Computer maintenance support system and analysis server

• US 7,908,361 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Yada, Junichi, Hitokoto, Tomota
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan; Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yohannes; Tesfay
• Application Number:
  US11/892,083
• Publication Number:
  US 20080082587A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,303 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/203.204
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/069 using logs of notifications; Post-processing of notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/142 using statistical or mathematical methods

Abstract

The present invention provides a computer maintenance support system which, in addition to simple analysis results, provides more detailed analysis results. The system provides information for supporting computer maintenance operations, and includes an analysis device, an analysis server and an output device for monitoring. The analysis device collects and analyzes analysis object data which has been saved at a maintenance object computer. The analysis object data includes settings information of the computer and log information which has recorded operations of the computer. The analysis server is connected with one or more analysis devices, acquires the analysis object data from an analysis device, and analyzes the analysis object data. The output device for monitoring receives a primary analysis report, from analysis by the analysis device, and a secondary analysis report, from analysis by the analysis server, and outputs information to be used for the computer maintenance operations.

Claims

1. A computer maintenance support system that provides information for supporting computer maintenance operations, the system comprising:

an analysis device that collects and analyzes analysis object data which has been saved at a computer which is an object of maintenance, the analysis object data including settings information of the computer and log information of recorded operations of the computer, the analysis device analyzing at least a resource usage condition;

an analysis server connected with the analysis device, the analysis server including a determination criteria database that is used in analysis of the analysis object data, the analysis server acquiring the analysis object data from the analysis device and analyzing the analysis object data based on the determination criteria database; and

an output device for monitoring that receives a primary analysis report of analysis by the analysis device, and a secondary analysis report of analysis by the analysis server, and outputs information to be used for the computer maintenance operations, and

at least one additional analysis device,

wherein the analysis server is connected with the analysis devices and, when analyzing the analysis object data acquired from one of the analysis devices, performs analysis by comparing the analysis object data with at least one analysis object data from another maintenance object computer with a similar system structure.

2. The computer maintenance support system of claim 1, wherein the determination criteria database stores determination criteria for determining whether or not there is a problem at the computer, the determination criteria database being updated on the basis of results of analysis processing at the analysis server.

3. The computer maintenance support system of claim 1, wherein the analysis server receives the primary analysis report from the analysis device and uses the primary analysis report in analysis of the analysis object data.

4. The computer maintenance support system of claim 3, wherein the analysis server comprises a determination criteria database, and wherein the analysis server uses at least one of the analysis object data and the primary analysis report received from the analysis device to update the determination criteria database.

5. The computer maintenance support system of claim 1, wherein the analysis device sends a primary warning message which gives notice of the urgency of a problem detected by analysis processing, to at least one of the analysis server and the output device for monitoring.

6. The computer maintenance support system of claim 5, wherein the analysis server, rather than performing analysis processing before the primary warning message is issued from the analysis device, acquires the analysis object data from the analysis device and performs analysis processing only after the primary warning message has been issued.

7. The computer maintenance support system of claim 5 wherein, when the output device for monitoring receives the primary warning message, the output device for monitoring outputs a warning alarm to give notice of an anomaly to a user.

8. The computer maintenance support system of claim 5, wherein the analysis server sends a secondary warning message, which gives notice of the urgency of a problem detected by analysis, to the output device for monitoring, and when the output device for monitoring receives the primary warning message and the secondary warning message, the output device for monitoring outputs a warning alarm.

9. The computer maintenance support system of claim 1, wherein the output device for monitoring outputs the primary analysis report and the secondary analysis report in association with one another.

10. An analysis server that provides information for supporting computer maintenance operations, the analysis server comprising:

an analysis object data reception section that receives analysis object data which has been collected by an analysis device, the analysis object data, which has been saved at a computer which is an object of maintenance, including settings information of the computer and log information of recorded operations of the computer, the analysis object reception section receiving a report on a resource usage condition that has been analyzed by the analysis device;

a determination criteria database that is used in analysis of the analysis object data;

an analysis processing section that analyzes the analysis object data based on information received from the determination criteria database; and

a report generation section that generates an analysis report from results of analysis by the analysis processing section,

wherein the analysis server is connected with a plurality of the analysis devices and, when the analysis processing section analyzes the analysis object data acquired from one of the plurality of analysis devices, the analysis processing section performs analysis by comparing the analysis object data with at least one analysis object data acquired from another of the analysis devices that collects analysis object data for a maintenance object computer that has a similar system structure.

11. The analysis server of claim 10, further comprising a determination criteria database that memorizes, from contents of the analysis of the analysis object data, determination criteria for determining whether or not there is a problem at the computer, the determination criteria database being updated on the basis of results of analysis processing at the analysis server.

12. The analysis server of claim 10, wherein the analysis processing section receives a primary analysis report of analysis by the analysis device, from the analysis device and uses the primary analysis report in analysis of the analysis object data.

13. The analysis server of claim 12, wherein the determination criteria database is updated using at least one of the analysis object data and the primary analysis report received from the analysis device.

14. The analysis server of claim 10, wherein the analysis server, rather than performing analysis processing before being notified with a primary warning message, which gives notice of the urgency of a problem detected by analysis processing, acquires the analysis object data from the analysis device and performs analysis processing only after the primary warning message has been issued.

15. The analysis server of claim 10, wherein the analysis server sends a secondary warning message, which gives notice of the urgency of a problem detected by the analysis processing section, to an external device.