Patent ID: 6961764

Claim:
A distributed computer system comprising: a plurality of client computers in which is stored a file group including files managed in each resource group under a directory constituted by a plurality of layers; a management computer that manages generated maintenance data, according to a process comprising: storing previous file update management information for each said resource group of said group of files, extracting of said generated maintenance data, maintenance data having file update management information more recent than said previous file update management information; and transferring the extracted maintenance data to said server computer; a server computer that transfers to each of the client computers maintenance data for updating files managed in each of said resource groups; wherein said client computers comprise: an application section that, when said maintenance data is transferred from said server computer, detects from said directory of a client computer identification information that identifies said resource group contained in said maintenance data that was transferred, searches for a layer of said directory layers that has said identification information, generates a maintenance target directory for applying said maintenance data by adding a second directory portion, which was registered beforehand, under a first directory portion from a topmost layer of said directories as far as a level having the identification information contained in said maintenance data which was transferred, and applies said maintenance data which was transferred to the maintenance target directory, and a monitoring and notification section that monitors to ascertain whether a plurality of items of identical identification information are present in said directories and, if a plurality of items of identical identification information are present, notifies said server computer of abnormality.