Abstract:
A plurality of process content is retained, said process content including identifiers of a plurality of part content included in each process and information which denotes dependencies among the plurality of part content. When information is inputted which designates a first process and the part content of a problem portion which is included in the first process, a process similar to the first process is retrieved. On the basis of whether there is a change in any of the plurality of part content which is included in the retrieved process, an evaluation value of the retrieved process is either incremented or decremented, and the information relating to the plurality of processes is outputted on the basis of the evaluation value.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    A technology disclosed herein relates to an operation management technology for a computer system. 
         [0002]    As the background art of this technical field, there are disclosed JP 2007-128450 A and JP 2007-317089 A. 
         [0003]    JP 2007-128450 A includes the description “Provided is a reused software part management system configured to allow one to know a version of a software part compatible with a software part used before with ease and allow one to confirm whether or not a software part to be registered is compatible with a software part of an older version with ease. The reused software part management system includes: part registration means for registering a part specification and a source code of a software part in a repository in association with the software part; part retrieval means for retrieving the software part in response to a request; and part extraction means for extracting the retrieved software part, the part specification of the software part, and the source code.” (See Abstract). 
         [0004]    JP 2007-317089 A includes the description “Provided is a software automatic update system capable of automatically selecting an optimal version without being limited to the previous version when software of a plurality of versions exists. The software automatic update system includes an activation/stop management application configured to manage activation/stop of a function-specific application to be executed by a computer apparatus to manage manufacturing and examination of a product and update of software, and the activation/stop management application includes a version selection module configured to select a specific version from a plurality of versions held for the function-specific application.” (See Abstract). 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    To manage a computer system including a server, a storage, and a network, for example, a management system carries out operation management jobs including system configuration changes such as activation of hardware or software, installation of software, and setup with a set parameter. Automation of those operation management jobs is becoming widespread. Each of those operation management procedures (hereinafter referred to as “process content”) automatically executed by the management system is formed of at least one operation management operating part (hereinafter referred to as “part content”) such as exemplified by the activation of software. Those process contents or part contents are also subjected to continuous version upgrade, and when there is an imperfection in a process content, it is necessary to modify a problem portion of the process content. 
         [0006]    The process content is used by a plurality of kinds of management systems. Therefore, when a use period is sufficiently long, a plurality of process contents that have handled a fault that occurred in a plurality of kinds of management systems are derived from one process content, and those derivative process contents are accumulated. In such a case, when a problem occurs in any one of the process contents and when a derivative process content obtained by modifying the problem portion of the process content exists, there is a demand to shorten a time period necessary to solve the problem by reusing the derivative process content. 
         [0007]    In JP 2007-128450 A, there is disclosed means for allowing one to know the version of the software part compatible with the software part used before with ease. Specifically, the server disclosed in JP 2007-128450 A manages a version upgrade target software part, a specification, and a source in association with one another, and in order to search for the compatible software part, tests a part to be a candidate therefor and determines whether or not the part satisfies the specification corresponding to the version upgrade target software part. However, unlike the software part, in regard to the process content, it is not possible to determine adequacy of an operation of the process content with a single part content. Thus, with the technology for conducting a test with a single software part, which is disclosed in JP 2007-128450 A, it is not possible to suggest an adequate derivative process content that acts on a management target. 
         [0008]    On the other hand, in JP 2007-317089 A, there is disclosed a technology in which, when the software executed by the computer apparatus is updated, software of a version selected from a plurality of versions provided to the software based on a condition set in advance is updated as an execution file, and the computer apparatus is controlled to execute the execution file. However, in general, the process content is formed of part contents of a plurality of kinds, and hence it is conceivable that an execution failure of the process content is ascribable to at least one of the part contents of a plurality of kinds. This means that at least the same number of adequate process contents to substitute the process content that has failed to execute can exist as the number of constituents of the process content that has failed to execute. Therefore, with the technology for suggesting a specific process content for a predetermined process content, which is disclosed in JP 2007-317089 A, it is not possible to suggest an adequate derivative process content for solving a problem that has occurred in an arbitrary portion. 
         [0009]    To solve the foregoing problem, there is provided a management system configured to manage a plurality of management target systems, the management system comprising: a processor for executing a management program; and a storage resource to be coupled to the processor, the storage resource storing a plurality of process contents for executing operation management of the plurality of management target systems, the plurality of process contents comprising: identifiers of a plurality of part contents included in each of the plurality of process contents; and information indicating a dependence relationship between the plurality of part contents, wherein the processor is configured to: retrieve, when information for specifying a first process content that has been executed among the plurality of process contents and information for specifying one of the plurality of part contents that has failed to execute as a problem portion among the plurality of part contents included in the first process content are input, one of the plurality of process contents similar to the first process content from the plurality of process contents stored in the storage resource; increase an evaluation value of the retrieved one of the plurality of process contents when one of the plurality of part contents corresponding to the problem portion among the plurality of part contents included in the retrieved one of the plurality of process contents is different from the one of the plurality of part contents specified as the problem portion; increase the evaluation value of the retrieved one of the plurality of process contents when one of the plurality of part contents corresponding to a data source portion of the problem portion, which is identified based on the dependence relationship between the plurality of part contents among the plurality of part contents included in the retrieved one of the plurality of process contents, is different from one of the plurality of part contents of the data source portion of the problem portion of the first process content; decrease the evaluation value of the retrieved one of the plurality of process contents when one of the plurality of part contents corresponding to a first portion other than any one of the problem portion and the data source portion of the problem portion among the plurality of part contents included in the retrieved one of the plurality of process contents is different from one of the plurality of part contents of the first portion of the first process content; and output information relating to the plurality of process contents based on the evaluation value calculated for each of the plurality of process contents. 
         [0010]    According to the one embodiment of this invention, it is possible to suggest a process with which a problem is highly likely to have been solved in a short time without requiring a user&#39;s time and labor. Objects, configurations, and effects other than those described above become apparent from the following descriptions of embodiments of this invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an example of a block diagram for illustrating a system configuration according to a first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an example of a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of a management server according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is an example of an explanatory diagram of a process information according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is an example of an explanatory diagram of a system configuration information according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is an example of an explanatory diagram of a use history according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is an example of an explanatory diagram of an execution performance according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating an outline of processing executed by the management server according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B  are examples of a screen through which a processing result of the determination flow conducted by the management server is to be output according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating a suitability calculation processing executed by a suitability calculation module of the management server according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating a use history determination processing executed by a use history determination module of the management server according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating an execution performance determination processing executed by an execution performance determination module of the management server according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 12  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating a common defect handling history determination processing executed by a common defect handling history determination module of the management server according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 13  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating a priority calculation processing executed by a priority calculation module of the management server according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 14  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating a similar process retrieval processing executed by the management server according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 15  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating a similar execution environment retrieval processing executed by the management server according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 16  is an example of a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of a management server according to a second embodiment of this invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 17  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating a use history determination processing executed by a use history determination module of the management server according to the second embodiment of this invention. 
           [0028]      FIG. 18  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating an execution performance determination processing executed by an execution performance determination module of the management server according to the second embodiment of this invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 19  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating a common defect handling history determination processing executed by a common defect handling history determination module of the management server according to the second embodiment of this invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0030]    Embodiments of this invention below refer to the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of the disclosure, but the drawings are illustrations of exemplary embodiments that can embody this invention, and do not limit the scope of this invention. In those drawings, like numerals denote like components throughout a plurality of drawings. Further, the detailed description provides various exemplary embodiments, but, as described and illustrated in the following, this invention is not limited to the embodiments described and illustrated herein, and it should be noted that this invention can be extended to other embodiments that are or will be publicly known to a person skilled in the art. 
         [0031]    According to an exemplary embodiment of this invention, a management computer is a computer for managing a plurality of management target apparatus. Examples of a type of management target apparatus include a computer such as a server, a network apparatus such as an IP switch, a router, a fibre channel (FC) switch, a NAS, and a storage apparatus. It should be noted that a logical or physical configuration such as a device included in the management target apparatus is referred to as “component”. Examples of the component include a port, a processor, a storage resource, a storage device, a program, a virtual machine, a logical volume defined inside the storage apparatus, a RAID group, system software, middleware, and application software. It should be noted that the management target apparatus and the component are each referred to as “management object” when handled without any particular distinction. Further, a single or a plurality of apparatus to be operated by execution of a predetermined process content is referred to collectively as “operation target apparatus”. 
         [0032]    Moreover, many specific detailed items are disclosed for a complete understanding of this invention in the detailed description below. However, all of those specific detailed items are not necessary to embody this invention, which is apparent to a person skilled in the art. In other situations, publicly known structures, materials, circuits, processing, and interfaces are not described in detail, and/or are illustrated in a form of block diagram in order to avoid making this invention meaninglessly difficult. 
         [0033]    Further, portions described in detail in the following are described as algorithmic descriptions or symbolic expressions of the operation inside the computer. Those algorithmic descriptions and symbolic expressions are means used by a person skilled in a data processing technology to communicate gist of his/her invention to another person skilled in the art most effectively. The algorithm is a series of defined steps to reach a desired final state or result. In this invention, steps to be executed require to physically operate a tangible quantity to realize a tangible result. 
         [0034]    It should be noted that each of those quantities takes a form of an electrical or magnetic signal to which operations such as storage, transfer, coupling, and comparison can be applied, which are not usually indispensable. It is known that those signals are sometimes conveniently referred to as bit, value, element, symbol, character, item, number, instruction, and the like for common use in principle. However, it should be noted that all of the items and similar items should be related to appropriate physical quantities, and are simply convenient labels attached to those physical quantities. 
         [0035]    Unless otherwise specified, as apparent from the following description, throughout the description herein, a description using terms such as “processing”, “calculating”, “computing”, “determining”, and “displaying” may include operations and processing of other information processing apparatus for operating data represented as a physical (electronic) quantity in a computer system or a register and a memory of the computer system, thereby converting data into other data similarly represented as a physical quantity in the memory or the register of the computer system, other information storage, transmission, or display apparatus. 
         [0036]    Moreover, this invention relates to an apparatus for carrying out operations described herein. The apparatus may be built specifically for required purposes, or may include at least one general-purpose computer selectively activated or reset by at least one computer program. Such a computer program can be stored in, but not limited to, a computer-readable memory medium such as an optical disc, a magnetic disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a solid state device, and a drive, or an arbitrary other medium suitable for storage of electronic information. 
         [0037]    In the following description, although a description is given by using “program” (including program modules and the like forming the program) as a subject in some cases, the program is executed by a processor to perform defined processing while using a memory and a communication port (communication control device). Therefore, “program” described as a subject in a description of processing may be replaced by “processor”. Further, processing disclosed while a program is used as a subject may also be interpreted as processing to be executed by a computer such as a management server or an information processing apparatus. Further, a part or all of processing to be executed by a processor in accordance with a program may also be implemented by dedicated hardware. 
         [0038]    Further, various programs may also be installed onto each computer by a program distribution server or a computer-readable memory medium. 
         [0039]    A set of at least one computer for managing an information processing system and displaying information for display of the invention of this application is sometimes referred to as “management system”. In a case where a management computer displays the information for display, the management computer is the management system. Further, a combination of the management computer and a computer for display is also the management system. Further, processing equivalent to that of the management computer may also be implemented by a plurality of computers in order to speed up management processing and achieve a higher reliability, and in this case, the plurality of computers (including the computer for display in a case where the computer for display performs display) are the management system. 
         [0040]    It should be noted that the management server includes an input/output device. As examples of the input/output device, a display, a keyboard, and a pointer device are conceivable, but any device other than those may be used. Further, the input/output device can be substituted by a serial interface or an Ethernet interface. Specifically, a computer for display including the display, the keyboard, or the pointer device may be connected to the interface, and may substitute input and display through the input/output device by the management server transmitting information for display to the computer for display to allow the computer for display to conduct display based on the information for display or by the management server receiving the information for input transmitted from the computer for display. 
         [0041]    Algorithms and displays described herein do not essentially relate to any specific computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used along with programs and modules disclosed herein, but it is sometimes more convenient to build a more specific apparatus for executing steps of a desired method. Structures of the various systems become apparent from a description disclosed later. Moreover, this invention is not described while a specific program language is considered as a prerequisite herein. As described later, it is understood that various programming languages may be used in order to carry out the disclosure of this invention. An instruction in a program language can be executed by at least one processing apparatus such as a central processing unit (CPU), a processor, or a controller. 
         [0042]    In the following description, although pieces of information of this invention are described by using such expressions as “aaa table”, “aaa list”, “aaa DB”, and “aaa queue” in some cases, those pieces of information may be expressed by data structures other than a table, a list, a DB, a queue, and the like. Therefore, “aaa table”, “aaa list”, “aaa DB”, “aaa queue”, and the like are sometimes referred to as “aaa information” in order to show that those pieces of information are independent of their data structures. 
         [0043]    In addition, although such expressions as “identification information”, “identifier”, “name”, “ID” are used in some cases in order to describe details of each piece of information, those expressions are interchangeable. 
