Data processing system and method

• US 7,444,412 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2002
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Owhadi, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Zarni
• Application Number:
  US10/165,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20030028655A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,335 Days
• Field of Search: 709102-229, 709/232, 713/201
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2247 Verification or detection of system hardware configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2294 by remote test

Abstract

The present invention relates to a data processing system and method for providing support and maintenance services to a computer with at least reduced and preferably minimal user interaction. Data, that ordinarily would be inaccessible to a non-trusted applet, is, prior to any use of that data by such a non-trusted applet collated with the permission of the user of the computer by a trusted applet. The trusted applet has a greater range of access to system configuration as compared to the non-trusted applet. However, invoking a trusted applet requires user interaction; namely, the user must grant permission for the trusted applet to access the system configuration information and platform identification data. The necessary system configuration information that is required for the provision of support and maintenance services is harvested by the trusted applet and stored within a cookie. Therefore, the non-trusted applet can be downloaded and can access the relevant information without having involve the user.

Claims

1. A method for determining the occurrence of a class issue within a first computer comprising at least a first storage device for storing data relating to the system resources of the first computer;

the system resources comprising at least one of hardware and software of the first computer;

the method comprising the steps of;

receiving, from an internet source a first application, the first application being a trusted application for identifying the system resources of the first computer;

searching for and collating computer hardware and/or software identification information of the hardware and/or software of the first computer using the first application;

creating a data entity containing the computer hardware and/or software identification information or from which said information can be identified and storing the data entity storage device such that the data entity can be subsequently accessed by other applications;

receiving data identifying at least one class issue potentially associated with the system resources;

determining, using a second application, whether or not data relating to the system resources corresponds to the data identifying the at least one class issue; and

outputting a message relating to the at least one class issue if the computer hardware and/or software identification information corresponds to the data identifying the at least one class issue.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which the step of outputting a message comprises the step of transmitting, to a second computer, a request to instigate the download of data from the second computer to address the at least one technical issue in response to determining that there is a correspondence between the data relating to the system resources and the data identifying the at least one technical issue;

and receiving the requested data to address the at least one technical issue.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which the step of outputting a message comprises the step of outputting a message containing a reference to a data source to cause further data relating to the at least one technical issue to be rendered within a web-browser.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which the first application is at least one of a trusted Java applet and a trusted ActiveX application.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which the second application is a non-trusted application.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 in which the non-trusted application is at least one of a non-trusted Java applet and a non-trusted ActiveX application.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5 in which the data entity is at least one of a cookie or file.