Patent ID: 8572601

Claim:
A system for automatic installation and maintenance of hardware and software in a plurality of system nodes (SK) of a distributed computer system comprising: memory for storing a system maintenance tool; a processor at each of the plurality of system nodes, wherein the processor at each of plurality of system nodes is configured to: activate the system maintenance tool (WZ) at the respective system node among the plurality of system nodes in the distributed system, select a software package and/or a functional component from among a plurality of software packages and/or functional components via the activated system maintenance tool (WZ), execute automatically, the maintenance steps of the selected software package and of the selected functional component for at least one of a distribution, installation and configuration of the software package and of the selected functional component in a defined sequence on the plurality of system nodes (SK) of the distributed system via the activated system maintenance tool (WZ), and wherein the selected software packages are elements of life cycle management activities (LCMA) which include new system installations, system updates, system upgrades to a higher version, system expansions incorporating additional functionalities or system analyses; wherein the life cycle management activities (LCMA) are represented by different predefined processes in the system maintenance tool (WZ), and the processes describe the installation and configuration steps, which are to be performed in a specific sequence on the system nodes (SK) of the distributed system.