       Outline of Embodiment of this Invention 
       [0044]    As described below in detail, an exemplary embodiment of this invention provides calculation of an alternative process to a process that has failed to execute on the management target apparatus, which produces an effect of reducing a fault handling time for an operation management job, and also provides an apparatus, a method, and a computer program for calculating the alternative process. The wording “alternative process to the process that has failed to execute” used herein represents a process that can achieve the same object as that of the process that has failed to execute and that does not include the cause of the failure. 
         [0045]    To manage a computer system including a server, a storage, and a network, a management system of the computer system carries out operation management jobs including system configuration changes such as activation of hardware or software, installation of software, and setup with a set parameter. The management system according to this embodiment automatically executes those operation management jobs. 
         [0046]    The management system automatically executes those operation management jobs based on execution registration details set in advance. Each of the operation management jobs (hereinafter referred to as “process content”) automatically executed by the management system is formed of at least one operation management job (hereinafter referred to as “part content”) such as exemplified by the activation of hardware and command execution. Those process contents and part contents are also subjected to continuous version upgrade, and are managed as derivative process contents or derivative part contents. 
         [0047]    The derivative part content represents a part content compatible with a certain part content in terms of input/output. For example, when processing executed by two part contents is the same while operating systems (OS) that can execute the two part contents are of different kinds, those part contents are the derivative part contents. As another example, the part contents or the like corresponding to software provided with version names such as Windows ME or Windows Vista or version numbers such as v1.0 or v2.0 are the derivative part contents. 
         [0048]    Further, for example, the part content updated for the purpose of a change of a kind or a number of pieces of data that can be received as an input, a change of a format of data that can be output, a data count, or a data amount, an improvement in vulnerability of the part content, or the like can also be managed as the derivative part content. 
         [0049]    The derivative process content represents a process content in which at least one of part contents forming a certain process content (hereinafter referred to also as “original process content” for the sake of convenience of description) has been replaced by a derivative part content, a process content to which at least one of arbitrary part contents has been added within a range that maintains compatibility with the original process content in terms of the input/output, or a process content from which at least one of the part contents forming the original process content has been deleted within the range that maintains compatibility with the original process content in terms of the input/output. 
         [0050]    However, the above-mentioned derivative process contents are merely typical examples. In the embodiment of this invention, any process content that satisfies a predetermined condition for a similarity as described later instead of satisfying the above-mentioned conditions can be handled as a derivative process content. 
         [0051]    It should be noted that the process content includes mapping information on an execution order, a branch in execution, and repetition of the part contents and the input/output of each part. An operation administrator saves power for operation management by using the process content to automate the operation management jobs. 
         [0052]    When executing the process content, the management system can acquire component configuration information including logical or physical configuration information such as a device included in a computer system operated by the process content, and can acquire and hold information on a process instance generated from the process content, the information including an order of the executed part contents, a branch route, a value of the input/output of each part content, an execution time of each part content, and an execution success/failure of each part content. 
         [0053]    As the execution registration of the process content, there can be registration to be executed only once at an arbitrary date/time, registration to be executed repeatedly at arbitrary times, or registration to be executed with an occurrence of an incident or an event such as an execution result of a specific process content as an activation condition. In addition, an effective execution registration period may be specified. 
         [0054]    Further, the management system may manage a single or a plurality of computer systems, to allow a plurality of management administrators to use the same process content or to provide a predetermined process content only to a specific operation administrator. 
         [0055]    In the following description, the process content is described by being referred to merely as “process”. For the sake of convenience, an execution instance generated from the process content may be expressed as “process” as well. 
       First Embodiment 
       [0056]    Now, a first embodiment of this invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0057]      FIG. 1  is an example of a block diagram for illustrating a system configuration according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0058]    An information processing system according to this embodiment includes a management server  101 , an operation terminal  102 , a server apparatus  103 , a storage apparatus  104 , and a network apparatus  105 . 
         [0059]    The management server  101 , the operation terminal  102 , the server apparatus  103 , the storage apparatus  104 , and the network apparatus  105  are connected to a management network  107  through links  106 . The server apparatus  103  and the storage apparatus  104  are connected to the network apparatus  105  through links  108 . The links  106  and  108  are realized by a wired or wireless connection method, and may include at least one subnetwork or at least one virtual private network (VPN). The management server  101 , the operation terminal  102 , the server apparatus  103 , the storage apparatus  104 , and the network apparatus  105  may be connected to the management network  107  and the network apparatus  105  by different methods from one another. 
         [0060]    The server apparatus  103  and the storage apparatus  104  may be directly connected to each other by a wired or wireless connection method without intermediation of the network apparatus  105 . 
         [0061]    A plurality of server apparatus  103  are illustrated in  FIG. 1  as an example, but the information processing system according to this embodiment may not include the server apparatus  103 , or may include only one server apparatus  103 . The same applies to the storage apparatus  104  and the network apparatus  105 . Further, one management server  101  is illustrated in  FIG. 1  as an example, but the information processing system according to this embodiment may include a plurality of management servers  101 . The same applies to the operation terminal  102 . The management server  101 , the operation terminal  102 , the server apparatus  103 , the storage apparatus  104 , and the network apparatus  105  may be realized by virtual machines. Further, at least any two of the management server  101 , the operation terminal  102 , the server apparatus  103 , the storage apparatus  104 , and the network apparatus  105  may be realized by the same casing or the same virtual machine. 
         [0062]    The network apparatus  105  may be connected to another network apparatus  105  by a wired or wireless connection method. Further, a network provided by the network apparatus  105  may be the same as the management network  107 . Further, the link  106  and the link  108  may be the same, or the wireless connection method and the wired connection method may coexist in the links  106  or the links  108 . 
         [0063]    The management server  101  includes various programs  120  and various kinds of information  121 . The management server  101  may include a processing module (not shown), a program (not shown), and an apparatus (not shown) other than those, or may not include a part thereof. 
         [0064]    The various programs  120  include a suitability calculation program  109 , a use history determination program  110 , an execution performance determination program  111 , a common defect handling history determination program  112 , and a priority calculation program  113 , but may further include a program (not shown) other than those, or may not include a part thereof. 
         [0065]    The management server  101 , and the various programs  120  and the various kinds of information  121  held by the management server  101  are described in detail with reference to  FIG. 2 . It should be noted that, as described with reference to  FIG. 2 , functional blocks realized by the processor executing the above-mentioned programs are the suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , the common defect handling history determination module  112 , and the priority calculation module  113 . In the following description and the accompanying drawings, for the sake of convenience, each of the above-mentioned programs itself may be represented by, for example, “suitability calculation module  109 ”. 
         [0066]    The operation terminal  102  includes an input apparatus  122  and an output apparatus  123 . The input apparatus  122  and the output apparatus  123  may be the same apparatus as in, for example, a touch panel. 
         [0067]      FIG. 2  is an example of a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of the management server  101  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0068]    The management server  101  includes a processor  201 , a main memory  202 , an input apparatus  203 , an output apparatus  204 , a communication interface  205 , and a storage apparatus  206 , which are communicably connected to one another. 
         [0069]    The processor  201  executes the various programs  120  stored in the main memory  202 , such as the suitability calculation program  109 , the use history determination program  110 , the execution performance determination program  111 , the common defect handling history determination program  112 , and the priority calculation program  113 , to thereby operate processing of the suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , the common defect handling history determination module  112 , and the priority calculation module  113 , respectively. It should be noted that, when the various programs  120  include a program other than the above-mentioned programs, the program is also stored in the main memory  202  and executed by the processor  201 . 
         [0070]    Instead of executing the various programs  120  by the processor  201 , the suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , the common defect handling history determination module  112 , and the priority calculation module  113  may be realized by hardware by, for example, being converted into an integrated circuit as processing modules for conducting the respective pieces of processing. In the following, to simplify the description, the respective processing modules realized by the processor  201  executing the various programs  120  stored in the main memory  202  are described as main subjects of the respective pieces of processing. In other words, in the following description, the processing executed by the respective processing modules described above is actually executed by the processor  201  based on the various programs  120  stored in the main memory  202 . 
         [0071]    The suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , the common defect handling history determination module  112 , and the priority calculation module  113  are described in detail with reference to  FIG. 9  to  FIG. 13 . 
         [0072]    The storage apparatus  206  holds the various kinds of information  121  such as process information  114 , system configuration information  115 , a use history  116 , and an execution performance  117 , but may further hold information (not shown) other than those pieces of information, or may not include a part thereof. Further, only one storage apparatus  206  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 , but the management server  101  may include a plurality of storage apparatus, and the process information  114 , the system configuration information  115 , the use history  116 , and the execution performance  117  may be held by different storage apparatus from one another. 
         [0073]    The process information  114 , the system configuration information  115 , the use history  116 , and the execution performance  117  are described in detail with reference to  FIG. 3  to  FIG. 6 . 
         [0074]    It should be noted that the various kinds of information  121  may be stored in a storage apparatus (not shown) connected through an external storage apparatus interface (not shown) or the communication interface  205  of the management server  101 . 
         [0075]    The storage apparatus  206  and the main memory  202  may be the same storage apparatus. 
         [0076]    The input apparatus  203  and the output apparatus  204  may be the same apparatus, or one or both thereof may be omitted. 
         [0077]    The communication interface  205  is connected to the management network  107  through the link  106 , and communicates to/from the operation terminal  102 , the server apparatus  103 , the storage apparatus  104 , the network apparatus  105 , and the like. 
         [0078]      FIG. 3  is an example of an explanatory diagram of the process information  114  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0079]    The process information  114  represents information on a process executed by the management target apparatus (in the example of  FIG. 1 , at least one of the server apparatus  103 , the storage apparatus  104 , and the network apparatus  105 ) in accordance with an instruction from the management server  101 . For example, when an administrator inputs, to the management server  101 , an instruction to control one of the management target apparatus to execute one of the process contents registered in the process information  114 , the management server  101  controls the specified management target apparatus to execute the part contents included in the specified process content in order. Such processing of the management server  101  can be realized by the processor  201  executing a known program (not shown) for run book automation (RBA) included in the various programs  120 , and hence a description thereof is omitted. 
         [0080]    The process information  114  has a table format, and is formed of at least one row. Each row corresponds to one process content. Every row includes two columns. 
         [0081]    In this case, the two columns are a process identifier  301  and a process constituent  302 . Each row of the process information  114  may further include a column (not shown) other than those, or may not include any one of those columns. 
         [0082]    The process constituent  302  has a table format, and is formed of at least one row. Each row corresponds to one part content. Every row includes five columns. 
         [0083]    In this case, the five columns are an ID  303  serving as an identifier of a process constituent, a name  304  of the process constituent, an input  305  serving as a data source of the process constituent, an output  306  of the process constituent, and an operation target management object  307  indicating a management object to be operated by each part. Each row of the process constituent  302  may further include a column (not shown) other than those, or may not include any one of those columns. 
         [0084]    When a process is newly registered, the row corresponding to the process may be manually input by the system administrator or the like, or may be input by using some tool or utility. The row thus input is added to the process information  114 . 
         [0085]    The input  305  and the output  306  express a dependence relationship in data between the part contents forming the process content (for example, the data output from which part content is to be input to which part content). For example, the process identified by the value “Process X v1.0.0” of the process identifier  301  shown in  FIG. 3  (hereinafter also referred to simply as “Process X v1.0.0”; the same applies to another process) includes three part contents identified by the values “Part A”, “Part B”, and “Part C” of the name  304  (hereinafter also referred to simply as “Part A”, “Part B”, and “Part C”; the same applies to another part content). Of those, the output  306  of Part A and the input  305  of Part B both include “A_out0”. This indicates that A_out0 output from Part A is input to Part B, that is, that there is a direct dependence relationship between Part A and Part B. 
         [0086]    The dependence relationship between the part contents are not only identified by the dependence relationship in the data input/output as described above, but also identified based on an operation target of each part content. When a value indicating the operation target of each part content is input in addition to such a value indicating the input/output of the data as described above, the process information  114  holds the value as the operation target management object  307  for each part content. The information shown in the operation target management object  307  is information for identifying the operation target of the part content, for example, a path for specifying a file, a specific software name, or a host name. 
         [0087]    By the operation target management object  307 , it is possible to identify a dependence relationship between the part contents other than the dependence relationship in the data. For example, in a case of the dependence relationship between the part contents forming Process Y v1.0.0, there is no direct dependence relationship in the data between Part D and Part C because the input  305  of Part D and the output  306  of Part C do not include a common value and the output  306  of Part D and the input  305  of Part C also do not include a common value. However, it is understood that there is a dependence relationship between Part D and Part C because the operation target management objects  307  of Part D and Part C are the same by being X_in1. 
         [0088]    The dependence relationship between the part contents other than the dependence relationship in the data represents a case where, for example, Part D is an activation part of a virtual machine and Part C is property setting of the virtual machine activated by Part D. In this case, there is no dependence relationship in the data between Part D and Part C, but there is a dependence relationship therebetween in that Part C executes setting of software activated by Part D. 
         [0089]    In  FIG. 3 , the process constituent  302  is expressed by nesting a table into another table (that is, so that the process constituent  302  further includes data having a table format), but may be held while being divided into a plurality of tables. 
         [0090]      FIG. 4  is an example of an explanatory diagram of the system configuration information  115  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0091]    The system configuration information  115  represents configuration information on the management target apparatus of the management server  101 . 
