Patent ID: 8601318

Claim:
A computer monitoring system comprising: a memory storing a computer program, the computer program configured to perform computer system monitoring activities when executed; and a data processing apparatus configured to execute the computer program, wherein the executed computer program causes the computer monitoring system: to perform computer monitoring activities; to collect information regarding computer system status during the computer monitoring activities; to detect a problem based on the information collected during the computer monitoring activities, wherein detecting the problem further comprises determining whether a number of collisions at an interface is beyond a certain threshold; and to determine whether to launch a first diagnostic probe from a server based on a first rule of a hierarchy of rules in response to the problem being detected, where the first diagnostic probe is launched in order to collect diagnostic information regarding the problem detected; to receive first diagnostic information from the first diagnostic probe; and to determine whether to launch a second diagnostic probe corresponding to a second rule of the hierarchy based on the first diagnostic information collected from the first diagnostic probe, where the first rule is higher in the hierarchy than the second rule; where the first diagnostic probe determines whether a local interface is accessible; where, in response to the local interface being accessible, a determination is made to launch the second diagnostic probe; where the second diagnostic probe determines whether a routing table is valid; where the executed computer program further causes the computer monitoring system: in response to the local interface not being accessible, to set up a TCP/IP configuration; in response to the routing table being valid, to launch a third diagnostic probe, where the third diagnostic probe determines whether a default gateway is reachable; in response to the default gateway not being reachable, to launch a fourth diagnostic probe, where the fourth diagnostic probe checks a network interface adapter; in response to the default gateway being reachable, to launch a fifth diagnostic probe, where the fifth diagnostic probe determines whether a configuration file exists; and in response to the configuration file existing, to launch a sixth diagnostic probe, where the sixth diagnostic probe determines whether a DNS server is reachable.