Patent ID: 7110913

Claim:
A method for use in managing electronic devices, including server computers, comprising the steps of: collecting and analyzing historic resource utilization data relating to a plurality of servers, said resource utilization data representing the load placed on a set of finite resources over a predefined period of time; storing said resource utilization data on a storage device; processing said resource utilization data and generating a plurality of forecasts including at least one resource utilization forecast for each server; assigning a threshold value for use in identifying servers whose forecasted resource utilization exceeds said threshold value within said predefined period of time; identifying the earliest forecasted date said threshold is exceeded for each said server; sorting said forecasts by said dates, identifying those that are in the greatest need of prompt attention to prevent a failure or performance degradation; and performing an act to prevent a failure or performance degradation of said servers, said act comprising at least one of: (a) performing further analysis with respect to said servers, and (b) adjusting one of the workload and the capability of said servers.