         [0092]    The system configuration information  115  has a table format, and is formed of at least one row. Each row corresponds to one piece of software installed on one management target apparatus or one piece of hardware forming one management target apparatus. Every row includes four columns. In this case, the four columns are an apparatus name  401  indicating a name of the management target apparatus, a component  402  indicating a name of the software installed on the management target apparatus or a name of the hardware forming the management target apparatus, a start of use  403  indicating a date/time at which the software started being used, and an end of use  404  indicating a date/time at which the software stopped being used. 
         [0093]    Each row of the system configuration information  115  may further include a column (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those columns. 
         [0094]    In the component  402  of the system configuration information  115 , a plurality of pieces or a single piece of software may be registered, or any piece of software may not be registered, as the software installed on the management target apparatus. 
         [0095]    In  FIG. 4 , a single table holds the configuration information on a plurality of management target apparatus, but the system configuration information  115  may be held while being divided into a plurality of tables, for example, for each management target apparatus or for each piece of software installed on the management target apparatus. 
         [0096]    When the management target apparatus is newly added, a row corresponding to the system is inserted into the system configuration information  115 . Further, also when there is a configuration change of the management target apparatus, a row corresponding to a location of the change is changed or inserted. Further, the insertion or the change may be manually input by the operation administrator, or may be input by using some tool or utility. 
         [0097]      FIG. 5  is an example of an explanatory diagram of the use history  116  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0098]    The use history  116  represents history information on the execution registration of a process managed by the process information  114  with respect to the management target apparatus. 
         [0099]    The use history  116  has a table format, and is formed of at least one row. Each row corresponds to one execution registration of one process. Every row includes six columns. In this case, the six columns are a history ID  501  indicating a management number of the history information, a process identifier  502  for identifying a process executed on the management target apparatus, an operation target apparatus  503  indicating the management target apparatus on which the process was executed, a start of use  504  indicating a date/time at which the process was subjected to the execution registration, an end of use  505  indicating a date/time at which the execution registration of the process was deleted, and a succeeding process ID  506  indicating a history ID of a process to be subjected to the execution registration in place of the process that has ended after the end of use of the process. The succeeding process ID  506  in the row in which the end of use  505  is “in use” may be blank. 
         [0100]    Each row of the use history  116  may further include a column (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those columns. 
         [0101]    In  FIG. 5 , one table holds the use history  116  relating to all the management target apparatus for all the processes, but the use history  116  may be held while being divided into a plurality of tables by, for example, being held while being divided for each process identifier  502  or for each operation target apparatus  503 . 
         [0102]      FIG. 6  is an example of an explanatory diagram of the execution performance  117  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0103]    The execution performance  117  represents performance information on the execution instance of the process managed by the process information  114  conducted on the management target apparatus. 
         [0104]    The execution performance  117  has a table format, and is formed of at least one row. Every row includes six columns. In this case, the six columns are a process identifier  601  indicating the process executed, an operation target apparatus  602  indicating the management target apparatus on which the process was executed, an execution date/time  603  indicating a date/time at which the process instance was executed on the management target apparatus, an execution success/failure  604  indicating an execution result of the process, a failed location  605  indicating a failed portion in a case where the execution success/failure  604  of the process is a failure, and a failure cause  606  indicating a failure cause in the case where the execution success/failure  604  of the process is a failure. 
         [0105]    Fields of the failed location  605  and the failure cause  606  in the row may be blank in the case where the execution success/failure  604  is successful. 
         [0106]    Each row of the execution performance  117  may further include a column (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those columns. 
         [0107]    In  FIG. 6 , one table holds the execution performance  117  relating to all the execution registrations of all the processes, but the execution performance  117  may be held while being divided for each execution registration. 
         [0108]    Each item registered in the operation target apparatus  602  indicates one execution registration of one process, and information on the columns  603 ,  604 ,  605 , and  606  corresponding to each item indicates information unique to the process instance generated from one process subjected to the execution registration. To describe a part of the specific example shown in  FIG. 6 , Process X v1.0.0 was subjected to the execution registration with respect to the operation target apparatus Host_B0 and Host_B1 in the past or is still subjected to the execution registration at present. Process X v1.0.0 was actually executed at least at 23:53:50, Oct. 10, 2010 and at 23:53:52, Oct. 11, 2010, and the former execution was successful while the latter execution was a failure. 
         [0109]    In the failure cause  606 , information obtained by manual work may be input, or information obtained by some tool or utility (not shown) may be input. Now, a description is made of examples of some methods of estimating and suggesting the failure cause by some utility. 
         [0110]    For example, in the case where the previous execution was successful while the current execution fails in the same execution registration regarding the same operation target apparatus as described above, the utility determines whether or not there has been a change in the configuration information on the operation target apparatus during a period from the previous execution to the current execution, and when there has been a change, the utility can suggest that the system configuration change be one of causes of the failure. 
         [0111]    Further, when a predetermined portion of a predetermined process fails to execute due to an error in format of input data as a data source at the predetermined portion, the utility can suggest that an illegal input value be the cause of the failure. 
         [0112]    Further, when the process has failed to execute due to the fact that the operation target apparatus is not coupled to a network or is in a state incapable of executing the process (for example, the operation target apparatus is not powered on or is not ready to receive another processing because a CPU activity ratio is already high) even when coupled to the network, the utility can suggest the defect of the operation target apparatus as the failure cause. 
         [0113]    Further, when the process fails to execute because a processing time period on the operation target apparatus becomes longer than a time period of a timeout set for the part of the process, the utility can suggest the timeout of the part is the cause of the failure. 
         [0114]    Lastly, when the cause of the failure does not fall into the above-mentioned causes, the utility suggests the defect of the part as the cause, to thereby be able to automatically detect all the failure causes shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0115]    In addition, the failure cause  606  may be acquired by using such a root cause analysis method for an IT apparatus as disclosed in JP 2010-86115 A and JP 2011-518359 A. 
         [0116]      FIG. 7  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating an outline of processing executed by the management server  101  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0117]    Specifically,  FIG. 7  is an illustration of an outline of the flow (hereinafter referred to as “determination flow”) of processing (hereinafter referred to as “suggestion processing”) for selecting processes that are relatively high in possibility that the processes can substitute a given process (hereinafter referred to as “the given process”) that has failed to execute on the management target apparatus (that is, processes that can achieve an equivalent object to that of the given process and that is relatively high in possibility of not including the cause of the failure in execution) from among the original process or derivative processes of the given process included in the processes managed by the process information  114 , and calculating priorities thereof. 
         [0118]    The determination flow is activated in response to the operation administrator&#39;s instruction input through the input apparatus  122  or the input apparatus  203 . Alternatively, the activation of the determination flow may be triggered by the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, by the configuration change of the management target apparatus, or by the change in the process information  114 . 
         [0119]    The determination flow includes suitability calculation processing executed by the suitability calculation module  109  (Step  701 ), use history determination processing executed by the use history determination module  110  (Step  702 ), execution performance determination processing executed by the execution performance determination module  111  (Step  703 ), common defect handling history determination processing executed by the common defect handling history determination module  112  (Step  704 ), and priority calculation processing executed by the priority calculation module  113  (Step  705 ). The processing executed in each of the above-mentioned steps is described in detail with reference to  FIG. 9  to  FIG. 13  and the like. 
         [0120]    It should be noted that, in Step  705 , the priority calculation module  113  outputs information indicating the calculated priority (such as priority itself or information created based on the priority) from the output apparatus  204  to a user, or outputs the information from the communication interface  205  to the operation terminal  102 . The operation terminal  102  outputs the information indicating the priority acquired from the management server  101  from the output apparatus  123  to the user. Examples of the information output from the output apparatus  204  or  123  are described in detail with reference to  FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B . 
         [0121]    The determination flow may further include processing (not shown) other than the above-mentioned pieces of processing, or may not include some of those pieces of processing. 
         [0122]    As the determination flow illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the suitability calculation processing (Step  701 ), the use history determination processing (Step  702 ), the execution performance determination processing (Step  703 ), and the common defect handling history determination processing (Step  704 ) are described so as to be sequentially executed in the stated order, but those pieces of processing may be executed in an order different from the above-mentioned order, or all the pieces of processing may be executed in parallel. For example, the suitability calculation module  109  may execute the suitability calculation processing, to thereby calculate the evaluation value, and the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , and the common defect handling history determination module  112  may execute the use history determination processing, the execution performance determination processing, and the common defect handling history determination processing, respectively, for the process having an evaluation value equal to or larger than an arbitrary threshold value, to thereby further change the evaluation value calculated by the suitability calculation module  109 . 
         [0123]    The suggestion processing represented by the determination flow is processing for receiving the information for specifying the process and the problem portion and the information for specifying the operation target apparatus and the date/time as the input, executing the suitability calculation processing, the use history determination processing, the execution performance determination processing, and the common defect handling history determination processing by use of the process information  114 , the system configuration information  115 , the use history  116 , and the execution performance  117 , and calculating the priority from results of those pieces of processing, to thereby suggest a process, which is determined to be high in possibility that the failure cause of the process supplied as the input at the specified portion in the configuration of the operation target apparatus supplied as the input at the specified date/time is solved, from among the original process or a plurality of kinds of derivative process of the process supplied as the input. 
         [0124]    It should be noted that the suggestion processing may not use system configuration information. The suggestion processing executed without use of the system configuration information is described herein as a second embodiment of this invention. 
         [0125]    As described later, the suggestion processing according to the second embodiment is processing for receiving the information for specifying the process and the problem portion as the input, executing the suitability calculation processing, the use history determination processing, the execution performance determination processing, and the common defect handling history determination processing by use of the process information  114 , the use history  116 , the execution performance  117 , and calculating the priority from results of those pieces of processing, to thereby suggest a process, which is determined to be high in possibility that the failure cause of the process supplied as the input at the specified portion is solved, from among the original process or a plurality of kinds of derivative processes of the process supplied as the input. 
         [0126]      FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B  are examples of a screen (hereinafter referred to as “output screen”) through which the processing result of the determination flow conducted by the management server  101  is to be output to the output apparatus  123  or the output apparatus  204  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0127]    The results of the suggestion processing obtained when the execution of Part A of Process X 1.0.0 exemplified in  FIG. 3  fails are illustrated in  FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B . 
         [0128]    An output screen  801  displays a processing result  802 A of the determination flow or a processing result  802 B of the determination flow. 
         [0129]    The processing result  802 A of the determination flow has a table format, and is formed of at least one row. Each row corresponds to one process. Every row excluding an exceptional row includes four columns. In this case, the four columns are a process identifier  804  for specifying a given process corresponding to each row (hereinafter referred to as “the given process” in the descriptions made with reference to  FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B ), a comprehensive evaluation  805  indicating the priority of the given process calculated by the determination flow, an evaluation reason  806  indicating a reason that the evaluation value of the given process was calculated by the determination flow, and a detailed evaluation reason  807  indicating details of the evaluation reason  806  for the given process. 
         [0130]    The processing result  802 B of the determination flow also has a table format, and is formed of at least one row. Each row corresponds to one process. Every row includes five columns. In this case, the five columns are the process identifier  804 , the comprehensive evaluation  805 , an evaluation item  808  indicating a plurality of evaluation items respectively corresponding to the processing of Step  701 , Step  702 , Step  703 , and Step  704  illustrated in  FIG. 7 , an evaluation value  809  indicating the processing result of each of the above-mentioned evaluation items, and the detailed evaluation reason  807 . 
         [0131]    The exceptional row of the processing result  802 A is a row for displaying the process supplied as the input for the suggestion processing (that is, process to be substituted by the derivative process). The exceptional row includes two columns. In this case, the two columns are the process identifier  804  and the comprehensive evaluation  805 . Further, the column of the process identifier  804  of the exceptional row may display a description (for example, “Modify Process X”) for prompting a job for modifying the process instead of displaying a process identifier. 
         [0132]    Each row of the processing result of the determination flow may further include a column (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those columns. 
         [0133]    In  FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B , the processing result of the determination flow is displayed in one table, but the processing result of the determination flow may be displayed while being divided into a plurality of tables. 
         [0134]    The comprehensive evaluation  805  may be displayed with a qualitative symbol such as the double circle shown in  FIG. 8A  or the like or “S” shown in  FIG. 8B , may be displayed with a quantitative numerical value such as “98 points” shown in  FIG. 8A  or the like, or may be graphically displayed by using, for example, a percentage or a graph (not shown). In this example, “98 points” or the like is a display example of the calculated evaluation value itself, and the double circle or the like and “S” or the like are display examples of a level in excellence of an evaluation defined based on the evaluation value (for example, as in the double circle or “S” displayed when the evaluation value is equal to or larger than 80 points). 
         [0135]    The evaluation reason  806  of  FIG. 8A  displays only the reason for the evaluation given the highest evaluation value from among the evaluations obtained in the processing of Step  701  to Step  704  illustrated in  FIG. 7 , but as in  FIG. 8B , the evaluation reason  806  may display the results of all the pieces of processing of Step  701  to Step  704 , or may display the results of some of the pieces of processing. 
         [0136]    For example, the evaluation reason  806  in the top row within  FIG. 8A  includes the value “Evaluation value based on use history is high”, which indicates that the evaluation value obtained in the use history determination processing (Step  702 ) has been high within the processing flow illustrated in  FIG. 7  (more specifically, that Yes was determined in Step  1004  of  FIG. 10  described later and that the evaluation value was raised in Step  1005  of  FIG. 10 ). 
