Virtual IHS Replica for Remote Customer Support Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional customer support methods for information handling systems are time-consuming and inefficient in diagnosing and resolving issues, often requiring full operating system re-installations and lacking effective remote troubleshooting capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A customer support system that creates a virtual replica of the customer's information handling system to diagnose problems, using customer data to replicate the system's characteristics and facilitate remote troubleshooting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If conventional customer support methods are used, then communication with customer is simple, but diagnosis and resolution of problems is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual replica of the customer's information handling system that copies critical system data, configurations, and operational state. This virtual copy enables support providers to reproduce and diagnose problems without requiring physical access to or modification of the actual customer system, thereby reducing problem resolution time while maintaining system complexity at manageable levels through virtualization
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual machine acts as an intermediary between the customer's physical system and the support provider. It receives customer data, replicates system characteristics, and enables remote troubleshooting without direct physical intervention. This intermediary approach accelerates diagnosis while keeping the overall system architecture complex but organized through standardized virtualization layers
2Reliability
If full operating system re-installation is performed, then system state is restored, but time required for support increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the critical system data, configurations, and operational state information needed for troubleshooting from the customer's full system. Rather than requiring complete OS re-installation, the virtual machine captures and preserves essential system characteristics that enable problem reproduction and diagnosis, thereby maintaining reliability while significantly reducing the time required for support activities
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary extraction and preservation of critical system data before support activities begin. By pre-preparing the virtual replica with essential system characteristics, the support provider can immediately begin diagnosis without requiring time-consuming full system re-installations, thus maintaining system restoration capability while reducing overall support time
3Ease of operation
If remote troubleshooting is enabled, then physical interventions are reduced, but effective diagnosis capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual machine creates an accurate copy of the customer's system state, including hardware configurations, software environments, and operational data. This precise copy enables remote support providers to perform thorough diagnosis and troubleshooting with the same effectiveness as physical intervention, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining high diagnosis accuracy through faithful system replication
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the customer's complex information handling system into manageable virtual components that can be independently analyzed. By dividing the system into discrete virtual elements while preserving their relationships and characteristics, the approach enables comprehensive remote diagnosis without sacrificing accuracy, making both remote operation and measurement precision achievable simultaneously
Data Source
AI summary
A customer support system includes at least one subsystem to communicate with a customer about a problem with a customer information handling system (IHS), wherein the customer IHS includes a plurality of first customer IHS data. The plurality of first customer IHS data is received from the customer and used to create a virtual IHS having substantially the same characteristics as the customer IHS. A problem with the customer IHS is then diagnosed using the virtual IHS.