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1 US A1 (19) Unted States (12) Patent Appcaton Pubcaton (10) Pub. No.: US 2010/ A1 Boan et a. (43) Pub. Date: Sep. 16, 2010 (54) REMOTELY ADMNSTERNG A SERVER (75) nventors: Joseph E. Boan, Cary, NC (US); James R. Goffena, Chape H, NC (US); Sumeet Kochar, Apex, NC (US); Adam L. Soderund, Bahama, NC (U S) Correspondence Address: BM (RPS-BLF) c/o BGGERS & OHANAN, LLP PO. BOX 1469 AUSTN, TX (US) (73) Assgnee: NTERNATONAL BUSNESS MACHNES CORPORATON, ARMONK, NY (US) Pubcaton Cass?caton (51) nt. C. G06F 17/30 ( ) G06F 11/00 ( ) (52) US. C /223; 714/40; 707/E17.01; 707/E17.005; 714/E (57) ABSTRACT Remotey admnsterng a server, the server ncudng non voate memory upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the server, the server aso ncudng one or more components each of Whch ncudes non-voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the component, Where the server s connected for data communcatons to a management modue, and remotey admnsterng the server ncudes: retrevng, by the management modue from the server, the dgta mages rep resentng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components; generatng, by the management mod ue Wth the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components, a (21) App1_ NO; 12/402,879 graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed com ponents; and presentng, by the management modue to a user through a GU, the graphca representaton of the server Wth (22) Fed: Mar. 12, 2009 the nstaed components. Server m Memory m Component m Component m D, V 1 Memory@ Memon/M gamgages Dgta mages Dgta mages Q E _ r- _ Retreve The Dgta mages m : = f V a D 'ta ma es Of.. E jzompon gms Dggamage; Of a) m erver _ : : v v 5 Generate A Graphca Representaton Of The Server Pete?t A Change n 1'6 Wth The nstaed Components m "Sta ed components n ' The : L : r : : Graphca Representaton E Update The Graphca : Representaton w : n : Present The Graphca Representaton Of The Server Wth The nstaed Components M T Management Modue Q:

2 Patent Appcaton Pubcaton Sep. 16, 2010 Sheet 1 0f 6 US 2010/ A1 MM1 80m ;V mm P gm... m 6 C1. m 6536 e w m! VM mam 60.90t H G m 1W S.m a e k A 0. 0 f.o D. r. m a mm.m s THZM S too W %.m.w n 6 m O A w.t 1 s m e m C 4 5 u r n 40.). 02 E VA 0. a n S.m n B U e /O User nput Devces Management Modue Q Bade Server Chasss 104 FG. 1 e <- RAD Array E Power Bade Server 118 EEPROM 119 Dgta mages Q Component m EEPROM 120 Dgta mages E EEPROM 122 Dgta mages Q

3 Patent Appcaton Pubcaton Sep. 16, 2010 Sheet 2 0f 6 US 2010/ A1 Server 2_O Memory m Component M Component m Memory E Memory E Dgta mages 218 D.. gta mages.. Dgta mages E E Retreve, From The Server, The Dgta mages Representng The Server And The Dgta mages Representng The nstaed Components Q Dgta mages Of Dgta mages Of Components Server 218 m m r Generate A Graphca Representaton O The Sewer Wth The nstaed Components M Graphca Representaton E Present The Graphca Representaton Of The Server Wth The nstaed Components m...?rearm? wtech ' System m FG. 2

4 Patent Appcaton Pubcaton Sep. 16, 2010 Sheet 3 of 6 US 2010/ A1 mutgw 6 f. S y Q M Dm mm pnmbdm C enfg2 WMHCVGEQ SOOMVEZ w_4_ 21.0 C grow s WM DnmoDm OOWSGZ m m2ra% wga 22_ Server Rack 322 UnuyteoO g3%_ 4 4 OM Cme ODmDW mwomvaoo D. fgnu as mms CmWu C O OpmDm mwomcaqo W16 wdshga?u nt ra? un3 at SM m E6 R Wm Dasa.wogeC e0 A r Retreve The Dgta mages Representng Server And nstaed Components E Retreve The Dgta mages Representng The Computng Components And The Server Rack 302 Dgta mages Of Components 2, E Dgta mages Of Server m Dgta mages Of Computng Comps mm Dgta mages Of Server Rack 314 Generatng A Graphca Representaton Of A Generate A Graphca Representaton Of The Server m Generate A Graphca Representaton Of The Server Rack M Generate The Graphca Representaton Of The Server Rack Wth Status ndcators Specfyng A Current User Of A Dsk Drve Devce nstatted n The Server Rack 310 Graphcat Representaton Of Server Graphrcat Representaton Of Graphca Representaton Of Status ndcators for Dsk Drve Devce Q LManagement Modue E Presentng The Graphca Representaton Of The Server Rack Wth The nstaed Computng E mm 3

5 Patent Appcaton Pubcaton Sep. 16, 2010 Sheet 4 0f 6 US 2010/ A1 Memory m Dgta mages m Component M Memory m Dgta mages E Component m Memory E Dgta mages E Management. J»

6 Patent Appcaton Pubcaton Sep. 16, 2010 Sheet 5 0f 6 US 2010/ A1 Server m Memory m Component M Component m D_, Memory@ Memory E g tamrgages Dgta mages Dgta mages _ E E Detect A Faut n At Least One Component nstaed n The Server & Retreve The Dgta mages M D tggw'rggzfsof Dgta mages or E, p E Server m Generate A Graphca Representaton Of The Server Wth The : : nstaed Components 204 : Generate The Graphca Representaton Of The Server Wth One Or More Status ndcators Specfyng The Component n Whch <t The Management Modue Detected A Faut Q Graphca Representaton E Status Present The Graphca Representaton Of The Server Wth The nstaed Components m FG. 5