         [0137]    The detailed evaluation reason  807  displays the reason that the evaluation indicated by the evaluation reason  806  becomes high. 
         [0138]    The evaluation item  808  indicates the items evaluated by the respective pieces of the processing of Step  701  to Step  704 , and the evaluation value  809  indicates the calculation results of the evaluation values obtained in the respective pieces of processing of Step  701  to Step  704 . The evaluation value  809  may display the evaluation value itself by a numerical value, or may display, for example, a graphic form or the like indicating the evaluation value such as star-shaped symbols whose number corresponds to the evaluation value. 
         [0139]    Some specific examples of a method of representing the detailed evaluation reason  807  are described. Detailed meanings of some wordings used in the following specific examples are described in the descriptions of  FIG. 9  and the subsequent figures. 
         [0140]    (1) The detailed evaluation reason  807  corresponding to the suitability calculation processing (Step  701 ) uses the information acquired in the suitability calculation processing, and can be described by displaying “Problem portion has been changed.” when there is a change only in the problem portion, displaying “Problem portion and data source portion have been changed.” when there is a change only in the problem portion and a data source portion thereof, displaying “Data source portion of problem portion has been changed.” when there is a change only in the data source portion of the problem portion, further displaying “Different defect due to change in another portion is hardly caused.” when there is no change in a portion other than the problem portion or the data source portion of the problem portion, and displaying “Different defect due to change in another portion can be caused.” when there is a change in the portion other than the problem portion or the data source portion of the problem portion. In addition, when the part of any portion such as the problem portion has been changed, as in  FIG. 8B , the name of the parts before and after the change may be displayed in the detailed evaluation reason  807 . 
         [0141]    (2) The detailed evaluation reason  807  corresponding to the use history determination processing (Step  702 ) uses the information acquired in the use history determination processing, and can be described by setting all host names or a total host count of hosts that have used the given process as the succeeding process of a problem process that has caused a problem as “Character String 1”, and displaying “‘Character String 1’ hosts have used given process as succeeding process of problem process.” 
         [0142]    (3) The detailed evaluation reason  807  corresponding to the execution performance determination processing (Step  703 ) can be described by setting, in the information acquired in the execution performance determination processing, the name of the operation target apparatus high in execution success probability of the given process as “Character String 1” and the execution success probability at the apparatus indicated by Character String 1 as “Numerical Value 1”, and displaying “Because execution success probability at ‘Character String 1’ is ‘Numerical Value 1’%.” 
         [0143]    Further, a case where a success probability of the given process is mostly high may be described as “Total success probability is high.”, and a case where a total execution count is not enough to suitably calculate the evaluation value may be described as “Total execution count is small.” Further, for example, the result of retrieving the execution performance under a condition such as the execution probability during the past one month may be displayed as “Most recent execution success probability is high.” or “Most recent execution failure probability is high.” 
         [0144]    (4) The detailed evaluation reason  807  corresponding to the common defect handling history determination processing (Step  704 ) uses the information acquired in the common defect handling history determination processing, and can be represented by setting the number of apparatus for which the given process has been subjected to the execution registration as the succeeding process of a process that has failed to execute due to a common defect (that is, process that has failed to execute due to the same cause of the same part content) as “Numerical Value 1”, and displaying “Common defect has been handled by “Numerical Value 1” hosts.” When “Numerical Value 1” is 0, the description that “there is no history of handling common defect.” may be displayed. 
         [0145]    In the evaluation reason  806  and the detailed evaluation reason  807 , as shown in  FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B , an evaluation reason described in a natural language may be displayed, all or a part of the pieces of information used in the determination flow may be displayed, a graphical representation may be displayed so that those pieces of information are displayed in, for example, a graph format, or a link to a data source used to calculate the evaluation value may be displayed. 
         [0146]    As described above, the evaluation reason  806  and the detailed evaluation reason  807  include information indicating the reason that the evaluation value has increased, and the reason can be identified based on which determination of which processing has resulted in the increase in the evaluation value. 
         [0147]    The processing result  802 A or the processing result  802 B of the determination flow may be output by sound instead of being displayed as the output screen  801  on the output apparatus  123  or the output apparatus  204 , or may be stored in the storage apparatus  206  by being stored in, for example, a file format. 
         [0148]    As described above, the output screen is configured to display all or some of the process identifier  804 , the rank  803 , the process identifier  804 , the comprehensive evaluation  805 , the evaluation reason  806 , and the detailed evaluation reason  807  on the same screen. 
         [0149]    Further, on the output screen, all the processes for which the calculation result from the priority calculation module  113  exceeds the threshold value may be displayed, several processes ranked highest in the calculation result from the priority calculation module  113  may be displayed, or several highest ranked processes among the processes for which the calculation result from the priority calculation module  113  exceeds the threshold value may be displayed. 
         [0150]    For example, when the process content to be used as the alternative process to the process that has failed to execute is determined by the user of the information processing system such as the operation administrator, in order to allow a comprehensive decision to be made from the viewpoints of: 
         [0000]    (1) whether or not there is a possibility that the problem (that is, cause of the failure) has been solved in the alternative process;
 
(2) whether or not there is a possibility that the alternative process may cause another problem;
 
(3) whether or not the alternative process is a process content that is widely used;
 
(4) how high the execution performance of the alternative process is; and
 
(5) which process content another person (user) uses for the common problem, the management server  101  displays the results of the processing corresponding to the viewpoints (1) to (5) (that is, the suitability calculation processing, the use history determination processing, the execution performance determination processing, and the common defect handling history determination processing that are described later) on the same screen in descending order of the comprehensive evaluation value (that is, priority). With this configuration, it is possible to reduce such a workload imposed on the user as to refer to various GUIs to determine whether or not the suggested process content can be used.
 
         [0151]    For example, when the failure cause is the defect of the part, it is first confirmed in the suitability calculation processing that the part that has caused the defect has been changed, and when the failure cause is an illegal input value, it is confirmed that the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed. Further, when the failure cause is the system configuration change, it is confirmed that the part that has caused the defect has been replaced by a part corresponding to the configuration after the change. After the above-mentioned confirmation, it is confirmed that there is no change in a portion other than the above-mentioned portion. In addition, by confirming the handling of the common defect, the execution performance, and the use history of another person, it is confirmed that there is no problem with the handling of the fault. 
         [0152]      FIG. 9  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the suitability calculation processing executed by the suitability calculation module  109  of the management server  101  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0153]    The suitability calculation processing is activated in response to an instruction issued by, for example, the user of the information processing system such as the operation administrator through the input apparatus  122  or the input apparatus  203 . For example, the user of the information processing system may activate the suitability calculation processing when one of the processes fails to execute. At this time, the user of the information processing system may specify the process that has failed to execute and the part content among part contents forming the process that has actually failed to execute, as the target of the processing. 
         [0154]    Further, the activation of the suitability calculation processing may be triggered by the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, by the configuration change of the management target apparatus, by the change in the process information  114 , or by some tool or utility (not shown). 
         [0155]    In the processing of  FIG. 9 , the suitability calculation module  109  further calls and executes similar process retrieval processing illustrated in  FIG. 14 . 
         [0156]    The suitability calculation processing includes the processing from Step  901  to Step  910 , but may further include processing (not shown) such as, for example, processing for lowering the evaluation value of the process that has not been acquired in the similar process retrieval processing, or may not include some of those steps. 
         [0157]    The suitability calculation processing illustrated in  FIG. 9  is described in detail. 
         [0158]    First, the suitability calculation module  109  acquires a process similar to the process (hereinafter referred to as “the given process” in the description made with reference to  FIG. 9 ) to be subjected to the suitability calculation processing (Step  901 ). For example, when the user of the information processing system activates the suitability calculation module  109 , the given process is a process specified by the user of the information processing system. In that case, in addition to the information for specifying the given process, information for specifying the failed portion (that is, part content that has failed to execute) is also input. When the suitability calculation module  109  is activated concurrently with the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, the given process is the process that has failed to execute, and the failed portion is the part content that has failed to execute. When the suitability calculation module  109  is activated concurrently with the change in the process information  114 , the given process is the changed process. 
         [0159]    In Step  901 , the suitability calculation module  109  calls and executes the similar process retrieval processing. Details thereof are described later with reference to  FIG. 14 . 
         [0160]    After that, the suitability calculation module  109  calculates the evaluation value of the process held in the process information  114  by processing for raising the evaluation value of a process that has been changed in one of or a plurality of ones of the failed portion of the given process and the data source portions of the failed portion of the given process and lowering the evaluation value of a process that has been changed in a portion other than any one of the failed portion of the given process and the data source portions of the failed portion of the given process. 
         [0161]    Specifically, the suitability calculation module  109  determines whether or not at least one of the specified portion or the data source portion of the specified portion of the process acquired in Step  901  (hereinafter referred to as “similar process” in the description made with reference to  FIG. 9 ) has been changed (Step  902 ). 
         [0162]    In this case, the specified portion represents a portion corresponding to the failed portion of the given process among at least one portion (that is, part content) forming the similar process. The failed portion of the given process may be specified by the user of the information processing system, or may be automatically detected when the process fails to execute on the management target apparatus. When the suitability calculation module  109  is activated concurrently with the change in the process information  114 , the portion of the similar process corresponding to the changed part content of the changed process may be handled as the specified portion. The data source portion of the specified portion is described later. 
         [0163]    When at least one of the specified portion of the similar process and the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed, the suitability calculation module  109  raises the evaluation value of the similar process (Step  903 ). For example, the suitability calculation module  109  may increase the evaluation value by a predetermined value (the same applies to the following). 
         [0164]    Subsequently, the suitability calculation module  109  determines whether or not the specified portion of the similar process has been changed (Step  904 ). Specifically, the suitability calculation module  109  determines that the specified portion has been changed when the specified portion of the similar process is not the same part content as the failed portion of the given process. 
         [0165]    When the specified portion has been changed, the suitability calculation module  109  further raises the evaluation value of the similar process (Step  905 ). 
         [0166]    Subsequently, the suitability calculation module  109  determines whether or not the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed (Step  906 ). Specifically, the suitability calculation module  109  determines that the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed when the data source portion of the specified portion of the similar process is not the same part content as the data source portion of the failed portion of the given process. 
         [0167]    When the data source portion of the specified portion has not been changed, the suitability calculation module  109  further raises the evaluation value of the similar process (Step  907 ). 
         [0168]    Subsequently, the suitability calculation module  109  determines whether or not a portion other than the specified portion of the similar process or the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed (Step  908 ). Specifically, the suitability calculation module  109  determines that the portion other than the specified portion of the similar process or the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed when the portion other than the specified portion of the similar process or the data source portion of the specified portion is not the same part content as the portion of the given process corresponding to the above-mentioned portion. 
         [0169]    When the portion other than the specified portion of the similar process or the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed, the suitability calculation module  109  lowers the evaluation value of the similar process (Step  909 ). For example, the suitability calculation module  109  may reduce the evaluation value by a predetermined value (the same applies to the following). 
         [0170]    Subsequently, the suitability calculation module  109  determines whether or not the evaluation values of all the similar processes have been calculated (Step  910 ). When at least one of the evaluation values of the similar processes has not been calculated, the processing returns to Step  901 . When the evaluation values of all the similar processes have been calculated, the suitability calculation processing is brought to an end. 
         [0171]    It should be noted that, when determining in Step  902  that none of the specified portion and the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed, the suitability calculation module  109  executes Step  908  without executing any one of Step  903  to Step  907 . When determining in Step  904  that the specified portion has not been changed, the suitability calculation module  109  executes Step  908  without executing any one of Step  905  to Step  907 . When determining in Step  906  that the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed, the suitability calculation module  109  executes Step  908  without executing Step  907 . When determining in Step  908  that the portion other than the specified portion of the similar process or the data source portion of the specified portion has not been changed, the suitability calculation module  109  executes Step  910  without executing Step  909 . 
         [0172]    As described above, in the suitability calculation processing illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the evaluation values of the respective processes are calculated so that, among the processes in which the specified portion or the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed, the evaluation value of the process in which only the specified portion has been changed is the highest, the evaluation value of the process in which both the specified portion and the data source portion of the specified portion have been changed is the second highest, and the evaluation value of the process in which only the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed is the third highest. Now, the reason that the evaluation value is calculated in this manner is described. 
         [0173]    For example, when one process is used for a plurality of management target apparatus, there is a possibility that a failure for the same cause as that of the failure of the given process on one management target apparatus has already occurred on another management target apparatus. In addition, there is a possibility that a new process for which the cause of the failure has been solved has already been created by the administrator of the another management target apparatus and held on the management server  101 . In this case, there is a possibility that the new process can be used as the alternative process to the given process that has failed. Alternatively, when the cause of the failure of the given process on the one management target apparatus is an undesirable alteration made to the given process and when an old process to which the alteration has not been made is still held on the management server  101 , there is a possibility that the old process can be used as the alternative process to the given process that has failed. 
