Abstract:
System, method and program product for managing field service of a computer. Configuration information of the computer is wirelessly sent to a remote server. In response, a determination is made as to a recommended list of updates to install in the computer which are compatible with the configuration information and not currently resident in the computer. The recommended list is wirelessly sent to the computer. In response, the recommended list is written into an RFID associated with the computer such that the RFID broadcasts the recommended list. The RFID also broadcasts an identification of the computer. A person visits a room containing the computer and uses an RFID reader to read the broadcast from the RFID. Based on the broadcast read by the RFID reader, a determination is made whether to install the recommended list of updates into the computer.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates generally to computer systems, and more specifically to field service of computers. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Computers often need updates to hardware or software components already resident in the computer, or installation of new hardware or software components. In many cases, software can be installed through a network such as the Internet, and there is no need for a field service technician or other person to travel to the computer and manually install the software. However, in other cases, it is necessary or preferable for manual installation. For example, manual installation of software is necessary or preferable when the amount of software to be installed is very large (compared to the bandwidth of the network), or if the network connection of the computer has failed. Hardware upgrades, such as upgrades to memory, storage or processor, must be done manually. 
   It was known for a client computer to send its configuration, i.e. processor size and type, memory size, operating system type and version, installed software type and version, installed software applications, serial number, latest network login, and host name, to a service center computer. The service center computer can then determine what updates are recommended and not yet installed in the client computer. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,752,042 and 6,074,434 to Cole. It was also known for an administrator to manually enter the configuration of a client computer at the service center computer when the client computer is issued to the customer. The configuration information assists the service center in determining what hardware or software updates are recommended and not currently resident in the customer&#39;s computer. 
   It is common today for multiple computers to be physically located in the same room. These are sometimes called “server farms” or “call centers.” When the field service technician arrives at the server farm or other collection of computers, it takes some effort by the technician to physically locate the computer to receive a recommended update (software or hardware). Typically, the technician has to check the serial numbers of the computers, which tend to be obscure, and the technician may have to check several computer before locating the target computer. Also, the technician may want to verify that the hardware updates, software updates or new software that the technician was sent to install are appropriate for the target computer. Thus, the technician may query the target computer to verify the current configuration of the computer and compare the current configuration to what is listed on the work order. If the network connection is viable, the technician can also query the service center computer to confirm the software to install. However, this takes some additional effort by the technician. 
   RFIDs are currently known to store and broadcast identifications of products to which they are attached. It was also known that an RFID could store and broadcast configuration information about a computer to which it was attached. See US Published Patent Application 2005/0198228 A1. It was also known for an RFID reader/writer to dynamically transmit data to an RFID which the RFID will then store and broadcast. 
   An object of the present invention is to provide a system and method to assist a field service technician in the task of performing recommended hardware and software updates to a computer. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention resides in system, method and program product for managing field service of a computer. Configuration information of the computer is wirelessly sent to a remote server. The configuration information is wirelessly received by the remote server. In response, a determination is made as to a recommended list of updates to install in the computer which are compatible with the configuration information and not currently resident in the computer. The recommended list is wirelessly sent to the computer. The recommended list is wirelessly received at the computer. In response, the recommended list is written into an RFID associated with the computer such that the RFID broadcasts the recommended list. The RFID also broadcasts an identification of the computer. A person visits a room containing the computer and uses an RFID reader to read the broadcast from the RFID. Based on the broadcast read by the RFID reader, a determination is made whether to install the recommended list of updates into the computer. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a distributed computer system including a customer computer with a software management client program and a service center computer with a software management server program, which incorporate the present invention. 
       FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B)  form a flow chart of the software management client program and software management server program of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the figures.  FIG. 1  illustrates multiple computers  10 ,  12  and  14 , for example in a same room or site. Computers  10 ,  12  and  14  are similar to each other except for differences in configuration, including different application programs, operating system and/or hardware (i.e. processor, memory, storage). Computer  10  includes a known CPU  15 , operating system  16 , RAM  17 , ROM  18  and hard drive storage  19  on a common bus  20 . A file  22  within storage  19  stores a serial number and configuration information for computer  10 . The configuration information includes processor type and size, memory size, storage size, operating system type and version, serial number, latest network login, IP address, and hostname of computer  10 , and software applications and versions currently installed on computer  10 . A software update management client program  40  creates file  22  by scanning BIOS  26  and hard drive  19  of the computer, and writing the results to file  22 . Computer  10  also includes a known type of cellular/wireless communication device  30  such as found in a known type of cellular telephone. Computer  10  includes a known type of Active RFID  34  which broadcasts the serial number or unique device identifier  39  and configuration information of computer  10 . Periodically and upon change of the configuration of computer  10 , the software update management client program  40  fetches the serial number and current configuration information from file  22  and supplies it to the RFID reader/writer  36 . In response, the RFID reader/writer  36  writes the serial number and current configuration information into the RFID device  34  for broadcast. Computer  10  also includes an optional GPS unit  44  which obtains the geographic location of computer  10  from satellites  46 , and supplies the geographic location information to RFID reader/writer  36 . In response, RFID reader/writer  36  writes the geographic location information into RFID  34  for broadcast. Program  40  also supplies the serial number and current configuration information to wireless communication device  30  which transmits the serial number and current configuration of computer  10  to a service center server  60 . Service center server  60  comprises a known CPU  65 , operating system  66 , RAM  67 , ROM  68  and storage  69  on a common bus  70 . Server  60  includes a known type of cellular/wireless communication device  80  such as found in a known type of cellular telephone to receive the serial number and current configuration information from computer  10 . Server  60  also includes a software update management server program  90  to determine what hardware and software updates are recommended for computer  10 , not resident in computer  10  and should be installed in computer  10 . Server computer  40  then transmits a list of such updates to computer  10 , so that RFID reader/writer  36  can write it into RFID  34  for broadcast. Consequently, when a field service technician  97  visits the room containing computer  10  (and other computers as well), the technician can easily locate computer  10  with an RFID reader/writer  52  carried by the technician. With the RFID reader/writer  52 , the technician can also verify the current configuration of computer  10  and list of updates to install and determine if they match what the server  60  specified. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates the foregoing process in more detail. According to the present invention, periodically (such as daily) or when there is a change to the configuration of computer  10 , client program  40  in customer computer  10  fetches the serial number and current configuration information (and optionally the GPS location) of computer  10  from file  22  (step  100 ) and copies it to an RFID reader/writer and telecommunications file  37  (step  102 ). File  37  also contains the telephone number or IP address of wireless communication device  80  in server  60 . Next, client program  40  activates wireless communication device  30  to call wireless communication device  80  in server  60  and supplies the serial number and current configuration information (and GPS location) to wireless communication device  30  (step  104 ). In response, wireless communication device  30  wirelessly transmits the serial number and current configuration information (and GPS location) of computer  10  to wireless communication device  80  in server  60  (step  106 ). Upon receipt, wireless communication device  80  forwards the serial number and configuration information (and GPS location) to server program  90  (step  108 ). In response, server program  90  reads a table  92  which contains a list of all recommended updates and configurations specifications requiring those updates. Next, program  90  determines a list of updates recommended for the current configuration of computer  10  and not currently resident in computer  10  (step  110 ). Next, program  90  activates wireless communication device  80  to wirelessly call wireless communication device  30  in computer  10  and forwards the serial number (for verification purposes) and the recommended list of updates to be installed in computer  10  (step  114 ). In response, wireless communication device  80  wirelessly transmits the serial number and recommended list of updates to wireless communication device  30  in computer  10  (step  120 ). Upon receipt, wireless communication device  30  supplies the serial number and recommended list of updates to client program  40  (step  122 ). In response, client program  40  verifies that the serial number that was received matches the serial number of computer  10 , and if so, forwards the recommended list of updates to file  37  and RFID reader/writer  36  (step  126 ). In response, RFID reader/writer  36  writes the recommended list of updates into the RFID  34  for local broadcast by RFID  34  (step  130 ). 