7 Patent Appcaton Pubcaton Sep. 16, 2010 Sheet 6 of 6 US 2010/ A1 Server m Memory m Component M Component E Memory E D g ta2 1 r;ages Dgta mages Dgta mages E E :. Retreve The Dgta mages E Dgta mages O Dgta; Wages or Components Server 21 8 mm - : : Generate A Graphca Representaton O The Sewer {De}? 3 ghange n Re : : Wth The nstaed Components 204 "S a e Ompone" S " g The Server 602 >, 228 Representaton 604 _ < Wth The nstaed Components 206 ' Graphoa Representaton Present The Graphca Representaton Of The Server Update The Graphca Management Modue 152: FG. 6

8 Sep. 16,2010 REMOTELY ADMNSTERNG A SERVER BACKGROUND OF THE NVENTON [0001] 1. Fed of the nventon [0002] The?ed of the nventon s data processng, or, more spec?cay, methods, apparatus, and products for remotey admnsterng a server. [0003] 2. Descrpton of ReatedArt [0004] The deveopment of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 s often cted as the begnnng of the computer era. Snce that tme, computer systems have evoved nto extremey compcated devces. Today s computers are much more sophstcated than eary systems such as the EDVAC. Computer systems typcay ncude a combnaton of hard Ware and software components, appcaton programs, oper atng systems, processors, buses, memory, nput/output devces, and so on. As advances n semconductor processng and computer archtecture push the performance of the com puter hgher and hgher, more sophstcated computer soft Ware has evoved to take advantage of the hgher performance of the hardware, resutng n computer systems today that are much more powerfu than just a few years ago. [0005] Computer systems today are often mpemented as servers n a data center Where many hundreds or thousands of smar computer systems are nstaed. n such a data center server mantenance, both software and hardware mante nance s df?cut to admnster. Currenty, When a faut occurs n a server n such a data center, a system techncan must physcay trave to the ocaton of the server, nspect the server, dentfy the current con?guraton of components nstaed n the server, troubeshoot the faut, and dentfy any fauty components. Upon dent?caton of the fauty compo nent of a server, the system techncan then must trave to a storage ocaton of repacement components, retreve a repacement component for the fauty component, and trave back to the server to repace the fauty component. Ths mut-trp mantenance s tme-consumng and nef?cent. n fact, n arge data centers that covers thousands of square feet, the mut-trp mantenance s extremey costy n terms of system techncan tme. Furthermore, nformaton descrbng the faut occurrng n a server s typcay ocated n varous dfferent faut ogs, stored n dfferent computer storage oca tons. Such nformaton descrbng a partcuar faut s aso typcay d?cut to ocate Wth a partcuar faut og tsef. SUMMARY OF THE NVENTON [0006] Methods, apparatus, and products for remotey admnsterng a server are dscosed n Whch the server ncudes non-voate memory upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the server, the server aso ncudes one or more components nstaed n the server Wth each component aso ncudng non-voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the component, the server s connected for data communcatons to a management modue, and remotey admnsterng the server ncudes: retrevng, by the management modue from the server, the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components; gener atng, by the management modue Wth the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components, a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components; and presentng, by the management modue to a user through a graphca user nter face ( GU ), the graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components. [0007] The foregong and other objects, features and advantages of the nventon W be apparent from the foow ng more partcuar descrptons of exempary embodments of the nventon as ustrated n the accompanyng drawngs Wheren ke reference numbers generay represent ke parts of exempary embodments of the nventon. BREF DESCRPTON OF THE DRAWNGS [0008] FG. 1 sets forth a network dagram of an exempary system for remotey admnsterng one or more servers accordng to embodments of the present nventon. [0009] FG. 2 sets forth a How chart ustratng an exem pary method for remotey admnsterng a server accordng to embodments of the present nventon. [0010] FG. 3 sets forth a How chart ustratng a further exempary method for remotey admnsterng a server accordng to embodments of the present nventon. [0011] FG. 4 sets forth a How chart ustratng