Patent ID: 7369967

Claim:
A method for collecting system metrics, the method comprising: defining system metrics at a monitoring computer by interacting with the monitoring computer from a client computer over a network, the monitoring computer being operably connected over the network to at least one system to be monitored, wherein the monitoring computer comprises a server computer; measuring system metrics of the at least one system to be monitored by system metric software operating on the system to be monitored, wherein the system metrics are measured in a first format at a first predetermined time interval; converting the measured system metrics to a second format; reporting measured system metrics from the system to be monitored to the monitoring computer over the network operably connecting the monitoring computer and the system to be monitored, wherein the measured system metrics are reported at a second predetermined time interval, and wherein the first predetermined time interval is less than the second predetermined time interval; and exporting the measured system metrics from the monitoring computer to a database at a third predetermined time interval.