Method and system to manage services for multiple managed computer systems

• US 9,594,547 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2013
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dell Marketing LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Marketing USA LP
• Inventors: Rive, Russell S., Rive, Peter Joshua
• Primary Examiner(s): JOSHI, SURAJ M
• Application Number:
  US13/896,047
• Publication Number:
  US 20130254760A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5054 Automatic deployment of services triggered by the service manager, e.g. service implementation by automatic configuration of network components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5064 Customer relationship management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5074 Handling of user complaints or trouble tickets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5096 wherein the managed service relates to distributed or central networked applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method to facilitate provision of services to a managed system (e.g., a PC, PDA, cell phone) includes causing installation of an agent application on the managed system, the agent application including an install component to install at least one of a plurality of service applications on the managed system. Each of the plurality of service applications is to facilitate provision of a service provided by a respective service provider of a number of service providers to the managed system. A service input (e.g., from an IT administrator) is received at the management system. The service input identifies a subset of a number of service applications to be installed on the managed system. The subset of service applications is distributed to the managed system for installation by the agent application on the managed system.

Claims

1. A method for managing plural managed computer systems, the method comprising:

installing an agent in memory of each of the plural managed computer systems, the agent having an install component operable to install selected of plural service applications in the memory, each service application operable to facilitate a service provided by an associated of plural service providers, the agent install component installing the selected of plural service applications in response to a configuration file provided through a network, the configuration file embedding impersonation information applied by the agent to perform administrator impersonation that provides administrator privileges at the managed computer system, the administrator privileges including at least a privilege to install the selected of the plural services, the impersonation information decrypted to volatile memory for application by the agent and erased directly from the volatile memory after the agent initiates installation of the selected of plural service applications;

distributing selected of plural service applications from a management system to the plural managed computer systems, the management system qualifying the each of the plural managed computer systems for each of the selected of plural service applications and distributing a subscription identifier to each of the plural managed computer systems for authorizing services by the selected of plural service applications, the subscription identifier based on the qualifying; and

executing the install component of the agent at each of the plural managed computer systems to install the selected of plural service applications in the memory, the install component including the subscription identifier with the install of each of the selected plural service applications at each of the plural managed computer systems, the subscription identifier authorizing implementation of each service of each of the selected plural service applications.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

preparing with the agent an inventory of service applications installed at each of the plural managed computer systems; and

sending the inventory from each of the plural managed computer systems to the management system.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising analyzing at the management system the inventory of at least one managed computer system to determine if the managed computer system qualifies to receive provision of a first service facilitated by an installed first service application.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein analyzing comprises comparing resources of the managed computer system with resources required by the first service.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the analyzing comprises comparing a subscription identifier in the inventory of the at least one managed computer system with subscription identifiers associated with the first service.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the plural service applications are provided by plural service providers and managed by a customer relationship management system.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the first service is one of a desk-side assistance service, a data backup service, a virus protection service, an asset inventory service, a network access service, a help desk service, an Internet messaging service, a personal firewall and a software distribution service.

8. A system for managing plural computer systems, the system comprising:

an agent distributed to non-transitory memory each of the plural computer systems, the agent having an install component to install selected of plural service applications on the agent'"'"'s associated computer system, each service application installed with a subscription identifier authorizing a service at the associated computer system, the agent operable to apply configuration information to perform administrator impersonation at each of the plural computer systems, the configuration information including impersonation information in encrypted form, the agent decrypting the impersonation information to volatile memory to support the administrator impersonation including administrator privileges to install the plural service applications, the agent erasing the impersonation information from the volatile memory directly after applying the impersonation information;

a subscription component operable to provide a subscription identifier to each agent for managing the provision of services by the plural service providers at the computer system associated with the agent; and

a management system stored in non-transitory memory of a server and having a control component and a distribution component, the control component operable to receive a service input identifying a subset of the plural service applications to install on one or more of the plural computer systems, the distribution component operable to distribute the subset of plural service applications to the one or more of the plural computer systems for installation by the agent with services by the plural service applications authorized by the subscription identifier associated with the agent, the distribution component distributing a configuration file having the configuration information to perform the administrator impersonation.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the service applications are operable to facilitate provision of services to a computer system by plural service providers.

10. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

an inventory system operable to receive inventory information for each of the plural computer systems; and

a qualification component operable to analyze the inventory information to determine a qualification of a computer system to receive delivery of a first service facilitated by a first service application of the subset of plural service applications.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the inventory information comprises hardware, software and networking capabilities of the computer system.

12. The system of claim 11 further comprising an initial distribution having a subset of service applications that are provided to an agent upon installation of the agent at a computer system.