a further exempary method for remotey admnsterng a server accordng to embodments of the present nventon. [0012] FG. 5 sets forth a How chart ustratng a further exempary method for remotey admnsterng a server accordng to embodments of the present nventon. [0013] FG. 6 sets forth a How chart ustratng a further exempary method for remotey admnsterng a server accordng to embodments of the present nventon. DETALED DESCRPTON OF EXEMPLARY EMBODMENTS [0014] Exempary methods, apparatus, and products for remotey admnsterng a server n accordance Wth the present nventon are descrbed Wth reference to the accom panyng drawngs, begnnng Wth FG. 1. FG. 1 sets forth a network dagram of an exempary system for remotey admnsterng one or more servers ( ) accordng to embodments of the present nventon. A server, as the term s used n ths spec?caton, refers generay to a mut-user computer that provdes a servce (eg database access,?e transfer, remote access) or resources (eg?e space) over a network connecton. The term server, as context requres, refers ncusvey to the server s computer hardware as We as any server appcaton software or operatng system software runnng on the server. A server appcaton s an appcaton program that accepts connectons n order to servce requests from users by sendng back responses. A server appcaton can run on the same computer as the cent appcaton usng t, or a server appcaton can accept connectons through a computer network. Exampes of server appcatons ncude?e server, database server, backup server, prnt server, ma server, Web server, FTP servers, appcaton servers, VPN servers, DHCP servers, DNS servers, WNS servers, ogon servers, securty servers, doman controers, backup doman controers, proxy servers,?rewas, and so on. [0015] The system of FG. 1 ncudes ten servers ( ) mpemented as bade servers and nstaed n a bade server chasss (104). Bade servers are sef-contaned servers, desgned for hgh densty. As a practca matter, a computers are mpemented Wth eectrca components requrng power that produces heat. Components such as processors, memory, hard drves, power suppes, storage and network connec

9 Sep. 16,2010 tons, keyboards, vdeo components, a mouse, and so on, merey support the basc computng functon, yet they a add buk, heat, compexty, and movng parts that are more prone to faure than sod-state components. n the bade paradgm, mo st of these functons are removed from the bade computer, beng ether provded by the bade server chasss (DC power) vrtuazed (SCS storage, remote consoe over P), or ds carded entrey (sera ports). The bade tsef becomes sm per, smaer, and amenabe to dense nstaaton Wth many bade servers n a snge bade server chasss. [0016] A bade server chasss (104) s a partcuar type of server rack, a frame or encosure con?gured for mountng varous eectronc modues, servers, and other eectronc equpment that supports server operaton. nstaed n the exampe bade server chasss (104) of FG. 1 s a power suppy (132) that devers power to the bade servers ( ) and other eectronc equpment nstaed n the bade server chasss (104), a pane patch (134) that provdes data communcatons connecton among the servers, a router (130) the enabes data communcatons among the the servers ( ) and Wth a Wde area data communcatons net Work such as the nternet, a redundant array of nexpensve drves ( RAD array ) (136) provdng data storage and backup servces to the bade servers ( ), and a power strp (138) that dstrbutes power from the power suppy (132) to the eectronc devces nstaed n the bade server chasss (104). [0017] Athough any one or a of the bade servers ( ) nstaed n the bade server chasss (104) of FG. 1 may be remotey admnstered n accordance Wth embodments of the present nventon, consder, for ease of expanaton, the bade server (118) as an exampe of such a server that s remotey admnstered accordng to embodments of the present nventon. The bade server (118) n the system of FG. 1 ncudes non-voate memory, such as EEPROM (Eectrcay Erasabe Programmabe Read Ony Memory) upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages represent ng the server (118). [0018] A dgta mage s a bnary representaton of a two or three-dmensona mage. A two-dmensona dgta mage may be of vector or raster type. Raster mages have a?nte set of dgta vaues, caed pcture eements or pxes. The raster-type dgta mage contans a?xed number of rows and coumns of pxes. Pxes are the smaest ndvdua eement n an mage, hodng quantzed vaues that represent the brghtness of a gven coor at any spec?c pont. Such pxes may be stored n computer memory as a raster mage or raster map, a two-dmensona array of sma ntegers. These vaues may be transmtted or stored n a compressed form. Vector mages, n contrast to raster mages, are made up of geometrca prmtves such as ponts, nes, curves, and