Abstract: A customer support technique for an electronic system includes operating a computerized apparatus to conduct a video chat with a remote customer support device. During the course of the video chat, the computerized apparatus simultaneously exchanges information pertaining to the electronic system. The computerized apparatus collects diagnostic information from the electronic system, transmits the diagnostic information to the customer support device, and receives remedial information back from the customer support device, all while the video chat continues to proceed without interruption. The improved technique thus provides a near-hands-on support experience from a remote customer support agent regardless of the customer support agent's physical location.

Abstract: A system, method and computer program product for automatically capturing configuration information for a plurality of heterogeneous computing components, such as a converged infrastructure. For example, the method detects a configuration change request comprising a request to change a configuration of a plurality of heterogeneous computing components. Responsive to detecting the configuration change request, the method determines configuration information for each of the plurality of heterogeneous computing components, the configuration information is information being about the configuration of the one or more of a plurality of heterogeneous computing components The method determines the configuration information prior to changing the configuration of the plurality of heterogeneous computing components in response to the configuration change request.

Abstract: A system, method, apparatus, and computer program product for enabling management of a plurality of computing components, such as a converged infrastructure, through a software framework are disclosed. For example, a method in accordance with some example embodiments may include receiving an action target command that is comprised of target component identification information, action identification information and action parameters. The method may include invoking a registered hook and passing the action parameters to a function that is bound to the action and resolving the received target component identification information and the received action identification data. A command and command parameters may be transmitted to each of the identified computing components thereby causing the command to be performed on the computing components.

Abstract: An application centric compliance management system includes a computing system that executes a tool to identify a subset of a the resources of a multi-tier computing environment that are used to execute an application, and for each identified resource, obtain one or more application-based compliance policies associated with the application. The tool may then determine whether the resource meets each application-based compliance policy, and when the resource does not meet the application-based compliance policy, generate an alarm that includes information associated with the one unmet application-based compliance policy.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable mediums for updating components in a converged infrastructure system are disclosed. According to one method, the method includes identifying components in a converged infrastructure system that require remediation in order to comply with a defined converged infrastructure configuration and determining remediation content to enable each of the identified components to be compliant with the defined converged infrastructure configuration. The method further includes retrieving the remediation content for the identified components from a repository and utilizing the remediation content to update the identified components on the converged infrastructure system in accordance with the defined converged infrastructure configuration.

Abstract: A technique tests whether an integrated computing system having server, network and storage components complies with a configuration benchmark expressed as rules in first markup-language statements such as XML. The rules are parsed to obtain test definition identifiers identifying test definitions in a second set of markup-language statements, each test definition including a test value and an attribute identifier of system component attribute. A management database is organized as an integrated object model of all system components. An interpreter invoked with the test definition identifier from each rule process each test definition to (a) access the management database using the attribute identifier obtain the actual value for the corresponding attribute, and (b) compare the actual value to the test value of the test definition to generate a comparison result value that can be stored or communicated as a compliance indicator to a human or machine user.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable mediums for generating instruction data to update components in a converged infrastructure system are disclosed. According to one example, a method includes identifying components in a converged infrastructure system that require remediation in order to comply with a defined converged infrastructure configuration and identifying remediation content to enable each of the identified components to be compliant with the defined converged infrastructure configuration. The method further includes determining a remediation process based on the identified remediation content associated with the components of the converged infrastructure system, wherein the determined remediation process includes an order of steps used to update the identified components in the converged infrastructure system. The method also includes generating instruction data indicating the determined remediation process to be applied to the identified components in the converged infrastructure system.

Abstract: A technique tests whether an integrated computing system having server, network and storage components complies with a configuration benchmark expressed as rules in first markup-language statements such as XML. The rules are parsed to obtain test definition identifiers identifying test definitions in a second set of markup-language statements, each test definition including a test value and an attribute identifier of system component attribute. A management database is organized as an integrated object model of all system components. An interpreter invoked with the test definition identifier from each rule process each test definition to (a) access the management database using the attribute identifier obtain the actual value for the corresponding attribute, and (b) compare the actual value to the test value of the test definition to generate a comparison result value that can be stored or communicated as a compliance indicator to a human or machine user.

Abstract: A technique tests whether an integrated computing system having server, network and storage components complies with a configuration benchmark expressed as rules in first markup-language statements such as XML. The rules are parsed to obtain test definition identifiers identifying test definitions in a second set of markup-language statements, each test definition including a test value and an attribute identifier of system component attribute. A management database is organized as an integrated object model of all system components. An interpreter invoked with the test definition identifier from each rule process each test definition to (a) access the management database using the attribute identifier obtain the actual value for the corresponding attribute, and (b) compare the actual value to the test value of the test definition to generate a comparison result value that can be stored or communicated as a compliance indicator to a human or machine user.

Abstract: A customer support technique for an electronic system includes engaging in a video chat with a remote customer support device using a first camera of a computerized apparatus while simultaneously acquiring images of the electronic system using a second camera and sending the images to the customer support device. A user of the computerized apparatus can thus engage in a face-to-face video chat with a customer support agent operating the customer support device while the customer support agent simultaneously sees both images of the user and images of the electronic system or portion thereof to which the user is pointing the second camera. The disclosed technique thus provides a near-hands-on support experience from a remote customer support agent regardless of the customer support agent's physical location.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable mediums for updating components in a converged infrastructure system are disclosed. According to one method, the method includes identifying components in a converged infrastructure system that require remediation in order to comply with a defined converged infrastructure configuration and determining remediation content to enable each of the identified components to be compliant with the defined converged infrastructure configuration. The method further includes retrieving the remediation content for the identified components from a repository and utilizing the remediation content to update the identified components on the converged infrastructure system in accordance with the defined converged infrastructure configuration.

Abstract: A technique tests whether an integrated computing system having server, network and storage components complies with a configuration benchmark expressed as rules in first markup-language statements such as XML. The rules are parsed to obtain test definition identifiers identifying test definitions in a second set of markup-language statements, each test definition including a test value and an attribute identifier of system component attribute. A management database is organized as an integrated object model of all system components. An interpreter invoked with the test definition identifier from each rule process each test definition to (a) access the management database using the attribute identifier obtain the actual value for the corresponding attribute, and (b) compare the actual value to the test value of the test definition to generate a comparison result value that can be stored or communicated as a compliance indicator to a human or machine user.