         [0174]    The suitability calculation module  109  calculates the evaluation values of the respective processes so that a high evaluation value is given to a process high in possibility that the process can be used as the alternative process. Specifically, when the failed portion of the given process is clear, an estimation that the cause of the failure lies in at least one of the failed portion or the data source portion (described later) of the failed portion and does not lie in the portion other than those is used. Based on this estimation, it is more likely that the process in which at least one of the portion (specified portion) corresponding to the failed portion of the given process and the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed can be used as the alternative process to the given process than the process other than the above-mentioned process. On the other hand, it is less likely that the process in which the portion other than any one of the specified portion and the portion corresponding to the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed can be used as the alternative process to the given process because there is a possibility that the above-mentioned process includes a cause of another failure even when the process does not include the cause of the failure that has occurred in the given process. 
         [0175]    More specifically, based on the estimation that the possibility that the cause of the failure lies only in the failed portion is the highest, the possibility that the cause lies in both the failed portion and the data source portion of the failed portion is the second highest, and the possibility that the cause lies only in the data source portion of the failed portion is the third highest, the evaluation values are calculated so that the evaluation value of the process in which only the specified portion has been changed is the highest, the evaluation value of the process in which both the specified portion and the data source portion of the specified portion have been changed is the second highest, and the evaluation value of the process in which only the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed is the third highest. 
         [0176]    Now, an example of the above-mentioned evaluation is described by representing a process formed of Part Content A, Part Content B to which an output from Part Content A is input, and Part Content C to which an output from Part Content B is input as “A, B, C”, and by representing the part contents having different versions respectively corresponding to the part contents A, B, and C as part contents A′, B′, and C′. In this example, when Part Content B within the process “A, B, C” has failed to execute (that is, the specified portion is B and the data source portion of the specified portion is A), the similar process to the process “A, B, C” is retrieved. As a result, it is assumed that similar processes “A′, B, C”, “A, B′, C”, “A, B, C”, “A′, B′, C”, “A′, B, C”, and “A, B′, C” have been retrieved. 
         [0177]    In this case, in a process “A, B, C”, a problem (that is, cause of the failure) with the specified portion B and the data source portion A of the specified portion has not been solved, and there is also a possibility that the change in the portion C other than the specified portion or the data source portion of the specified portion may cause another problem. 
         [0178]    In the processes “A′, B, C” and “A, B′, C”, there is a possibility that the problem has been solved, but there is a possibility that the change in the portion C may cause another problem. 
         [0179]    On the other hand, in the processes “A′, B, C”, “A, B′, C”, and “A′, B′, C”, there is a possibility that the problem has been solved, and the possibility that another problem may be caused is low. In this case, an example of a case where the problem is solved by “A′, B, C” is a case where the cause of the failure in the execution of Part Content B does not lie in Part Content B itself but lies in an imperfection in output (for example, error in format of a file to be output) of Part Content A while the imperfection has been solved at Part Content A′. 
         [0180]    In such a case, in the suitability calculation processing illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the highest evaluation values are given to the processes “A, B′, C”, “A′, B′, C”, “A′, B, C”, “A, B′, C”, “A′, B, C”, and “A, B, C” in the stated order. In this manner, with the suitability calculation processing, it is possible to suggest the process with which the problem is highly likely to have been solved in a short time without requiring the user&#39;s time and labor. For example, the user can use those processes as the alternative processes to the failed process in descending order of the evaluation value. This allows the user to preferentially use the process with which the problem is highly likely to have been solved. 
         [0181]    However, the above-mentioned calculation method for the evaluation value is merely an example, and for example, the evaluation values of the processes in the above-mentioned three categories may be calculated to be the same, or may be calculated so that a relationship between the processes of the respective categories and the supplied evaluation values becomes different from that exemplified in  FIG. 9 . For example, when an estimation that the possibility that the cause of the failure lies only in the data source portion of the failed portion is higher than the possibility that the cause lies in both the failed portion and the data source portion of the failed portion is obtained empirically, the evaluation values may be calculated so that the evaluation value of the process in which only the data source portion of the specified portion has been changed becomes higher than the evaluation value of the process in which both the specified portion and the data source portion of the specified portion have been changed. 
         [0182]    It should be noted that the data source portion of the specified portion represents a portion that may affect a success/failure in the execution of the specified portion among the portions other than the specified portion. Specifically, for example, all portions serving as generation sources of data to be input to the specified portion and all portions serving as generation sources of execution environments for the specified portion are the data source portions of the specified portion. When the data source portion of the specified portion further has another data source portion, the another data source portion may be also handled as the data source portion of the specified portion. 
         [0183]    The description is made by taking as an example a case where, for example, the process that has failed to execute (the given process) is formed of three portions (part contents), a second portion is executed subsequently to a first portion, a third portion is executed subsequently to the second portion, and the third portion is input as the specified portion. In this example, in cases where data output from the first portion is received by the specified portion as the input and where the specified portion operates hardware or software activated by the first portion, the first portion is the data source portion of the specified portion. 
         [0184]    To describe a specific example with reference to the process information  114  of  FIG. 3 , when the specified portion is Part C of Process X v1.0.0, Part A that outputs “A_out1” to be input to Part C and Part B that outputs “B_out0” to be input to Part C are the data source portions of Part C. It should be noted that “A_out0” output from Part A is input to Part B serving as the data source portion of Part C. In other words, Part A also serves as the data source portion of Part B, and hence Part A is the data source portion of Part C also in this sense. 
         [0185]    In addition, for example, when the specified portion is Part C of Process Y v1.0.0, an output “D_out0” from Part D is not to be input to Part C, but the operation target management objects  307  of those parts are both X_in1, and hence Part D is the data source portion of Part C. 
         [0186]      FIG. 10  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the use history determination processing executed by the use history determination module  110  of the management server  101  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0187]    In the same manner as the suitability calculation processing, the activation of the use history determination processing may be triggered by the instruction issued by, for example, the user of the information processing system such as the operation administrator through the input apparatus  122  or the input apparatus  203 , by the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, by the configuration change of the management target apparatus, by the change in the process information  114 , or by some tool or utility (not shown). 
         [0188]    In the processing of  FIG. 10 , the use history determination module  110  further calls and executes similar execution environment retrieval processing illustrated in  FIG. 15 . 
         [0189]    Further, the use history determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 10  includes the processing of Step  1001  to Step  1008 , but may further include the processing (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those. 
         [0190]    The use history determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 10  is described in detail. 
         [0191]    First, the use history determination module  110  receives the information for specifying a processing target process, an operation target apparatus, and a date/time as an input (Step  1001 ). For example, when the use history determination processing is activated in response to the instruction issued by the user of the information processing system, those pieces of information are input by the user of the information processing system. When the use history determination processing is activated concurrently with the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, information for specifying the process that has failed to execute, the management target apparatus on which the failure has occurred, and the date/time at which the failure occurred (that is, date/time at which the process that has failed to execute was executed) is input as the information for specifying the processing target process, the operation target apparatus, and the date/time. 
         [0192]    Subsequently, the use history determination module  110  uses the system configuration information  115  and the use history  116 , acquires the configuration information on the operation target apparatus supplied as the input at the date/time supplied as the input, and executes the similar execution environment retrieval processing (Step  1002 ). Accordingly, a period during which the configuration information on an apparatus that has the configuration information similar to the configuration information acquired in Step  1001  or had the similar configuration information has been similar to the configuration information on the apparatus supplied as the input is acquired. This processing is described later in detail with reference to  FIG. 15 . 
         [0193]    Subsequently, the use history determination module  110  acquires use history information on the apparatus acquired in Step  1002  during the period acquired in Step  1002  (Step  1003 ). 
         [0194]    Subsequently, the use history determination module  110  determines whether or not a history of a process matching the process supplied as the input is included in the use history information acquired in Step  1003  (Step  1004 ). 
         [0195]    When the history of the process matching the process supplied as the input is included in the use history information acquired in Step  1003 , the use history determination module  110  raises evaluation values of all the processes used as the succeeding process of the process matching the process supplied as the input (Step  1005 ). 
         [0196]    Subsequently, the use history determination module  110  determines whether or not a downgraded process is included in the succeeding processes of the process matching the process supplied as the input, which are included in the use history information acquired in Step  1003  (Step  1006 ). Specifically, a process used during a period sandwiched by two use periods of one process among all the processes used as the succeeding process of the process matching the process supplied as the input is the downgraded process. The use history determination module  110  lowers the evaluation value of the downgraded process (Step  1007 ). 
         [0197]    Subsequently, the use history determination module  110  determines whether or not the retrieval of all the operation target apparatus has been finished (Step  1008 ). When the retrieval has not been finished, the processing returns to Step  1002 , and when the retrieval has been finished, the calculation of the evaluation value of the process, which has been conducted in the use history determination processing, is brought to an end. 
         [0198]    It should be noted that, when determining in Step  1004  that the history of the process matching the process supplied as the input is not included, the use history determination module  110  executes Step  1008  without executing any one of Step  1005  to Step  1007 . When determining in Step  1006  that the downgraded process is not included, the use history determination module  110  executes Step  1008  without executing Step  1007 . 
         [0199]    The use history determination processing is described by taking a specific example thereof. For example, it is assumed that the execution of Process A has failed in a certain operation target apparatus S. In this case, the use history determination module  110  retrieves the system configuration information  115 , and retrieves another management target apparatus having a configuration similar to that of the operation target apparatus S (Step  1002 ). As a result, when a management target apparatus S′ having a configuration similar to that of the operation target apparatus S during a certain period T is found (that is, the configuration of the management target apparatus S′ during the period T is similar to the configuration of the operation target apparatus S at the time when Process A failed to execute), the use history determination module  110  refers to the use history  116 , to identify the process used on the management target apparatus S′ during a period from the start of the period T until the end of the period T (Step  1003 ). It is assumed, as a result, that Process A, Process B, Process C, Process D, Process B, and Process E were used in the stated order. 
         [0200]    In this case, the use history determination module  110  raises the evaluation values of Process B, Process C, Process D, and Process E (Step  1005 ). This is because when Process A includes the cause of the failure, there is a possibility that the cause of the failure has been solved in the succeeding process used in actuality. In particular, on the management target apparatus S′ having the configuration similar to that of the operation target apparatus S during the period T, there is a possibility that Process A has failed to execute due to the same cause as that of the failure that has occurred in the operation target apparatus S, and the possibility that the cause of the failure has been solved in the succeeding process of Process A on the management target apparatus S′ becomes higher. 
         [0201]    In addition, in this example, Process B, Process C, and Process D are used in order after Process A, and then Process B is used again. In this case, Process C and Process D used during the period sandwiched between the two periods during which Process B was used correspond to the downgraded processes. Therefore, the use history determination module  110  lowers the evaluation values of Process C and Process D (Step  1007 ). This is because there is a possibility that a new problem occurred in Process C and Process D and that Process B has been used again in order to solve the problem (that is, the possibility that Processes C and D can be used as the alternative processes is lower than the possibility that the process that is not downgraded, such as Process B, can be used). 
         [0202]    For example, when Part Content B within the process “A, B, C” has failed to execute, and the similar process “A, B′, C” and similar processes “A, B″, C” and “A, B′″, C” to the process “A, B, C” are retrieved, only the same evaluation value can be given thereto in the suitability calculation processing of  FIG. 9 . However, according to the use history determination processing, for example, when the similar process “A, B′, C” is subjected to use registration as the succeeding process of the process “A, B, C” on any one of the management target apparatus, and when another similar process is not subjected to the use registration as the succeeding process of the process “A, B, C”, the similar process “A, B′, C” can be given an evaluation value higher than another similar process. Accordingly, it is possible to suggest the process with which the problem is highly likely to have been solved in a short time without requiring the user&#39;s time and labor. 
         [0203]      FIG. 11  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the execution performance determination processing executed by the execution performance determination module  111  of the management server  101  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0204]    In the same manner as the suitability calculation processing and the like, the activation of the execution performance determination processing may be triggered by the instruction issued by, for example, the user of the information processing system such as the operation administrator through the input apparatus  122  or the input apparatus  203 , by the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, by the configuration change of the management target apparatus, by the change in the process information  114 , or by some tool or utility (not shown). 
         [0205]    In the processing of  FIG. 11 , the execution performance determination module  111  further calls and executes similar execution environment retrieval processing illustrated in  FIG. 15 . 
         [0206]    Further, the execution performance determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 11  includes the processing of Step  1101  to Step  1109 , but may further include the processing (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those. Further, the processing of Step  1105  and Step  1106  and the processing of Step  1107  and Step  1108  may be executed in parallel, or may be executed in a reverse order. 
         [0207]    The execution performance determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 11  is described in detail. 
         [0208]    First, the execution performance determination module  111  receives the information for specifying a processing target process, an operation target apparatus, and a date/time as an input (Step  1101 ). For example, when the execution performance determination processing is activated in response to the instruction issued by the user of the information processing system, those pieces of information are input by the user of the information processing system. When the execution performance determination processing is activated concurrently with the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, information for specifying the process that has failed to execute, the management target apparatus on which the failure has occurred, and the date/time at which the failure occurred is input as the information for specifying the processing target process, the operation target apparatus, and the date/time. 
         [0209]    Subsequently, the execution performance determination module  111  uses the system configuration information  115  and the execution performance  117 , acquires the configuration information on the operation target apparatus supplied as the input at the date/time supplied as the input, and executes the similar execution environment retrieval processing (Step  1102 ). Accordingly, a period during which the configuration information on the management target apparatus that has the configuration information similar to the configuration information acquired in Step  1101  or had the similar configuration information has been similar to the configuration information on the operation target apparatus supplied as the input is acquired. This processing is described later in detail with reference to  FIG. 15 . 
