Patent ID: 7707183

Claim:
A method for monitoring changes in objects on a computer system, the method comprising: receiving a request to generate a baseline snapshot of a plurality of objects having associated object types, including at least one object having an object type not managed by a file system of the computer system; obtaining current information, responsive to the request to generate a baseline snapshot, from a plurality of data collectors to determine at least one attribute of each of the objects to define the baseline snapshot; receiving a request for a baseline report for the objects; obtaining updated information, responsive to the request for a baseline report, from the plurality of data collectors to update the at least one attribute of each of the objects; and comparing the baseline snapshot to the obtained updated information to determine if any of the objects have changed; wherein receiving the request to generate the baseline snapshot is preceded by generating a baseline definition query that identifies object types to be included in the generated baseline snapshot and their associated attributes and wherein receiving the request to generate the baseline snapshot includes receiving an identification of the baseline definition query and wherein generating the baseline definition query comprises: determining a platform type and an identification of an object type associated with the platform type for an object type to be included in the baseline definition query; selecting at least one attribute to be included in the baseline definition query for the identified object type; and generating the baseline definition query based on the identified object type and the selected at least one attribute.