International Business Machines Corporation

Hcl Technologies Italy S.p.a

Rosario Gangemi

Luigi Pichetti

Antonio Perrone

Gianluca Bernardini

Mauro Arcese

Michele Crudele

Massimo Villani

Enrica Alberti

Marcello Vitaletti

Alessandro Capomassi

Sandro Piccinini

Alessandro Donatelli

Scot MacLellan

Arcangelo Di Balsamo

Giovanni Lanfranchi

Barbara Febonio

Vincenzo Sciacca

Marco Canu

Alessandro Terenzi

Stefano Sidoti

Giuseppe Longobardi

Bernardo Pastorelli

Fabio Benedetti

Fabio Cerri

Francesco Maria Carteri

Leonida Gianfagna

Leonardo Rosati

Gaetano Ruggiero

Marco De Santis

Francesco Lupini

Luca Ferri

Salvatore D'Alo'

Massimiliano Celli

Giorgio Cognigni

Marcello Velati

Salvatore D'Alo′

Luigi Piciietti

Scot Maclellan

Alessandro Ferenzi

Massimilian Celli

Method and system for correlating multiple device entries within a domain is disclosed. The method may include receiving a first correlation key comprising a set of device properties associated with a first device from a first plugin. The method may further include comparing the first correlation key with each of a plurality of second correlation keys stored in a device database. The method may further include determining whether a second correlation key from the plurality of second correlation keys in the device database corresponds to the first device, based on the comparing. The method may further include selectively correlating the first device with a second device from the plurality of second devices mapped to the second correlation key in the device database, based on the determining.

Method and system for correlating multiple device entries within domain

A solution is proposed for managing a plurality of computing machines. A corresponding method comprises causing each computing machine of at least part of the computing machines to execute a management activity on the computing machine; receiving a corresponding result of the execution of the management activity on each computing machine; determining a success fingerprint according to one or more characteristics of each of at least part of one or more wherein the corresponding result is indicative of a success of the execution of the management activity thereon; calculating a similarity index for each of one or more failure ones of the computing machines wherein the corresponding result is indicative of a failure of the execution of the management activity thereon; and prioritizing the computing machines which failed to accept a policy according to the corresponding similarity indexes.

Management of computing machines with troubleshooting prioritization

The invention relates to a method for distributing a software upgrade to client computing devices, the software upgrade being assigned to a software program, the client computing devices being communicatively coupled via a network, a target client of the client computing devices being adapted for executing the software program, the software program being adapted, when executed by the target client, for causing the target client to send via the network a signature specific to the software program, the method comprising intercepting network traffic from the client computing devices. The method comprises of detecting the signature in the intercepted traffic. The method comprises of collecting a network footprint from the intercepted traffic, the footprint being associated with the detected signature, the footprint comprising an identifier of the target client, the detected signature having been received from the target client. The method comprises of using the footprint for distributing the upgrade.

Distribution of a software upgrade via a network

A mechanism is provided for managing a plurality of computing machines. An indication of a management activity having an applicability rule is deployed to a plurality of computing machines to cause each of the plurality of computing machines having corresponding values of one or more characteristics fulfilling the applicability rule to apply the management activity. Results are received indicating that the management activity has been applied successfully on corresponding success computing machines and that the management activity has not been applied on corresponding excluded computing machines. One or more candidate computing machines of the excluded computing machines is selected according to a comparison of the corresponding values of the further characteristics of the excluded computing machines with a success fingerprint. An indication of rule transformations and corresponding frequencies for use in transforming the applicability rule accordingly to a number of the candidate computing machines is then provided.

Refining of applicability rules of management activities according to missing fulfilments thereof

Enhancement of a first mind map to become a second enhanced mind includes: providing a content pool with information items; performing a first semantic scan based on a selected object; and generating a new object and a related connection to the selected object based on the semantic scan. Furthermore, the enhancement includes determining a strength value for each of the connections of the first mind map and determining the connection with the lowest strength value and recalculating the strength value using an external knowledge base to define the connection as obsolete if the strength value decreases.