         [0210]    Subsequently, the execution performance determination module  111  acquires the execution performance of the process executed on the apparatus acquired in Step  1102  during the period acquired in Step  1102  (Step  1103 ). 
         [0211]    Subsequently, the execution performance determination module  111  determines whether or not the execution count of the process having the execution performance acquired in Step  1103  is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value (Step  1104 ). 
         [0212]    When the execution count of the process having the execution performance acquired is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold value, the execution performance determination module  111  determines whether or not the rate of success in the execution of the process having the execution performance acquired in Step  1103  is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value (Step  1105 ), and when the rate of success in the execution (that is, success probability) is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value, raises the evaluation value of the process (Step  1106 ). 
         [0213]    Subsequently the execution performance determination module  111  determines whether or not the rate of failure in the execution of the process having the execution performance acquired in Step  1103  is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value (Step  1107 ), and when the rate of failure in the execution is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value, lowers the evaluation value of the process (Step  1108 ). 
         [0214]    Subsequently, the execution performance determination module  111  determines whether or not the above-mentioned processing has been executed for all the management target apparatus (Step  1109 ). When the processing has not been finished for any one of the management target apparatus, the processing returns to Step  1102 , and when the processing has been executed for all the management target apparatus, the calculation of the evaluation value of the process conducted in the execution performance determination processing is brought to an end. 
         [0215]    It should be noted that, when determining in Step  1104  that the execution count of the process having the execution performance acquired is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the execution performance determination module  111  executes Step  1109  without executing any one of Step  1105  to Step  1108 . When determining in Step  1105  that the rate of success in the execution is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the execution performance determination module  111  executes Step  1107  without executing Step  1106 . When determining in Step  1107  that the rate of failure in the execution is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the execution performance determination module  111  executes Step  1109  without executing Step  1108 . 
         [0216]    The execution performance determination processing is described by taking a specific example thereof. 
         [0217]    For example, it is assumed that the execution of Process A has failed in a certain operation target apparatus S. In this case, the execution performance determination module  111  retrieves the system configuration information  115 , and retrieves another management target apparatus having a configuration similar to that of the operation target apparatus S. As a result, when the management target apparatus S′ having the configuration similar to that of the operation target apparatus S during the certain period T is found, the execution performance determination module  111  refers to the execution performance  117 , to identify how many times each process has been executed on the management target apparatus S′ and how many times the execution has been successful. It is assumed, as a result, for example, that Process A has been executed 3 times with the execution being successful 3 times, Process B has been executed 100 times with the execution being successful 98 times, Process C has been executed 100 times with the execution being successful 60 times, and Process D has been executed 4 times with the execution being successful 1 time. 
         [0218]    In this example, for example, when the threshold value for Step  1104  is “10 times” and when the threshold value for Step  1105  and Step  1107  is “70%”, the evaluation value of Process B, which has the execution count larger than the threshold value and has the success probability higher than the threshold value, is raised, while the evaluation value of Process C, which has the execution count larger than the threshold value but has the success probability lower than the threshold value, is lowered. This is because it is estimated that it is more highly likely that the process having the higher success probability can be used as the alternative process to the process that has failed to execute (that is, it is highly possible that the cause of the failure has not been solved in the process having the lower success probability). 
         [0219]    On the other hand, irrespective of the magnitude of the execution success probability, the execution values of Process A and Process D having the execution count determined to be smaller than the threshold value in Step  1104  are not changed. This is because the execution results included in the execution performance  117  include both an execution result under a test environment and an execution result under a production environment, and because there is a possibility that the success probability of the process having a small execution count does not sufficiently reflect the execution result under the production environment. The success probability under the production environment of the process having a high success probability under the test environment is not always high, and hence in this embodiment, only the success probability of the process having a sufficiently large execution count (that is, success probability estimated to sufficiently reflect the execution result under the production environment) is used for the evaluation of the process. 
         [0220]    It should be noted that Step  1104  may be omitted in a case where, for example, the execution result under the test environment is not cumulated in the execution performance  117 . 
         [0221]    Further, for example, when specific configuration information is combined with the process, the execution performance determination module  111  may output performance information such as whether the execution performance of the process is good or bad, or may determine the execution performance regarding a specific period. 
         [0222]    Further, for example, when a similarity in the configuration information is high, the execution performance determination module  111  may calculate the evaluation value by adding an inclination thereto in such a manner that, for example, an increase amount or a decrease amount of the evaluation value is increased in Step  1106  or Step  1108 . 
         [0223]    Further, in a case where, for example, the execution performance determination processing is activated concurrently with an execution failure at a predetermined time point of an arbitrary process whose execution had kept successful, the execution performance determination module  111  may output differential information on the configuration information as a candidate for the failure cause when there is a change in the configuration information on the operation target apparatus during a period between a time point of the execution failure and a time point of the execution success immediately before the execution failure. 
         [0224]    As described above, according to the execution performance determination processing, for example, a plurality of similar processes, which are given the same evaluation value in the suitability calculation processing or the use history determination processing, can be respectively given different evaluation values based on the execution performance. Accordingly, it is possible to suggest the process with which the problem is highly likely to have been solved in a short time without requiring the user&#39;s time and labor. 
         [0225]      FIG. 12  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the common defect handling history determination processing executed by the common defect handling history determination module  112  of the management server  101  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0226]    In the same manner as the suitability calculation processing, the activation of the common defect handling history determination processing may be triggered by the instruction issued by, for example, the user of the information processing system such as the operation administrator through the input apparatus  122  or the input apparatus  203 , by the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, by the configuration change of the management target apparatus, by the change in the process information  114 , or by some tool or utility (not shown). 
         [0227]    In the processing of  FIG. 12 , the common defect handling history determination module  112  further calls and executes similar execution environment retrieval processing illustrated in  FIG. 15 . 
         [0228]    The common defect handling history determination processing is processing aimed at increasing the evaluation value of the process that has been subjected to the execution registration as a countermeasure against a failure (that is, common defect) that has occurred due to the same cause as the failure cause at the failed portion supplied as the input. 
         [0229]    The common defect handling history determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 12  includes the processing of Step  1201  to Step  1208 , but may further include the processing (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those. 
         [0230]    The common defect handling history determination processing exemplified in  FIG. 12  is described in detail. 
         [0231]    First, the common defect handling history determination module  112  receives the information for specifying a processing target process, a failed portion in that process, an operation target apparatus that is the target of the processing, and a date/time as an input (Step  1201 ). For example, when the common defect handling history determination processing is activated in response to the instruction issued by the user of the information processing system, those pieces of information are input by the user of the information processing system. When the common defect handling history determination processing is activated concurrently with the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, information for specifying the process that has failed to execute, a cause of the failure, the management target apparatus on which the failure has occurred, and the date/time at which the failure occurred is input as the information for specifying the processing target process, the failed portion in that process, the operation target apparatus that is the target of the processing, and the date/time. 
         [0232]    Subsequently, the common defect handling history determination module  112  uses the system configuration information  115  and the execution performance  117 , acquires the configuration information on the operation target apparatus supplied as the input at the date/time supplied as the input, and executes the similar execution environment retrieval processing (Step  1202 ). Accordingly, a period during which the configuration information on a management target apparatus that has the configuration information similar to the configuration information acquired in Step  1201  or had the similar configuration information has been similar to the configuration information on the operation target apparatus supplied as the input is acquired. This processing is described later in detail with reference to  FIG. 15 . 
         [0233]    Subsequently, the common defect handling history determination module  112  acquires use history information on the apparatus acquired in Step  1202  during the period acquired in Step  1202  from the use history  116  (Step  1203 ). 
         [0234]    Subsequently, the common defect handling history determination module  112  determines whether or not a history of a process matching the process supplied as the input is included in the use history information acquired in Step  1203  (Step  1204 ). 
         [0235]    When the history of the process matching the process supplied as the input is included in the use history information acquired in Step  1203 , the common defect handling history determination module  112  acquires the execution performance information on the process determined to be matched in Step  1204  from the execution performance  117  (Step  1205 ). 
         [0236]    Subsequently, the common defect handling history determination module  112  determines whether or not the failed location  605  that matches the portion supplied as the input is included in the execution performance information acquired in Step  1205  (Step  1206 ). 
         [0237]    When the failed location  605  that matches the portion supplied as the input is included in the execution performance information acquired in Step  1205 , the common defect handling history determination module  112  identifies, based on the use history  116 , the process subjected to the execution registration as the succeeding process of the process determined to be matched in Step  1204 , and raises the evaluation value of the identified process (Step  1207 ). 
         [0238]    Subsequently, the common defect handling history determination module  112  determines whether or not the retrieval of all the operation target apparatus has been finished (Step  1208 ). When the retrieval has not been finished, the processing returns to Step  1202  to retrieve the remaining operation target apparatus and execute the processing of Step  1203  and the subsequent steps therefor. When the retrieval of all the operation target apparatus has been finished, the calculation of the evaluation value of the process conducted in the common defect handling history determination processing is brought to an end. 
         [0239]    When determining in Step  1204  that the history of the process matching the process supplied as the input is not included, the common defect handling history determination module  112  executes Step  1208  without executing any one of Step  1205  to Step  1207 . When determining in Step  1206  that the failed location  605  that matches the portion supplied as the input is not included, the common defect handling history determination module  112  executes Step  1208  without executing Step  1207 . 
         [0240]    It should be noted that processing for improving accuracy of determination processing may be added to the processing of Step  1207  of  FIG. 12 . For example, based on the start of use  504  of the use history  116  and the execution date/time  603  of the execution performance  117 , the common defect handling history determination module  112  may increase the evaluation value of the process subjected to the execution registration immediately after the execution failure occurred in the specified portion satisfying the condition of Step  1206  to a level higher than the evaluation values of the other processes. Alternatively, the common defect handling history determination module  112  may not raise the evaluation value when a period from the time point of the execution failure in the specified portion satisfying the condition of Step  1206  until the time point of the start of use of the process subjected to the execution registration as the succeeding process of the process satisfying the condition of Step  1204  is long. 
         [0241]    Further, in a case where the failure cause of the process supplied as the input is clear (for example, information indicating the failure cause of the part content that has failed to execute has been also input), the evaluation value may be calculated by adding an inclination thereto in such a manner that, for example, the evaluation value is raised only when both the failed portion and the failure cause are matched, or the evaluation value is raised when only one of the failed portion and the failure cause is matched while a higher evaluation value is given when both the failed portion and the failure cause are matched. 
         [0242]    For example, when Part Content B within the process “A, B, C” has failed to execute, and the similar process “A, B′, C” and similar processes “A, B″, C” and “A, B′″, C” to the process “A, B, C” are retrieved, only the same evaluation value can be given thereto in the suitability calculation processing of  FIG. 9 . However, for example, when the similar process “A, B′, C” is subjected to the use registration as the succeeding process of the process “A, B, C” on any one of the management target apparatus, and when the execution of Part Content B of the process “A, B, C” has failed due to the same cause as that of the process supplied as the input, it is determined that it is highly possible that the cause of the failure has been solved in the similar process “A, B′, C”, and the similar process “A, B′, C” is given a high evaluation value. Accordingly, it is possible to suggest the process with which the problem is highly likely to have been solved in a short time without requiring the user&#39;s time and labor. 
         [0243]      FIG. 13  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the priority calculation processing executed by the priority calculation module  113  of the management server  101  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0244]    The priority calculation processing is activated concurrently with the end of the processing of all or some of the suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , and the common defect handling history determination module  112 . Alternatively, the activation of the priority calculation processing may be triggered by the failure in the execution of the process on the management target apparatus, by the configuration change of the management target apparatus, by the change in the process information  114 , or by some tool or utility (not shown). 
         [0245]    The priority calculation processing illustrated in  FIG. 13  includes the processing of Step  1301  to Step  1306 , but may further include the processing (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those. 
         [0246]    The priority calculation processing illustrated in  FIG. 13  is described in detail. 
         [0247]    First, the priority calculation module  113  defines coefficients α, β, γ, and Δ (Step  1301 ). 
         [0248]    In addition, the priority calculation module  113  determines whether or not the user&#39;s request to edit a coefficient exists (Step  1302 ), and when the request exists, receives an edit result of the coefficient from the user (Step  1303 ). 
         [0249]    Subsequently, the priority calculation module  113  acquires the results of the suitability calculation processing illustrated in  FIG. 9  or the like, the use history determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 10  or the like, the execution performance determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 11  or the like, and the common defect handling history determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 12  or the like (Step  1304 ). 
         [0250]    Subsequently, the priority calculation module  113  calculates the priority by using the numerical values obtained by multiplying the coefficients α, β, γ, and Δ defined in Step  1301  (edited in Step  1303  when Step  1303  is further executed) by the evaluation values calculated by the suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , and the common defect handling history determination module  112 , respectively (Step  1305 ). 
         [0251]    The priority represents an index indicating a magnitude of the possibility that a process that can be used as the alternative process to the process that has failed to execute, that is, a process that can achieve an equivalent object to that of the process that has failed to execute and that has a possibility of not including the cause of the failure included in the process that has failed to execute, which is selected from among the processes held by the management server  101 , can be used as the alternative process. 
