Managing configuration of computer systems on a computer network

• US 7,836,214 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2008
• Issued: 11/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Brown, Kenneth Edgar, Murphy, Michael Bill, Hintermeister, Gregory Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Niketa I
• Application Number:
  US12/121,870
• Publication Number:
  US 20080215869A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 710/8, 709220-224
• US Class Current: 710/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files

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 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.

Claims

1. A computer-readable program product comprising:

(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, wherein the configuration mapping mechanism maps the at least one configuration setting for a selected platform to corresponding configuration settings for a different platform; and

(B) computer-readable signal bearing recordable media bearing the system configuration manager.

2. The program product of claim 1 wherein the at least one configuration setting comprises system settings and customization settings.

3. The program product of claim 1 wherein the system configuration manager further comprises a computer program that runs on each at least one computer system and that reports status of any requested update of configuration settings.