Software configuration monitor

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring the software configuration of a computer system. As a preliminary step in an error recovery procedure initiated in response to detecting a system error condition, it is determined whether one or more configuration files on the system are in an unauthorized state. If so, one embodiment of the invention contemplates suspending the error recovery procedure until the configuration file has been restored to an authorized. In one embodiment, the determination of whether a configuration file is in an unauthorized state is facilitated by associating a configuration file fingerprint with the configuration file where the fingerprint is indicative of the contents of the configuration file. In this embodiment, the contents of the configuration file can be verified against the fingerprint to determine if any unwarranted or unauthorized modifications have been made to the configuration since the fingerprint was generated. Preferably, an authorized editing or modification tool is provided for modifying the configuration file. The authorized tool updates the fingerprint upon modifying the configuration file to reflect the modified contents of the configuration file. In this manner, modifications made to the configuration file using the authorized tool are distinguishable from modifications that are made without using the authorized tool. In one embodiment, the process of associating the fingerprint with the configuration file comprises determining a signature code for the configuration file based on the contents of the configuration file. In various embodiments, a suitable signature code might be generated an MD5, CRC, SHA, or other suitable checksum generation algorithm.