         [0252]    In the example of  FIG. 13 , the priority calculation module  113  calculates a final priority of the process by calculating a total sum of the numerical values obtained by multiplying the coefficients by the evaluation values respectively obtained from the suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , and the common defect handling history determination module  112 , but the final priority may be calculated by a method other than the above-mentioned method. 
         [0253]    For example, the priority calculation module  113  may calculate the final priority by further multiplying the numerical values, which are obtained by multiplying the coefficients by the evaluation values respectively obtained from the suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , and the common defect handling history determination module  112 , by one another. 
         [0254]    As the values of the coefficients defined in the processing illustrated in Step  1301  of  FIG. 13 , numerical values input and held in advance may be used, or numerical values calculated by some tool or utility (not shown) may be used. 
         [0255]    For example, when it becomes clear empirically that a correlation between the magnitude of the probability that the similar process was successfully used as the alternative process to the failed process in actuality and the magnitude of the evaluation value of the similar process calculated by the suitability calculation module  109  is higher than a correlation between the magnitude of the probability that the similar process was successfully used as the alternative process to the failed process in actuality and the magnitude of the evaluation value of the similar process calculated by the use history determination module  110 , it is possible to give a priority with higher accuracy by making the coefficient α to be multiplied by the evaluation value calculated by the suitability calculation module  109  larger than the coefficient β to be multiplied by the evaluation value calculated by the use history determination module  110 . 
         [0256]    It should be noted that the priority calculation processing illustrated in  FIG. 13  is merely an example of the processing for calculating the final priority by weighting the evaluation values respectively calculated in the suitability calculation processing, the use history determination processing, the execution performance determination processing, and the common defect handling history determination processing, and the coefficients α, β, γ, and Δ correspond to weighting factors. However, the final priority may be calculated in processing other than the processing of  FIG. 13 . 
         [0257]    For example, increments (or decrements) used when the evaluation values are determined to be raised (or lowered) respectively in the above-mentioned pieces of processing may be set as the values corresponding to (for example, in proportion to) the above-mentioned coefficients α, β, γ, and Δ. Specifically, for example, the processor  201  of the management server  101  may first initialize the evaluation values of all the processes and then execute the suitability calculation processing. At this time, the increments of the evaluation values for Step  903 , Step  905 , and Step  907  and the decrement of the evaluation value for Step  909  may be set as α. 
         [0258]    Subsequently, the processor  201  may execute the use history determination processing for the evaluation value calculated in the suitability calculation processing. At this time, the increment of the evaluation value in Step  1005  and the decrement of the evaluation value in Step  1007  may be set as β. In the same manner, the execution performance determination processing and the common defect handling history determination processing may be executed sequentially, and the increments (or decrements) of the evaluation values for those pieces of processing may be set as Δ and Δ, respectively. When the evaluation value is thus calculated, the evaluation value obtained finally becomes the above-mentioned final priority, which eliminates the need to execute the priority calculation processing illustrated in  FIG. 13 . 
         [0259]      FIG. 14  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the similar process retrieval processing executed by the management server  101  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0260]    The similar process retrieval processing is activated in response to the instruction issued by, for example, the user of the information processing system such as the operation administrator through the input apparatus  122  or the input apparatus  203 . Alternatively, the similar process retrieval processing may be activated by the suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , the common defect handling history determination module  112 , or the priority calculation module  113 , or may be activated by some tool or utility (not shown). Specifically, for example, the similar process retrieval processing is activated in Step  901  of the suitability calculation processing. 
         [0261]    The similar process retrieval processing includes the processing of Step  1401  to Step  1406 , but may further include the processing (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those. 
         [0262]    The similar process retrieval processing has an object to retrieve the process high in similarity to the specified process, and therefore, when the process high in similarity can be retrieved by processing other than the processing illustrated in  FIG. 14 , may conduct the above-mentioned processing instead of the processing illustrated in  FIG. 14 . 
         [0263]    For example, when the process identifier includes information indicating the similarity between processes, the process high in similarity may be retrieved based on the information. Specifically, for example, when the process identifier of a certain process includes a process name such as “Process X” and a version number such as “v1.0.0” as shown in  FIG. 3 , and when one process and a process obtained by partially changing the one process (for example, so as to be executable under another execution environment) are given the same process name and different version numbers, the process having the same process name as that of the specified process and a version number different from that of the specified process can be retrieved as the process similar to the specified process. 
         [0264]    As described above, the process high in similarity typically represents an original process or a plurality of derivative processes including the specified process such as managed by, for example, the version number. However, in this embodiment, the process determined to be high in similarity in the processing described below, even when the process does not meet the above-mentioned condition, is handled as the process high in similarity (that is, derivative process). 
         [0265]    The similar process retrieval processing exemplified in  FIG. 14  is described in detail. The similar process retrieval processing is described below as processing to be executed by a similar process retrieval module (not shown). The similar process retrieval module is realized by the processor  201  executing any one of the programs (for example, similar process retrieval program (not shown)) included in the various programs  120 . 
         [0266]    When receiving information for specifying a process to be subjected to the similar process retrieval processing as an input, the similar process retrieval module refers to the process constituent  302  of the process information  114  to acquire the number of process constituents of the process supplied as the input (number of part contents included in the process supplied as the input) (Step  1401 ). 
         [0267]    Subsequently, the similar process retrieval module refers to the process constituent  302  to acquire the number of process constituents of an arbitrary process (Step  1402 ). 
         [0268]    Subsequently, the similar process retrieval module compares the process constituents acquired in Step  1401  with the process constituents acquired in Step  1402 , and calculates the number of process constituents that are included in both thereof (that is, number of matched process constituents) (Step  1403 ). 
         [0269]    For example, when the part content having the same identifier as that of one part content included in the process constituents acquired in Step  1401  is included in the process constituents acquired in Step  1402 , the similar process retrieval module increases the number of matched process constituents by 1. In the same manner, in regard to all the part contents included in the process constituents acquired in Step  1401 , the similar process retrieval module determines whether or not the part content having the same identifier as that of each of the part contents is included in the process constituents acquired in Step  1402 , and calculates the number of part contents determined to be included as the number of matched process constituents. 
         [0270]    At this time, the similar process retrieval module may allow a partial match of the part content. For example, when the identifier of the part content includes a part content name and a version number, and when the part content having the same part content name as that of one part content included in the process constituents acquired in Step  1401  and a version number different from that of the one part content is included in the process constituents acquired in Step  1402 , the similar process retrieval module may increase the number of matched process constituents by 0.5. 
         [0271]    Subsequently, the similar process retrieval module calculates a ratio of the number of matched constituents calculated in Step  1403  to the number of constituents of the process supplied as the input, as a similarity between the process supplied as the input and the above-mentioned arbitrary process (Step  1404 ). 
         [0272]    Subsequently, the similar process retrieval module determines whether or not the similarity calculated in Step  1404  exceeds a predetermined threshold value (Step  1405 ). 
         [0273]    When the similarity calculated in Step  1404  exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the similar process retrieval module outputs the above-mentioned arbitrary process as the process similar to the process supplied as the input (Step  1406 ). On the other hand, when the similarity calculated in Step  1404  does not exceed the predetermined threshold value, the similar process retrieval module executes the processing of Step  1402  and the subsequent steps for another arbitrary process without executing Step  1406 . 
         [0274]    At this time, the similar process retrieval module may calculate the similarity, or determine whether or not the similarity exceeds the threshold value, based on different conditions between the process constituents. For example, even when the similarity calculated in Step  1404  exceeds the threshold value, and when the part content at a head of the process supplied as the input (that is, to be executed at first) does not perfectly match (that is, is a content completely different from, or partially matches) the part content at the head of the process serving as a comparison target, the similar process retrieval module may return to Step  1402  without executing Step  1406 . 
         [0275]      FIG. 15  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the similar execution environment retrieval processing executed by the management server  101  according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         [0276]    The similar execution environment retrieval processing is activated in response to the instruction issued by, for example, the user of the information processing system such as the operation administrator through the input apparatus  122  or the input apparatus  203 . Alternatively, the similar execution environment retrieval processing may be activated by the suitability calculation module  109 , the use history determination module  110 , the execution performance determination module  111 , the common defect handling history determination module  112 , or the priority calculation module  113 , or may be activated by some tool or utility (not shown). Specifically, for example, the similar execution environment retrieval processing is activated in Step  1002  of the use history determination processing and Step  1102  of the execution performance determination processing. 
         [0277]    The similar execution environment retrieval processing includes the processing of Step  1501  to Step  1504 , but may further include the processing (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those. 
         [0278]    The similar execution environment retrieval processing has an object to retrieve an apparatus that has or had configuration information high in similarity and a period corresponding thereto, and therefore, when such an apparatus and a period can be retrieved by processing other than the processing illustrated in  FIG. 15 , may conduct the above-mentioned processing instead of the processing illustrated in  FIG. 15 . 
         [0279]    For example, when a combination of pieces of configuration information is managed by tagging, and when similar pieces of configuration information can be managed by a combination tag, the operation target apparatus having similar configuration information and the period similar in the configuration information may be retrieved by using the combination tag. 
         [0280]    The similar execution environment retrieval processing exemplified in  FIG. 15  is described in detail. The similar execution environment retrieval processing is described below as processing to be executed by a similar execution environment retrieval module (not shown). The similar execution environment retrieval module is realized by the processor  201  executing any one of the programs (for example, similar execution environment retrieval program (not shown)) included in the various programs  120 . 
         [0281]    The similar execution environment retrieval module receives the configuration information on a processing target apparatus at a processing target date/time as an input, and uses the system configuration information  115  to acquire the configuration information on an arbitrary management target apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “comparison target apparatus” in the description made with reference to  FIG. 15 ) during an arbitrary period (hereinafter referred to as “comparison target period” in the description made with reference to  FIG. 15 ) (Step  1501 ). For example, when the similar execution environment retrieval processing is activated in Step  1002  of the use history determination processing, the similar execution environment retrieval module receives the apparatus and the date/time that are acquired in Step  1001  as the input for the similar execution environment retrieval processing. When the similar execution environment retrieval processing is activated in Step  1102  of the execution performance determination processing, the similar execution environment retrieval module receives the apparatus and the date/time that are acquired in Step  1101  as the input for the similar execution environment retrieval processing. 
         [0282]    Subsequently, the similar execution environment retrieval module compares the configuration information on the apparatus supplied as the input at the date/time supplied as the input with the configuration information on the comparison target apparatus during the comparison target period, which is acquired in Step  1501 , and calculates the similarity therebetween based on the number of constituents included in both thereof (that is, number of matched constituents) (Step  1502 ). 
         [0283]    For example, when the constituent having the same identifier as that of one constituent of the apparatus supplied as the input at the date/time supplied as the input based on the identifier of the constituent registered as the component  402  of the system configuration information  115  is included in the constituents of the comparison target apparatus during the comparison target period, the similar execution environment retrieval module increases the number of matched constituents by 1. In the same manner, in regard to all the constituents of the apparatus supplied as the input at the date/time supplied as the input, the similar execution environment retrieval module determines whether or not the constituent having the same identifier as that of each of the constituents is included in the constituents of the comparison target apparatus during the comparison target period, and calculates the number of constituents determined to be included as the number of matched constituents. 
         [0284]    At this time, the similar execution environment retrieval module may allow a partial match of the constituent. For example, when the identifier of the constituent of the software includes a software name and a version number, and when the constituent having the same software name as that of one constituent of the apparatus supplied as the input at the date/time supplied as the input and a version number different from that of the one constituent is included in the constituents of the comparison target apparatus, the similar execution environment retrieval module may increase the number of matched constituents by 0.5. 
         [0285]    Then, the similar execution environment retrieval module calculates, as the similarity, a ratio of the number of matched constituents of the comparison target apparatus to the number of elements of the configuration information on the operation target apparatus supplied as the input at the time point supplied as the input. 
         [0286]    Subsequently, the similar execution environment retrieval module determines whether or not the calculated similarity exceeds a predetermined threshold value (Step  1503 ). 
         [0287]    When the similarity calculated in Step  1503  exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the similar execution environment retrieval module outputs the comparison target apparatus and the comparison target period (Step  1504 ). On the other hand, when the similarity calculated in Step  1503  does not exceed the predetermined threshold value, the similar execution environment retrieval module executes the processing of Step  1502  and the subsequent steps for the above-mentioned comparison target apparatus during another comparison target period or for another comparison target apparatus during an arbitrary comparison target period, without executing Step  1504 . 
         [0288]    By the above-mentioned processing, the management target apparatus, which had a configuration similar to the configuration under a process execution environment of the operation target apparatus supplied as the input at the date/time supplied as the input, and the period, during which the management target apparatus had the configuration similar to the configuration under the process execution environment of the operation target apparatus supplied as the input at the date/time supplied as the input, are retrieved. 
         [0289]    It should be noted that, when the system configuration information  115  includes information indicating which of hardware and software the registered constituent (component) is, in Step  1502 , the similar execution environment retrieval module may classify and calculate the similarity regarding the constituents of the software and the similarity regarding the constituents of the hardware. In this case, in Step  1503 , the similar execution environment retrieval module may compare, for example, the similarity regarding the constituent of the software and the similarity regarding the constituent of the hardware respectively with different threshold values. 
