Patent ID: 8713559

Claim:
A system for guiding a user through a procedure for updating firmware on an uninterruptible power supply, the system comprising: a computer system; and a communication link to connect the computer system to the uninterruptible power supply, wherein the computer system includes: a discovery component, configured to detect a version of the firmware installed on the uninterruptible power supply, to detect a model type of the uninterruptible power supply, and to detect configuration management information about equipment connected to the uninterruptible power supply; a firmware update component associated with the model type of the uninterruptible power supply and the version of the firmware installed on the uninterruptible power supply; a preparation sequence corresponding to the model type of the uninterruptible power supply and the version of the firmware installed on the uninterruptible power supply, configured to prepare the uninterruptible power supply for the firmware update component; and an instruction component configured to display instructions on the computer system corresponding to the preparation sequence and the firmware update component, wherein the instructions explain to the user how to perform the procedure for updating the firmware and describe effects of the firmware update procedure on the equipment connected to the uninterruptible power supply.