Abstract: A method to share systems management responsibility may include allowing formation of a manual manager, wherein the manual manager is formable as a manageable resource capable of being monitored and controlled. The method may also include permitting the autonomic manager to be monitored and controlled by the manual manager using a manageability interface of the autonomic manager.

Abstract: An apparatus for describing runtime components of a solution on a computer system comprises a description of the software components of a solution instance comprising relationships between the software components. The description may be a logical description independent of a particular physical instantiation of the solution instance.

Abstract: Content aggregation is used to build administration consoles. Preferred embodiments enable providing a solution-based approach to information technology (“IT”) administration, whereby content can be flexibly arranged to provide a content view that is adapted for the IT solution deployed in a particular IT environment. In preferred embodiments, portal technology is used for the aggregation framework, and portlets are used for creating content. Alternatively, other approaches such as struts and tiles may be used. Preferred embodiments deploy an administration console as a Web-accessible application, and this console consolidates the administration interfaces for an arbitrary set of management operations, including administration of an arbitrary collection of hardware and/or software resources. Roles/permissions may be used when rendering content for the console, thereby customizing a view to individual end users (or user groups).

Abstract: An apparatus and a method provide a solution for a computer system. The apparatus may include a package containing or referencing a plurality of software components of the solution and containing a solution definition defining in logical terms the topology requirements of the solution. The plurality of software components may be packaged as installable units which comprise a descriptor providing requirements of a target hosting environment for the software component and the software component to be installed. The solution definition of the package may include target hosting environments of the software components of a solution being defined in terms of requirements each software component has on its own target hosting environment and requirements the solution imposes on the target hosting environments.

Abstract: Monitoring components of a system is provided by associating status of at least one component of the system with one of a set of component independent predefined situation categories to provide the status of the component in a common situation format that includes the associated component independent predefined situation category. Status of the system is analyzed based on the common situation format representation of the component status.

Abstract: A system and method for transmitting a triggered alarm is presented. The alarm is detected by a sensor on an asset that includes a circuit containing a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, a wireless communication unit, a processing unit, a sensor unit and a storage unit operably coupled to one another. The storage unit comprises locations of the asset on a predefined route where events (such as, for example, a door of an asset opening) are expected and the wireless communication unit comprises a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver. The sensor monitors a portion of the asset (such as, for example, the doors of the asset) while the asset travels along the predefined route. If the portion of the asset triggers an alarm, a current location of the asset is received via the GPS receiver and the event is compared with the locations of the asset on the predefined route.