Patent ID: 7398332

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for managing configuration settings for a plurality of computer systems coupled together via a network, the method comprising the steps of: (A) defining configuration settings for a model system; (B) collecting configuration settings from at least one computer system selected from the plurality of computer systems that is a different platform type than the model system; (C) mapping at least one of the collected configuration settings to the configuration settings for the model system; (D) determining differences, if any, between the configuration settings from the selected at least one computer system and the configuration settings for the model system; (E) selecting at least one of the plurality of computer systems for updating; and (F) updating the configuration settings for the selected at least one computer system according to the configuration settings for the model system by performing the steps of: (F1) mapping the configuration settings for the model system into corresponding configuration settings for the different platform type in the selected at least one computer system; and (F2) updating each selected computer system with the mapped configuration settings.