Patent ID: 7369963

Claim:
A system managing apparatus for monitoring a status of a device, the system managing apparatus being installed in an information processing apparatus, the system managing apparatus comprising: a connecting unit that connects the system managing apparatus with an other system managing apparatus installed in an other information processing apparatus to exchange information; a determining unit that determines whether the other system managing apparatus is in an active status or in a halt status via a connection established by the connecting unit; a monitoring-target switching unit that alternately switches, when the determining unit has determined that the other system managing apparatus is in the halt status, a device to be monitored from a device connected to the system managing apparatus to a device connected to the other system managing apparatus and switches back from the device connected to the other system managing apparatus to the device connected to the system managing apparatus; a monitoring unit that alternately monitors the device connected to the system managing apparatus and the device connected to the other system managing apparatus by controlling the monitoring-target switching unit until the determining unit determines that a status of the other system managing apparatus is back to the active status; and a notifying unit that notifies that the other system managing apparatus has returned to a normal status when the determining unit determines that the other system managing apparatus is back to the active status.