         [0290]    Further, when the system configuration information  115  includes information indicating a kind of registered constituent (for example, information indicating whether or not the constituent is an OS), in Step  1502 , the similar execution environment retrieval module may calculate the similarity based on conditions different depending on the kind of constituent. For example, when the constituent to be compared is an OS, the similar execution environment retrieval module may increase the similarity only in a case of a perfect match. 
         [0291]    The processing of Step  1504  illustrated in  FIG. 15  is represented so that only the similar apparatus name and the similar period are output, but data (not shown) other than those may be further output, or some of those may not be output. Examples of the data (not shown) to be output include information indicating whether or not a specific constituent is matched, and an item regarding the configuration information on the matching, and an item regarding the configuration information on the non-matching. 
         [0292]    According to the above-mentioned similar execution environment retrieval processing, it is possible to avoid an erroneous evaluation of the process based on the use history and the execution performance under different execution environments and to conduct the evaluation with higher accuracy. 
         [0293]    Now, effects of the similar execution environment retrieval processing are described by using management target apparatus S 1  to S 4  each serving as any one of a plurality of server apparatus  103  and OS 1  to OS 3  serving as OSes that run on those management target apparatus. For example, it is assumed that, on the management target apparatus S 1  using OS 1 , the process “A, B, C” was used and the execution of Part Content C has failed. In this case, OS 1  is registered in the system configuration information  115  as the constituent of the software of the management target apparatus S 1 . 
         [0294]    In this example, when the process “A, B, C” is registered as the succeeding process of the process “A, B, C” used by the management target apparatus S 2  on which OS 1  runs, the process “A, B, C″” is registered as the succeeding process of the process “A, B, C” used by the management target apparatus S 3  on which OS 2  runs, and the process “A, B, C″” is registered as the succeeding process of the process “A, B, C” used by the management target apparatus S 4  on which OS 3  runs, there is a possibility that the process “A, B, C” can be used as the succeeding process of the process “A, B, C” on the management target apparatus S 1 . However, it is highly possible that the process “A, B, C″” and the process “A, B, C′″” are compatible with OS 2  and OS 3 , respectively, and therefore, the possibility that the process “A, B, C″” and the process “A, B, C′″” can be used as the succeeding process of the process “A, B, C” on the management target apparatus S 1  on which OS 1  runs is low. The same applies to the case where the execution success probabilities of the processes “A, B, C”, “A, B, C”, and “A, B, C″” are all sufficiently high. As in the second embodiment described later, the process high in possibility that the cause of the failure has been solved can be suggested without execution of the similar execution environment retrieval processing, but by executing the similar execution environment retrieval processing, it is possible to suggest the process high in possibility that the cause of the failure has been solved with higher accuracy. 
         [0295]    As described above, according to the first embodiment of this invention, when there is a process content that has failed to execute, it is possible to suggest each process content on an evaluation-value basis by calculating the evaluation values of an original process content or a plurality of derivative process contents of the process content that has failed based on presence/absence of a change in a portion corresponding to the problem portion of the process content that has failed or the data source portion of the problem portion. 
         [0296]    According to the related art disclosed in, for example, JP 2007-128450 A, it is possible to select the part forming the process content compatible with the problem portion of a predetermined process content, but when there is a process content in which the problem portion has been changed to the portion compatible therewith (hereinafter referred to as “compatible process content”) among the original process content or the plurality of derivative process contents of the predetermined process content, it is not possible to present the compatible process content to the user. In contrast, according to the first embodiment of this invention, as described above, it is possible to present the compatible process content to the user. Therefore, it is possible to reduce a time for selecting the process content in which the problem portion has been changed to another compatible part. 
         [0297]    The management system manages a plurality of computer systems, and the same original process content can be used to manage the plurality of computer systems. Therefore, when the use period of the management system is sufficiently long, the derivative process contents corresponding to the imperfection in a plurality of system configurations have been cumulated. As a result, when the execution of the process content fails on any one of the management target apparatus, there is a possibility that the process content in which the cause of the failure has already been solved is included in the cumulated derivative process contents. 
         [0298]    According to the first embodiment of this invention, it is possible to suggest a process with which a problem is highly likely to have been solved in a short time without requiring the user&#39;s time and labor, and the user can preferentially use the process with which the problem is highly likely to have been solved. 
       Second Embodiment 
       [0299]    Now, the second embodiment of this invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Except for different points described below, respective components of the information processing system according to the second embodiment have the same functions as the respective components denoted by the same reference symbols according to the first embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1  and the like, and hence descriptions thereof are omitted. Specifically, an example of a configuration of the information processing system according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the information processing system according to the first embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1  except for different points in the management server  101  described later. Examples of the process information  114 , the use history  116 , and the execution performance  117  according to the second embodiment are as described with reference to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 5 , and  FIG. 6 , respectively. An example of a procedure for suggestion processing according to the second embodiment is as described with reference to  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 9 ,  FIG. 13 , and  FIG. 14  except for different points in Step  702  to Step  704  described later. Examples of the information to be output according to the second embodiment are as described with reference to  FIG. 8A  and  FIG. 8B . 
         [0300]      FIG. 16  is an example of a block diagram for illustrating a configuration of the management server  101  according to the second embodiment of this invention. 
         [0301]    The management server  101  according to the second embodiment is the same as the management server  101  according to the first embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2  except that the various kinds of information  121  does not need to include the system configuration information  115  and that the use history determination program  110 , the execution performance determination program  111 , and the common defect handling history determination module  112  execute the processing without using the system configuration information  115  as illustrated in  FIG. 17  to  FIG. 19 , and hence descriptions relating to points other than the above-mentioned different points are omitted. 
         [0302]      FIG. 17  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the use history determination processing executed by the use history determination module  110  of the management server  101  according to the second embodiment of this invention. 
         [0303]    The use history determination processing according to the second embodiment is processing to be executed in Step  702  of  FIG. 7 , and is activated in the same manner as the use history determination processing according to the first embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 10 . 
         [0304]    The use history determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 17  includes the processing of Step  1701  to Step  1706 , but may further include the processing (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those. 
         [0305]    The use history determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 17  is described in detail. 
         [0306]    First, the use history determination module  110  receives the information for specifying a processing target process as an input (Step  1701 ). 
         [0307]    Subsequently, the use history determination module  110  uses the use history  116  to acquire all processes used as the succeeding process of the process supplied as the input from the use history of the process supplied as the input (Step  1702 ), and raises the evaluation values of the acquired processes (Step  1703 ). 
         [0308]    Subsequently, the use history determination module  110  determines whether or not a downgraded process, that is, a process used between the use histories of the processes having the same process identifier exists among the processes whose evaluation values have been raised (Step  1704 ), and when the downgraded process exists, lowers the evaluation value of the process (Step  1705 ). Subsequently, the use history determination module  110  determines whether or not the above-mentioned processing has been finished for all the operation target apparatus (Step  1706 ), and when the processing has not been finished, the processing returns to Step  1701  to execute the processing of Step  1701  and the subsequent steps relating to the remaining operation target apparatus. 
         [0309]    When the above-mentioned processing has been finished for all the operation target apparatus, the calculation of the evaluation value of the process conducted in the use history determination processing is brought to an end. 
         [0310]      FIG. 18  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the execution performance determination processing executed by the execution performance determination module  111  of the management server  101  according to the second embodiment of this invention. 
         [0311]    The execution performance determination processing according to the second embodiment is processing to be executed in Step  703  of  FIG. 7 , and is activated in the same manner as the execution performance determination processing according to the first embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 11 . 
         [0312]    The execution performance determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 18  includes the processing of Step  1801  to Step  1807 , but may further include the processing (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those. Further, Step  1803  and Step  1804  may be executed after Step  1805  and Step  1806 . 
         [0313]    The execution performance determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 18  is described in detail. 
         [0314]    First, the execution performance determination module  111  uses the execution performance  117  to acquire the value of the execution success/failure  604  of the process supplied as the input (Step  1801 ). 
         [0315]    Subsequently, the execution performance determination module  111  determines whether or not the execution count of the process acquired in Step  1801  is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value (Step  1802 ). 
         [0316]    When the execution count of the process acquired in Step  1801  is equal to or larger than a fixed threshold value, the execution performance determination module  111  determines whether or not an execution success rate of the process acquired in Step  1801  is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value (Step  1803 ), and when the execution success rate is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value, raises the evaluation value of the process acquired in Step  1801  (Step  1804 ). 
         [0317]    Subsequently, the execution performance determination module  111  determines whether or not an execution failure rate of the process acquired in Step  1801  is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value (Step  1805 ), and when the execution failure rate is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value, lowers the evaluation value of the process acquired in Step  1801  (Step  1806 ). 
         [0318]    Subsequently, the execution performance determination module  111  determines whether or not the calculation of the evaluation values of all the processes has been finished (Step  1807 ), and when the calculation has not been finished, the processing returns to Step  1801  to execute the processing of Step  1801  and the subsequent steps relating to the remaining processes. When the calculation of the evaluation values of all the processes have been finished, the calculation of the evaluation value of the process conducted in the execution performance determination processing is brought to an end. 
         [0319]    It should be noted that, when determining in Step  1802  that the execution count of the process is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the execution performance determination module  111  executes Step  1807  without executing any one of Step  1803  to Step  1806 . When determining in Step  1803  that the execution success rate of the process is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the execution performance determination module  111  executes Step  1805  without executing Step  1804 . When determining in Step  1805  that the execution failure rate of the process is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the execution performance determination module  111  executes Step  1807  without executing Step  1806 . 
         [0320]      FIG. 19  is an example of a flowchart for illustrating the common defect handling history determination processing executed by the common defect handling history determination module  112  of the management server  101  according to the second embodiment of this invention. 
         [0321]    The common defect handling history determination processing according to the second embodiment is processing to be executed in Step  704  of  FIG. 7 , and is activated in the same manner as the common defect handling history determination processing according to the first embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 10 . 
         [0322]    The common defect handling history determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 19  includes the processing of Step  1901  to Step  1906 , but may further include the processing (not shown) other than those, or may not include some of those. 
         [0323]    The common defect handling history determination processing illustrated in  FIG. 19  is described in detail. 
         [0324]    First, when receiving information for specifying the processing target process and the failed portion of the process as an input, the common defect handling history determination module  112  refers to the use history  116  to acquire the use history information on an arbitrary management target apparatus (Step  1901 ). 
         [0325]    Subsequently, the common defect handling history determination module  112  determines whether or not the history of the process matching the process supplied as the input is included in the use history acquired in Step  1901  (Step  1902 ). 
         [0326]    When the history of the process matching the process supplied as the input is included in the use history acquired in Step  1901 , the common defect handling history determination module  112  refers to the execution performance  117  to acquire the execution performance information on the process matching the process supplied as the input (Step  1903 ). 
         [0327]    Subsequently, the common defect handling history determination module  112  determines whether or not the failed location  605  matching the specified portion supplied as the input is included in the execution performance information acquired in Step  1903  (Step  1904 ). 
         [0328]    When the failed location  605  matching the specified portion supplied as the input is included in the execution performance information acquired in Step  1903 , the common defect handling history determination module  112  raises the evaluation value of the process subjected to the execution registration as the succeeding process of the process matching the process supplied as the input (Step  1905 ). 
         [0329]    Subsequently, the common defect handling history determination module  112  determines whether or not the processing of Step  1902  and the subsequent steps has been finished for all the management target apparatus (Step  1906 ), and when the processing has not been finished, the processing returns to Step  1901  to acquire the use history information on the remaining management target apparatus and execute the processing of Step  1902  and the subsequent steps. When the retrieval of all the management target apparatus has been finished, the calculation of the evaluation value of the process conducted in the common defect handling history determination processing is brought to an end. 
         [0330]    When determining in Step  1902  that the history of the process matching the process supplied as the input is not included, the common defect handling history determination module  112  executes Step  1906  without executing any one of Step  1903  to Step  1905 . When determining in Step  1904  that the failed location  605  matching the portion supplied as the input is not included, the common defect handling history determination module  112  executes Step  1906  without executing Step  1905 . 
         [0331]    According to the second embodiment of this invention described above, for example, even when the management server  101  does not have a function of collecting and managing the configuration information on the respective management target apparatus, it is possible to suggest a process with which a problem is highly likely to have been solved in a short time without requiring the user&#39;s time and labor, and the user can preferentially use the process with which the problem is highly likely to have been solved. 
         [0332]    The information including the programs, the tables, and the files for realizing the respective functions of the embodiments described above can be stored in a storage device such as a non-volatile semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, or a solid state drive (SSD) or in a computer-readable non-transitory data storage medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD. 
         [0333]    This invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and covers various modification examples other than the above-mentioned modification example. For instance, the embodiments described above are detailed descriptions written for an easy understanding of this invention, and this invention is not necessarily limited to a configuration that includes all of the described components. The configuration of one embodiment may partially be replaced by the configuration of another embodiment. The configuration of one embodiment may be joined by the configuration of another embodiment. In each embodiment, a part of the configuration of the embodiment may have another configuration added thereto or removed therefrom, or may be replaced by another configuration.