shapes or poygons, a Whch are derved from mathematca equatons. [0019] Dgta mages may be?es stored n?e formats of GF, TGA, JPEG, TFF, BMP, a 3D Wreframe?e format Wth one or more correspondng raster mages, and so on as W occur to readers of sk n the art. Dgta mages repre sentng a server may be mpemented n varous Ways ncud ng, for exampe, as pctures captured Wth a dgta camera, ne drawngs generated by a user-eve graphcs software appcaton at the behest of a user, functona bock dagrams of the server, 3-Dmensona Wreframe modes of the server Wth raster overays, and so on as W occur to readers of sk n the art. [0020] A dgta mage that represents a server s a depcton of the base mode, a defaut mode, of that server. A defaut mode of a server typcay, but not aways, conssts of an encosure of partcuar dmensons that ncudes at a east a motherboard. The motherboard may have connecton adapt ers for one or more processors, one or more memory modues, /O cards, network cards, and so on. n other nstances, nstead of beng arranged n a very thn con?guraton, havng reatvey few components nstaed, a defaut mode of a server may be con?gured Wth any number of components nstaed. A defaut mode server havng one or more compo nents nstaed for operaton s referred to n ths spec?caton, as context requres, as a fuy con?gured server, a server Wth nstaed components, or merey a server. The manu facturer of the defaut mode of the server may store the dgta mages representng the server n non-voate memory of the server, such as n EEPROM (119), at manufacturng tme. [0021] nstaed n the bade server (118) are severa com ponents (106, 108). Exampes of components capabe of beng nstaed n a server ncude graphcs adapters, network adapters, memory modues, /O adapters, dsk drve adapters, and so on as W occur to readers of sk n the art. Lke the defaut mode of the server (118) tsef, each of the nstaed components (106, 108) ncudes non-voate memory, EEPROM (120, 122), n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (124, 126) representng the component. That s, stored n memory of a partcuar component are dgta mages of that partcuar component. The manufacturer of each compo nent, at manufacturng tme, may store such dgta mages n the EEPROM of the component before shppng the compo nent to the end user. FG. 1 ustrates dgta mages (124) of the component (106) stored n EEPROM (120) of the com ponent (106) and dgta mages (126) of the component (108) stored EEPROM (122) of the component (108). [0022] The exampe bade servers ( ) are connected for data communcatons through a data communcatons net Work, a oca area network ( LAN ) (101) n the exampe of FG. 1, to a management modue (152). Athough the data communcatons network connectng the bade servers ( ) for data communcatons Wth the management modue (152) n the exampe of FG. 1 s a LAN, typcay mpe mented as an n-band network Wth Ethernet connectons, swtches, routers, and the ke, readers of sk n the art W mmedatey recognze that a data communcatons network connectng a management modue (152) to bade servers ( ) may aso be mpemented as an out-of-band net Work Wth such out-of-band communcatons nks as, for exampe, as a LoW Pn Count ( LPC ) bus, an nter-ntegrated Crcut ( 2C ) bus, a System Management Bus ( SMBus ), a Sera Perphera nterface ( SP ) Bus, a Unversa Sera Bus ( USB ), and so on as W occur to those of sk n the art. n some embodments, for exampe, the management modue (152) s connected to a partcuar bade server through an out-of-band communcatons nk and a baseboard manage ment controer ( BMC ) nstaed n the partcuar bade server or nstaed n the md-pane or back-pane of the bade server chasss (104), Wth the BMC dedcated ndvduay to the partcuar bade server and no others. [0023] A management modue (152) generay s an aggre gaton of computer hardware and software that provdes sup port servces for computng devces, such as bade servers. Support servces provded by the management modue (152) ncude montorng heath of servers ( ), reportng heath statstcs to a system management server, power man

10 Sep. 16,2010 agement and power contro, save and restore con?guratons, dscovery of avaabe computng devces, event og manage ment, memory management, and so on. An exampe of a management modue that can be adapted for use n systems for remotey admnsterng a server accordng to embod ments of the present nventon s BM s Advanced Manage ment Modue ( AMM ). [0024] The management modue (152) n the exampe of FG. 1 s automated computng machnery, a computer, con?gured for remote admnstraton of a server ( ) accordng to embodments of the present nventon. The man agement modue (152) ncudes at east one computer proces sor (156) or CPU as We as random access memory (168) ( RAM ) Whch s connected through a hgh speed memory bus (166) and bus adapter (158) to processor (156) and to other components of the computer (152). [0025] Stored n RAM (168) of the management modue (152) s a server admnstraton modue (128), a modue of computer program nstructons that causes the management modue (152) to remotey admnster a server accordng to embodments of the present nventon by: retrevng, by the management modue (152) from the server (118), the dgta mages (123) representng the server (118) and the dgta mages (124, 126) representng the nstaed components (106, 108); generatng, by the management modue (152) Wth the dgta mages (123) representng the server (118) and the dgta mages (124, 126) representng the nstaed components (106, 108), a graphca representaton (102) of the server (118) Wth the nstaed components (106, 108); and presentng, by the management modue (115) to a user, a system techncan (100), for exampe, through a graphca user nterface ( GU ) (140), the graphca representaton (102) of the server (118) Wth the nstaed components (106, 108). [0026] The exampe management modue (152) of FG. 1 may retreve, from the server (118), the dgta mages (123) representng the server (118) and the dgta mages (124, 126) representng the nstaed components (106, 108) through data communcatons network (101) or an out-of band bus n dependence upon the mpementaton of the data communcatons connecton between the management mod ue and the server. The management modue may carry out such a retreva of the dgta mages (123, 124, 126) n var ous Ways ncudng for exampe: by sendng a request for the mages n a data communcatons message to a modue of?rmware, a modue of computer program nstructons, executng on the server (118); by readng, from non-voate computer memory of the server at a prede?ned memory address, data representng the mages; by recevng the mages n a data communcatons message transmtted by a modue of computer?rmware executng on the server, Wth out request by the management modue; and n other Ways as W occur to readers of sk n the art. Such a retreva may be carred out at varous tmes, ncudng for exampe: upon nstaaton of the server (118) n the bade server chasss (104); perodcay at a prede?ned ntervas of tme; as part of a PoWer On Sef Test ( POST ) procedure carred out by a Basc nput Output Servces ( BOS ) modue of the server (118) When the server s powered-on; dynamcay, durng operaton of the management modue and server upon a detected faut of a component of the server; and at other tmes as may occur to readers of sk n the art. [0027] The management modue n retrevng the dgta mages may ncude addtona nformaton descrbng the server, ts con?guraton, components nstaed n the server, characterstcs of the components, status of the components and so on. Such nformaton may enhance the remote admn straton of the server by provdng a system techncan Wth a detaed descrpton of the varous aspects of the server. Such nformaton may be ncuded n metadata assocated Wth an mage, partcuar pxes of the mage, or n another data struc ture entrey. [0028] The exampe management modue (152) of FG. 1 may generate, Wth the dgta mages (123, 124, 126), a graphca representaton (102) of the server (118) Wth the nstaed components (106, 108) n varous Ways. One such Way of generatng a graphca representaton of the fuy con?gured server ncudes overappng the dgta mages accordng to markers embedded Wthn the mages and meta data descrbng the components, server, and markers. That s, the management modue may overap dfferent mages n dependence upon partcuar correspondng ponts of the df ferent mages, one upon another n accordance Wth the meta data descrbng the markers, and merge the varous ayers nto a snge ayer. Readers of sk n the art W mmedatey recognze that ths s just one Way of generatng a graphca representaton from mutpe mages, rected here for carty of expanaton, not mtaton. n fact, there are many other Ways of generatng such a graphca representaton n depen dence upon the format of the dgta mages themseves, Whether a JPG, BMP, 3D Wreframe mode, vector mage, raster mage and each such Way s We Wthn the scope of the present nventon. [0029] The exampe management modue (152) of FG. 1 may present, through a graphca user nterface ( GU ) (140) to a system techncan (100), the graphca representaton (102) of the server (118) Wth the nstaed components (106, 108) by renderng the graphca representaton on a dspay (180). A GU s a type of user nterface Whch enabes a user to nteract Wth eectronc devces such as computers; hand hed devces such as MP3 Payers, Portabe Meda Payers or Gamng devces, househod appances, and of?ce equp ment. A GU may present graphca cons and vsua ndca tors, n contrast to text-based nterfaces, typed command abes, or text navgaton, to fuy represent the nformaton and actons avaabe to a user. Actons are usuay carred out or