Patent ID: 7424525
Filing Date: 2008-09-09
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. In a management computer system capable of communicating with a plurality of diverse headless computer systems, each comprising at least one sophisticated in-band communication channel for monitoring operation of the corresponding headless computer system and at least one unsophisticated out-of-band communication channel, wherein a sophisticated communication channel is a network type connection and wherein an unsophisticated communication channel is one that is independent of a transport mechanism and that does not require the corresponding headless computer system or network to be in an operational state, a method of remotely monitoring one or more diverse headless computer systems, over one or more unsophisticated corresponding out-of-band communication channels that allows each of the one or more diverse headless computer systems to be monitored in a similar manner, the method comprising acts of: receiving status information over the one or more diverse headless computer systems' corresponding one or more unsophisticated out-of-band communication channels in an extensible, self-describing status format that (i) is independent of the one or more diverse headless computer systems and (ii) separates the status information from physical placement information for displaying the status information; processing the status information against one or more rules to identify one or more commands to issue in response to the status information; formatting the one or more commands in an extensible, self-describing command format that is independent of the one or more diverse headless computer systems; and sending the one or more commands to be remotely executed at the one or more diverse headless computer systems using the one or more diverse headless computer systems' corresponding one or more unsophisticated out-of-band communication channels.