   After transmitting to computer  10  the recommended list of updates to be manually installed on computer  10 , server  60  notifies field service technician  97  by e-mail to an email receiving program  58  in a portable computer  53  (such as a laptop or PDA) of the technician (step  140 ). Portable computer  53  includes a CPU  55 , operating system  56 , RAM  57  and storage  59 . The notification includes the serial number and physical location (optionally, the GPS geographic location) of the target computer  10 , the current configuration of computer  10  and the recommended list of updates to manually install in computer  10 . (If the field service server  60  does not know the geographic location of the customer computer  10  based on records within server  60 , then the GPS information received from wireless communication device  30  can be used to locate computer  10 .) In response, the field service technician  97  subsequently visits the site and room containing the computers  10 ,  12  and  14  and carries a known type of RFID reader/writer  52  and the portable computer  53 . RFID  34  has a limited range of broadcast and RFID reader/writer  52  likewise has a limited range of reception. Consequently, when the field service technician  97  comes near to computer  10 , the RFID reader/writer  52  receives the broadcast from RFID  34 . The broadcast includes the serial number of the computer in which to install the updates. Thus, field service technician  97  can identify and verify which computer needs the update without having to visually inspect the serial numbers on the computers  10 ,  12  and  14  (step  154 ). There can be many computers in the same room, and the serial numbers on the computers may be small or positioned at obscure locations, so the foregoing system and process facilitates field service technician  97  in identifying and verifying which computer needs the recommended list of updates. The broadcast also includes the current configuration information of computer  10  and the recommended list of updates to be installed in computer  10 . This recommended list of updates was transmitted earlier by server  60  in step  122  and written into RFID  34 . The recommended list of updates obtained by RFID reader/writer  52  from RFID  34  assists field service technician  97  in verifying what updates to install in computer  10 . Field service technician  97  will also read from RFID  34  the current configuration of computer  10  and compare the current configuration to the configuration information previously obtained from server  60  in step  140  and written into RFID  34 , to determine if any changes have been made to the configuration since the technician received the latest notification from server  60  (step  160 ). If so, then the update identified by program  90  for which the technician has been sent to install may not be proper for the current configuration (decision  164 , no branch), and the technician queries server  60  to confirm the recommended list of updates (step  170 ). If the configuration information broadcast by the RFID  34  is the same as what is recorded on the portable computer of the field service technician (decision  164 , yes branch), then the recommended updates identified by program  90  for which the technician has been sent to install is proper for the current configuration and the technician manually performs the recommended updates (step  174 ). (If the configuration of computer  10  was updated after being sent to server  60  in step  106  but before the field service technician begins to perform the recommended updates, program  40  would have initiated the foregoing process again to transmit the current configuration to server  60 , program  80  would have repeated the foregoing process to determine the recommended updates to install, and notified the technician&#39;s portable computer of the current configuration of computer  10  and the latest, recommended list of updates to perform on computer  10 .) 
   After completing the installation of the recommended updates, the field service technician optionally enters into RFID reader/writer  52  a list of the updates that the field service technician actually installed and then operates RFID reader/writer  52  to write into RFID  34  the list of updates that were actually installed (step  182 ). In response, the RFID reader/writer  36  reads from RFID  34  the list of updates that were actually installed, writes the list into file  37  and notifies program  40  that updates have actually been installed (step  184 ). In response, program  40  reads from file  37  the list of updates that were actually installed and then updates the configuration information in file  22  to include the list of updates that were actually installed (step  186 ). Consequently, during a later iteration of the foregoing process, program  40  will initiate sending of the updated configuration information to server  60  and server  60  will then know what updates have already been installed in computer  10  and need not be installed again. 
   Program  40  can be loaded into computer  10  from a computer readable media  120  such as magnetic tape or disk, optical disk, DVD, semiconductor memory, memory stick or downloaded from the Internet  125  via TCP/IP adapter card  122 . Alternately, the function of program  40  can be performed by hardware incorporated into computer  10 . 
   Program  90  can be loaded into computer  60  from a computer readable media  130  such as magnetic tape or disk, optical disk, DVD, semiconductor memory, memory stick or downloaded from the Internet  125  via TCP/IP adapter card  132 . 
   Based on the foregoing, a system, method and program for field service of computers have been disclosed. However, numerous modifications and substitutions can be made without deviating from the scope of the present invention. For example, communication from the service center server to the computer may be single-direction, instead of bidirectional. Therefore, the present invention has been disclosed by way of illustration and not limitation, and reference should be made to the following claims to determine the scope of the present invention.