Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for identification of features associated with computers

US5964875A · kind A · utility

5Cited by
10References
31Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 2, 1997
Grant dateOct 12, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 2, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F11/2289
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Improved techniques for facilitating identification of a computer system's hardware features to software executing on the computer system are disclosed. In one embodiment, the software is system management software that serves to monitor and control the computer system to reduce failures and/or improve performance. In a general sense, the invention provides a system feature table within a computer system to describe each of the hardware features of the computer system, including feature data and appropriate access mechanisms for additional information. In addition, a user can be notified when the software does not support all the hardware features of the computer system. The invention also is able to identify locations of failing hardware features for easy replacement or examination.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.