Patent ID: 6952702

Claim:
A system management apparatus for retrieving and displaying SMBIOS data relating to the configuration and components of a computing system to a user via a display terminal comprising: a database of SMBIOS structures stored on a computer-readable medium containing data related to the configuration of the computing system and components of the computing system; a utility stored on a computer-readable medium, which in response to commands from a user, retrieves data from said database and displays the data on the display terminal; and a template file stored on a computer-readable medium separate from said utility, containing information for interpreting and displaying the SMBIOS data retrieved by said utility from said database, wherein said template file eliminates the requirement that the information for interpreting and displaying the data stored in said database be contained in the utility. wherein said template file includes a data descriptor key for defining multiple groups of bits within a bit field representing a setting of the computing system and components, and wherein a group of bits in the bit field has N bits and can define 2 n values, where less than 2 n values are defined, and wherein said template file further includes a data descriptor key indicating to said utility a last defined value for each group of bits such that said template file does not include and said utility does not search for undefined bit field group values.