Patent ID: 6959265

Claim:
A method for assessing the performance of a computer, comprising the steps of: storing, on the computer, a profile which defines criteria for a plurality of states for each of a plurality of computer functions or conditions, said states representing degraded levels of performance of progressive severity; using a quality of service (QoS) module of the computer to monitor the performance of each of a predetermined plurality of computer functions or conditions; using the QoS module to detect each of one or more exceptions of predetermined kinds, an exception being detected when one of the predetermined computer functions or conditions enters into one of said states; using the QoS module to record the occurrence of exceptions for a predetermined period of time; using the QoS module to attribute a value to the exception based on the sensed state and kind of the exception; using the QoS module to aggregate the values of the exceptions for the predetermined period of time according to a predetermined function in order to derive a quality of service index; and storing the quality of service index as an indicium of the quality of service rendered by the computer during said predetermined period of time.