Patent Document ID: 5404503
Application ID: 08041146
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A distributed hierarchical maintenance apparatus for identifying failed field replaceable units in a plurality of customer systems, each of which customer systems includes a plurality of field replaceable units, comprising: a plurality of maintenance apparatus configured in a tiered hierarchy having a plurality of subsets of maintenance apparatus, a first subset including a plurality of said maintenance apparatus, each of which is connected to and colocated with one of said customer systems and also connected to an associated remotely located maintenance apparatus in a second subset of said maintenance apparatus which are hierarchically senior to said first subset of maintenance apparatus, each of said maintenance apparatus in said first subset comprising: means for detecting the presence of a failure in a one said customer system; means for generating a failure report which contains failure data relevant to said detected failure, including an identification of the failure mode and all operational elements on all field replaceable units in said one customer system that were cooperatively operative during said detected failure; means for maintaining a failure analysis history of said one customer system containing data identifying a failed field replaceable unit and associated failure data; means for comparing said failure data with said failure analysis history; means for identifying a likely failed field replaceable unit based on said comparison; and means responsive to an inability to identify a likely failed field replaceable unit in Said one customer system for establishing a communication connection with an associated remotely located hierarchically senior maintenance apparatus in said second subset of maintenance apparatus.