Inventory Scan Program for Automated Infrastructure Data Collection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for managing computer device inventory in medium to large business environments are inefficient, often relying on manual tracking which is time-consuming and prone to errors, and existing inventory management applications require additional agents that may not be customizable and can impact computational capacity.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for deploying a common scan program across multiple operating systems using tool sets tailored for each OS, allowing for centralized collection and storage of inventory data, enabling automatic data collection, standardization, and minimizing computational overhead.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual tracking and recording of inventory information is used, then inventory data can be maintained, but the process becomes significantly time consuming and is subject to human error
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables inventory data collection to be performed automatically by the computing devices themselves through executed scan programs, eliminating the need for manual data entry and allowing the infrastructure to self-report its inventory information to the centralized database
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of tracking and recording inventory information with an automated computer-based system that uses scan programs to collect and submit inventory data electronically to a centralized database
2Productivity
If inventory management applications with agents are installed on each computing device, then automated inventory collection is achieved, but the agents impact the computational capacity of the hosts and are not customizable enough for certain tasks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the inventory collection functionality from traditional agent-based systems and implements it through standalone scan programs that can be executed without permanently installing resource-intensive agent software on each host device
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of inventory collection by using lightweight scan programs with configurable parameters rather than heavy-duty agents, allowing flexible customization through command-line arguments and configuration files without requiring complex agent installation and configuration
3Productivity
If pre-compiled agents are installed on each computing device, then inventory data collection is automated, but the agents are not available for all operating systems present in an infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal scan program that can operate across multiple operating systems by using platform-agnostic scripting languages and configurable parameters, eliminating the need for separate agent versions for different OS platforms
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves cross-platform compatibility by changing the approach from compiled binary agents to interpreted scan programs with configurable parameters that can be adjusted for different operating systems, allowing the same core program to function universally across Windows, Linux, and other platforms
4Reliability
If a common scan program is deployed across multiple operating systems, then consistent data collection is achieved, but the program must be adapted to execute on different operating systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the inventory collection system into a universal core scan program and OS-specific configuration parameters or wrapper scripts, allowing the main logic to remain consistent while adapting only the necessary interface components for each operating system
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces intermediary configuration files or wrapper scripts that mediate between the common scan program and different operating systems, handling OS-specific variations in commands and interfaces while allowing the core program logic to remain unchanged
Data Source
AI summary
A computer system for crawling computer infrastructure inventory data includes a processor and a memory device coupled to the processor. The computer system also includes an inventory database system stored on the memory device. The inventory database system includes computer-executable instructions allowing the computer to manage stored records. The computer system is configured to (a) retrieve an inventory record from the inventory database system, the inventory record containing inventory data, (b) determine that the inventory data contains relational inventory metadata, (c) determine that the relational inventory metadata indicates at least one related inventory record, and (d) perform step (a) on the at least one related inventory record.