Abstract: A method and system for network management. According to one embodiment, a centralized data store is used for central configuration of the monitoring and management of computers and their applications, an intelligent agent (running on each of the hosts of the managed network) has the capability to differentiate between the individuality of systems being managed by using rules based on attributes and variations in the attributes of the host system, and a graphical user interface is provided for centralized management of the hosts on the managed network. The invention may be used to carry out administrative tasks on the hosts of the managed network.

Abstract: An intelligent application-independent help system and method that automatically captures and analyzes information specific to the context of the application in use and the error encountered. The system not only provides the user with solutions to errors encountered during use of the application, but also offers easy access to relevant suggestions and explanations on the features and the options within the application. The system includes an analyzer process that processes the information captured and links to an appropriate help document in a knowledge base. In the event that the analyzer process fails to locate a relevant solution in the knowledge base or if the user prefers to speak directly with live support, the analyzer routes the problem along with all captured contextual information on that problem to support personnel. This allows the support team to reduce the number of questions they need to ask the user, thus reducing the amount of time required to solve the problem.