Abstract: A method and a corresponding system and computer-usable medium for discovering software products on a plurality of one or more computers. The discovering method, system and/or computer-usable medium can populate a software catalogue without the manual intervention of an administrator. Such an approach reduces the cost of producing and maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base (e.g., the catalogue), which contains definitions of software products and the related signature. Signature definitions combine information obtained by the data gathering process and information contained in the registries. This combination allows the creation of a robust signature which reduces to a great extent the possibilities of both “false positive” and “false negative” results.

Abstract: A method and a corresponding apparatus for inventoring software products on a plurality of computer are proposed. The inventoring system aims at populating a software catalogue without the manual intervention of an administrator. The present invention reduces the cost of producing and maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base (the catalogue) which contains definitions of software products and the related signature. Information about software products and their related signature is obtained through a process which gathers information from a potentially very large collection of computers. Any occurrence of a group of identical files across multiple computers is considered a reliable indicator that they belong to the installation footprint of a product.

Abstract: A method and a corresponding apparatus for inventorying software products on a plurality of computer are proposed. The inventorying system aims at populating a software catalogue without the manual intervention of an administrator. The present invention reduces the cost of producing and maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base (the catalogue) which contains definitions of software products and the related signature. Information about software products and their related signature is obtained through a process which gathers information from a potentially very large collection of computers. Any occurrence of a group of identical files across multiple computers is considered a reliable indicator that they belong to the installation footprint of a product.

Abstract: A method and a corresponding system and computer-usable medium for discovering software products on a plurality of one or more computers. The discovering method, system and/or computer-usable medium can populate a software catalogue without the manual intervention of an administrator. Such an approach reduces the cost of producing and maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base (e.g., the catalogue), which contains definitions of software products and the related signature. Signature definitions combine information obtained by the data gathering process and information contained in the registries. This combination allows the creation of a robust signature which reduces to a great extent the possibilities of both “false positive” and “false negative” results.

Abstract: A method and a corresponding apparatus for inventoring software products on a plurality of computer are proposed. The inventoring system aims at populating a software catalogue without the manual intervention of an administrator. The present invention reduces the cost of producing and maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base (the catalogue) which contains definitions of software products and the related signature. Information about software products and their related signature is obtained through a process which gathers information from a potentially very large collection of computers. Any occurence of a group of identical files across multiple computers is considered a reliable indicator that they belong to the installation footprint of a product.