Method for enhancing a mind map with different streams of information

A method is described for performing system management operations on at least one target endpoint data processing apparatus of a distributed data processing system including a system management server adapted to the centralized system management of the endpoints of the distributed data processing system. The method comprises: at the system management server, receiving a system management activities plan including at least one system management activity to be performed on the at least one target endpoint; having the system management server executing the system management activities plan, wherein the executing the plan includes performing the at least one system management activity. Prior to executing the corresponding system management activity, having the system management server cause the execution, on the at least one target endpoint, of a simulated system management activity corresponding to and adapted to simulate the at least one system management activity in the plan so as to ascertain a capability of the at least one target endpoint of successfully executing the system management activity on the at least one target endpoint; and having the system management server execute the system management activity conditionally to a result of the execution of the simulated system management activity. Preferably, a selected corrective activity may be performed to remove the cause of the negative result of the simulated system management activity.

Centralized system management on endpoints of a distributed data processing system

A method for keeping synchronized data collected by a first and at least one second software applications from respective information sources and stored in a respective first and second data repositories. The method comprises: a) receiving a request to refresh data stored in the first data repository; b) causing the at least one second software application to collect data from the respective information source; c) receiving the data collected by the first and the at least one second software applications from the respective information sources, and d) uploading the received data to the respective first and second repositories.

Ensuring consistency over time of data gathered by distinct software applications

A resource consumption model is created for a software application, making it possible to predict the resource requirements of the application in different states. The model has a structure corresponding to that of the application itself, and is interpreted to some degree in parallel with the application, but each part of the model is interpreted in less time than it takes to complete the corresponding part of the application, so that resource requirement predictions are available in advance. The model may be interpreted in a look-ahead mode, wherein different possible branches of the model are interpreted so as to obtain resource requirement predictions for the application after completion of the present step. The model may be derived automatically from the application at design or compilation, and populated by measuring the requirements of the application in response to test scenarios in a controlled environment.

Predicting resource requirements for a computer application

A method and a corresponding apparatus for inventoring software products on a plurality of computer are proposed. The inventoring system aims at populating a software catalog without the manual intervention of an administrator. The present invention reduces the cost of producing and maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base (the catalog) which contains definitions of software products and the related signature. Information about software products and their related signature is obtained through a process which gathers information from a potentially very large collection of computers. Any occurrence of a group of identical files across multiple computers is considered a reliable indicator that they belong to the installation footprint of a product.

Method and apparatus for populating a software catalogue with software knowledge gathering

A method is presented for executing complex operations. The method may include providing basic packages that include execution instructions for at least partially executing a complex operation. Each basic package may also include combination instructions for combining the execution instructions with execution instructions of another basic package. Several basic packages may be selected. The complex operation may then be executed according to the execution instructions and the combination instructions associated with the selected basic packages.

Complex operation execution tool

A method and a corresponding system and computer-usable medium for discovering software products on a plurality of one or more computers. The discovering method, system and/or computer-usable medium can populate a software catalogue without the manual intervention of an administrator. Such an approach reduces the cost of producing and maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base (e.g., the catalogue), which contains definitions of software products and the related signature. Signature definitions combine information obtained by the data gathering process and information contained in the registries. This combination allows the creation of a robust signature which reduces to a great extent the possibilities of both 'false positive' and 'false negative' results.

Method for generating a robust software signature

Mobile phone signals may be corrupted by noise, fading, interference with other signals, and low strength field coverage of a transmitting and/or a receiving mobile phone as they pass through the communication network (e.g., free space). Because of the corruption of the mobile phone signal, a voice conversation between a caller and a receiver may be interrupted and there may be gaps in a received oral communication from one or more participants in the voice conversation forcing either or both the caller and the receiver to repeat the conversation. Transmitting a transcript of the oral communication along with a voice signal comprising the oral communication can help ensure that voice conversation is not interrupted due to a corrupted voice signal. The transcript of the oral communication can be used to retrieve parts of the oral communication lost in transmission (e.g., by fading, etc.) to make the conversation more fluid.

Mobile phone communication gap recovery

A software patch management solution () is proposed. The devised solution is based on the idea of automating the installation of the patches through a software distribution infrastructure. For this purpose, an automation engine () is added to a distribution server (). The automation engine interfaces with a patch provider () acting as a proxy, which stores a local copy of the patches () and of a patch catalogue () for detecting corresponding vulnerabilities. The automation engine automatically builds a distribution plan for deploying the patches to the relevant endpoints (), according to a vulnerability catalogue () that stores the actual exposures of the endpoints. The distribution plan arranges the required activities in the correct order, so as to minimize the number of rebooting of the endpoints; the distribution plan ends with an activity for scanning the endpoints, so as to update the vulnerability catalogue accordingly.

Method, system and computer program for distributing software patches

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Rome, Italy

Rosario Gangemi