chosen from a set of counters, the choice based on a designated role of the networked computing devices in an enterprise network;

obtaining a user selection of the number of actions;

generating an action icon representing a control of the user-selected number of actions;

displaying a set of graphical action icons for selection by a user, wherein each action icon represents a control to one or more actions to be executed on one or more counters of one or more computing devices;

displaying a set of graphical computing device icons wherein each graphical computing device icon represents a control to one or more networked computing devices;

obtaining a selection of initializing the one or more actions controlled by a graphical action icon;

obtaining a selection of initializing the one or more networked computing devices controlled by a graphical computing device icon; and

instructing the one or more actions controlled by the selected graphical action icon to execute on the one or more counters of each networked computing device controlled by the selected graphical computing device icon.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising generating an archive file for storing a number of actions controlled by the graphical action icon, wherein execution of the archive file causes the execution of the number of actions in the archive file on the one or more counters of the one or more networked computing devices controlled by the selected graphical computing device icon.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the archive file is a script file.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising executing the number of actions in the archive file without repeatedly obtaining the number of actions to be executed on the one or more counters of the one or more networked computing devices controlled by the selected graphical computing device icon.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising obtaining user input for editing the actions stored in the archive file before executing the actions on the one or more counters of the one or more networked computing devices controlled by the selected graphical computing device icon.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one graphical action icon in the set of graphical action icons implements a collection template for capacity planning in the one or more networked computing devices controlled by the selected graphical computing device icon.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one graphical action icon in the set of graphical action icons assigns a common priority for the corresponding action on each networked computing device controlled by the selected graphical computing device icon.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the networked computing device is a server computer in an enterprise network.

9. A tangible computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method recited in claim 1.

10. A computer system having a processor, a memory and an operating environment, the computer system operable for performing the method recited in claim 1.

11. In a computer system having a display and at least one graphical user interface selection device, a method of providing a centralized server control interface for executing a group of actions concurrently on a group of networked computing devices, the method comprising:

displaying a number of actions to be executed on counters related to specific functions of a group of networked computing devices, the counters chosen from a set of counters, the choice based on a designated role of the networked computing devices in an enterprise network;

obtaining a user selection of the number of actions;

displaying the group of actions as an action icon on the display;

obtaining an identification of a group of networked computing devices on which to execute the group of actions;

displaying the group of networked computing devices as a computing device icon on the display;

obtaining a selection of the action icon by the graphical user interface selection device; and

instructing the group of actions displayed as the selected action icon to execute on the group of networked computing devices displayed as the computing device icon upon manipulating the selected action icon to overlap on the computing device icon.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising generating an archive file to store the group of actions displayed as the action icon.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the archive file is a script file.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising:

displaying an input area on the display for obtaining a user selection of an executable file created from the archive file; and

instructing the group of actions in the executable file to execute, without repeatedly obtaining the identification of the group of actions, on the counters related to specific functions of the group of networked computing devices.

15. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the graphical user interface selection device is a mouse.

16. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein a networked computing device is a server computer in an enterprise network.

17. A tangible computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method recited in claim 11.

18. A method of providing a server control interface for centrally controlling a plurality of networked servers, the method comprising:

displaying a number of actions to be executed on one or more counters, the counters chosen from a set of counters, the choice based on a designated role of the networked servers in an enterprise network;

obtaining a user selection of the number of action;

generating an action icon representing a control of the user-selected number of actions;

displaying a set of graphical action icons for selection by a user, wherein each action icon represents a control to one or more actions to be executed by one or more networked servers, and wherein at least one graphical action icon in the set of graphical action icons includes an action to implement a collection template for capacity planning;

displaying a set of graphical server icons wherein each graphical server icon represents a control to one or more networked servers;

obtaining a selection of initializing the one or more actions controlled by a graphical action icon;

obtaining a selection of initializing the one or more networked servers controlled by a graphical server icon; and

instructing the one or more actions controlled by the selected graphical action icon to execute on the one or more counters of each networked server controlled by the selected graphical server icon.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, further comprising generating an archive file for storing a number of actions controlled by the graphical action icon, wherein execution of the archive file causes the execution of the number of actions in the archive file on the one or more counters of the one or more networked servers controlled by the selected graphical server icon.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the archive file is a script file.