Asset management for information technology resources

• US 8,558,694 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2010
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Brandt, Scott A., Johnson, Randy S., Northway, Tedrick N., Voorhees, Rick
• Primary Examiner(s): MCNALLY, KERRI L
• Application Number:
  US12/898,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20120087301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.13
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

A method to identify information technology resources whereby a locator device is inserted into a communication port of each information technology resource, such as a computers, router, cable endpoints, etc. When activated, the device passively receives wireless RF transmissions from broadcast units in the vicinity while actively receiving and storing configuration and other predetermined information from the resource. The device can calculate the exact position of the information technology resource and store the location in memory. The location and the identifying data of the information technology resource can be used in an asset management database, to locate a lost or missing resource, or can be used for billing for service level agreements. The method and device herein is particularly useful in secure facilities.

Claims

1. An information technology tracking system, comprising:

at least one electronic resource in a localized defined facility, the at least one electronic resource having a first connector;

more than one broadcasting unit in the localized defined facility, each broadcasting unit having a known and different position and a different frequency from any other broadcasting unit in the localized defined facility;

a secure device connectible to the first connector of the at least one electronic resource, the secure device further comprising;

a second connector to transmit and receive data from the at least one electronic resource;

a receiver to receive wireless signals emitted from the more than one broadcasting unit;

a nonvolatile memory;

an optical transmitter/receiver to emit radiation and receive reflected radiation from a reference and store the distance from the secure device to the reference;

processing logic to determine spatial coordinates of the at least one electronic resource from the wireless signals received by the receiver and the distance between the optical transmitter/receiver and the reference;

wherein data received from the at least one electronic resource and wireless signals received in the receiver are stored in the memory.

2. The secure device of claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic resource is in a secure facility not receiving emanations from outside the secure facility.

3. A secure device comprising:

a connector to transmit and receive data from an electronic resource;

a receiver to receive wireless signals;

a nonvolatile memory;

an optical transmitter and receiver to emit radiation and receive reflected radiation from a reference and store the position of the secure device with respect to the reference;

wherein data is received from the electronic resource and wireless signals received in the receiver are stored in the memory.

4. A secure device comprising:

a connector to transmit and receive data from an electronic resource;

a receiver to receive wireless signals;

a nonvolatile memory;

a gyroscopic level;

wherein data is received from the electronic resource and wireless signals received in the receiver are stored in the memory.

5. A method to receive information from one or more information technology resources in a localized defined facility, comprising:

inserting a locator device into an electronic data connector of the one or more information technology resources;

activating the locator device;

the locator device interrogating and receiving data from the one or more information technology resources;

transmitting wireless signals from at least two different transmitters in the localized and defined facility, each transmitter transmitting a different frequency;

for each of the one or more information technology resources, the locator device receiving wireless signals from the at least two different transmitters in the localized and defined facility of the one or more information technology resources;

emitting and receiving reflected radiation from a radiation source in the locator device to and from a reference in the facility;

processing the wireless signals and a distance from the reference to the locator device to determine spatial coordinates of each of the one or more information technology resources;

the locator device storing the data received from the one or more information technology resources in a nonvolatile memory in the locator device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

the locator device storing the spatial coordinates of each of the one or more information technology resources in the nonvolatile memory.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

the locator device storing the wireless signals in the nonvolatile memory.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the data received from the one or more information technology resources comprises one or more of the following:

name, serial number, type of information technology resource, cost, price, depreciation, firmware, basic input output system data, internet protocol, IP address, install software configuration, intranet protocol.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein the one or more information technology resources are in a secure TEMPEST facility that does not receive transient and compromising transmissions and emanations and signals from outside the secure TEMPEST facility.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

processing the wireless signals and the distance from the reference to the locator device to determine spatial coordinators of the one or more information technology resources in the locator device.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

generating/updating a database of the one or more information technology resources.

12. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

generating/updating physical diagrams of the location of the one or more information technology resources.

13. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

updating service level agreements of the one or more information technology resources.

14. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

conducting an inventory of the one or more information technology resources.

15. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

recording an install, move, add, change event on one or more of the information technology resources.

16. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

locating a lost or misidentified information technology resource.

17. A method to receive information from one or more information technology resources, comprising:

inserting a locator device into an electronic data connector of the one or more information technology resources;

activating the locator device;

the locator device interrogating and receiving data from the one or more information technology resources;

for each of the one or more information technology resources, the locator device receiving wireless signals from at least two different transmitters in the facility of the one or more information technology resources;

the locator device emitting a beam to a reference;

the locator device receiving a reflection of the beam from the reference;

for each of the one or more information technology resources, processing logic within the locator device calculating a distance from the locator device to the reference;

the locator device storing the distance of each of the one or more information technology resources in the nonvolatile memory.

18. A method to receive information from one or more information technology resources, comprising:

inserting a locator device into an electronic data connector of the one or more information technology resources;

activating the locator device;

the locator device interrogating and receiving data from the one or more information technology resources;

for each of the one or more information technology resources, the locator device receiving wireless signals from at least two different transmitters in the facility of the one or more information technology resources;

the locator device storing the data received from the one or more information technology resources in a nonvolatile memory in the locator device;

removing the locator device from the one or more information technology resources;

connecting the locator device to a computer;

downloading the information technology resource data and the stored wireless signals for each of the one or more information technology resources to the computer;

the computer performing at least one of the following;

calculating the spatial coordinates of each of the one or more information technology resources;

creating/updating an asset database with the information technology resource data and its respective spatial coordinates;

creating/updating physical diagrams of a facility in which the information technology resource is located;

creating/updating information associated with use of the one or more information technology resources.

19. A computer program product for receiving information technology asset data and location data of an information technology asset in a defined localized facility, the computer program product comprising a tangible computer readable storage memory having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising:

first program instructions to receive predetermined information from an information technology resource and store the predetermined information in a nonvolatile memory;

second program instructions to receive wireless signals from more than one wireless transmitters in the defined localized facility in which the information technology resource is located, each transmitter transmitting a different frequency;

third program instructions to transmit radiation to and receive reflected radiation from a reference within the defined localized facility;

fourth program instructions to calculate the position of the information technology resource in the defined localized facility from the wireless signals and the reflected radiation;

fifth program instructions to transmit the predetermined information and the calculated position of the information technology resource to one or more computer program applications.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:

sixth program instructions to create/update a database of one or more of the information technology resources in the defined localized facility.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:

seventh program instructions to create/update physical diagrams of the defined localized facility indicating the location of one or more of the information technology resources in the defined localized facility.

22. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:

eighth computer program instructions to update and manage service level agreements of one or more of the information technology resources in the defined localized facility.