Server Remote Administration via Digital Image Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large data centers, server maintenance is inefficient and costly due to the need for multiple physical trips by technicians to identify and replace faulty components, as well as the difficulty in locating fault information across various logs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where servers and their components store digital images in non-volatile memory, connected to a management module that retrieves and generates graphical representations for remote administration, allowing technicians to diagnose and replace components remotely through a GUI.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a technician physically travels to the server location to inspect and troubleshoot faults, then the technician can directly observe and diagnose the server, but the maintenance process becomes time-consuming and costly due to multiple trips required to identify faulty components and retrieve replacements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical server environment by capturing digital images of the server and its components, storing them in non-volatile memory. This virtual representation allows technicians to remotely view and diagnose server conditions without physical presence, eliminating multiple trips while maintaining diagnostic accuracy through detailed visual inspection capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a management module as an intermediary between the technician and the physical server. This module retrieves digital images from the server's non-volatile memory and presents them to the technician through a graphical interface, enabling remote diagnosis without requiring the technician to physically travel to the server location
2Loss of information
If fault information is stored in various different fault logs across different storage locations, then comprehensive fault data is available, but locating specific fault information becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates fault information from multiple distributed fault logs into a unified graphical representation. The management module retrieves and integrates data from various storage locations, presenting comprehensive fault information in a single accessible interface, thereby maintaining information completeness while dramatically improving retrieval ease
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms scattered fault log data into a visual dimensional representation. By converting text-based fault logs distributed across multiple storage locations into a graphical interface with visual indicators, the system enables technicians to locate and analyze fault information spatially rather than searching through multiple text files, significantly improving accessibility
3Reliability
If technicians must physically travel to storage locations to retrieve replacement components, then the correct replacement parts can be obtained, but the multi-trip maintenance process becomes extremely costly in terms of technician time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses digital images stored in non-volatile memory to create a virtual inventory of server components and their conditions. Technicians can remotely identify faulty components through these visual representations and retrieve appropriate replacements without physical inspection, maintaining replacement accuracy while eliminating unnecessary trips to storage locations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables preliminary identification of faulty components through remote visual inspection using stored digital images. By diagnosing issues and identifying required replacements before physical component retrieval, the system prevents unnecessary trips to storage locations, improving maintenance efficiency while ensuring the correct components are obtained
Data Source
AI summary
Remotely administering a server, the server including non-volatile memory upon which is disposed one or more digital images representing the server, the server also including one or more components each of which includes non-volatile memory in which is disposed one or more digital images representing the component, where the server is connected for data communications to a management module, and remotely administering the server includes: retrieving, by the management module from the server, the digital images representing the server and the digital images representing the installed components; generating, by the management module with the digital images representing the server and the digital images representing the installed components, a graphical representation of the server with the installed components; and presenting, by the management module to a user through a GUI, the graphical representation of the server with the installed components.