ntated drect manpuaton of the graphca eements, through user / O devces, a mouse or keyboard for exampe, controed by a user. [0030] A system techncan (100) mantans server hard Ware, components of the servers, repaces components n the servers When a component fas, mantans other hardware n a bade server chasss and so on. n the pror art, a system techncan receved nformaton descrbng a faut from a management modue drecty or through a cent computer, dent?ed the server con?guraton and dent?ed a fauty com ponent by vsuay nspectng the server, bade server chasss, or the ke. That s, the system techncan Was requred to be physcay present at the ocaton of the server to determne a server s present con?guraton of nstaed components and dentfy and troubeshoot a partcuar faut n a server. Once the fauty component Was dent?ed the system techncan then retreved a repacement component from storage and repaced the fauty component n the server. Such a storage ocaton and the management modue tsef, however, n a arge data center may be ocated at sgn?cant dstance from the server tsef, requrng the system techncan to?rst trave from the management modue to the server, then fro the server

11 Sep. 16, 2010 to the storage ocaton, then from the storage ocaton back to the server. That s, admnstraton of a server n the pror art s not remote but nstead requres a system techncan to be physcay present at the server mutpe tmes. [0031] By contrast the remote admnstraton of the server (118) carred out by the management modue (152) n the exampe of FG. 1, s remote n that a system techncan (100) need not be physcay present Wth a partcuar server to dentfy a fauty component of the server, dentfy the present con?guraton of a partcuar server, and so on. Such remote admnstraton carred out accordng to embod ments of the present nventon may ncude pushng?rmware or software updates to the server va data communcatons over a data communcatons network, remotey restartng a software appcaton or the server tsef, nstang and execut ng a servce appcaton, quarantnng the server hardware or software, and so on. Another Way of remotey admnsterng a server s to send a system techncan to the server Wth the correct component for repacement. nstead of traveng from the management modue or techncan s cent computer to the server to dentfy a faut component, then traveng from the server to a storage ocaton to retreve a repacement component, then traveng back to the server to repace the fauty component Wth the repacement componentthe sys tem techncan traves ony once to the server havng n the techncan s possesson, the correct repacement component. [0032] Aso stored n RAM (168) of the management mod ue s an operatng system (154). Operatng systems usefu for remotey admnsterng a server accordng to embodments of the present nventon ncude UNXTM, LnuxTM, Mcrosoft XPTM, AXTM, BM s S/OSTM, and others as W occur to those of sk n the art. The operatng system (154), server admnstraton modue (128), graphca representaton of the server (102) and GU (140), n the exampe of FG. 1 are shown n RAM (168), but many components of such software typcay are stored n non-voate memory aso, such as, for exampe, on a dsk drve (170), EEPROM, Fash memory (134), and so on. [0033] The management modue (152) of FG. 1 ncudes dsk drve adapter (172) couped through expanson bus (160) and bus adapter (158) to processor (156) and other compo nents of the management modue (152). Dsk drve adapter (172) connects non-voate data storage to the management modue (152) n the form of dsk drve (170). Dsk drve adapters usefu n management modues that remotey admn ster servers accordng to embodments of the present nven ton ncude ntegrated Drve Eectroncs ( DE ) adapters, Sma Computer System nterface ( SCS ) adapters, and oth ers as W occur to those of sk n the art. Non-voate computer memory aso may be mpemented for as an optca dsk drve, eectrcay erasabe programmabe read-ony memory (so-caed EEPROM or Fash memory), RAM drves, and so on, as W occur to those of sk n the art. [0034] The exampe management modue (152) of FG. 1 ncudes one or more nput/output ( / O ) adapters (178). /O adapters mpement user-orented nput/output through, for exampe, software drvers and computer hardware for con trong output to dspay devces such as computer dspay screens, as We as user nput from user nput devces (181) such as keyboards and mce. The exampe management mod ue (152) of FG. 1 ncudes a vdeo adapter (209), Whch s an exampe of an /O adapter specay desgned for graphc output to a dspay devce (180) such as a dspay screen or computer montor. Vdeo adapter (209) s connected to pro cessor (156) through a hgh speed vdeo bus (164), bus adapter (158), and the front sde bus (162), Whch s aso a hgh speed bus. [0035] The exempary management modue (152) of FG. 1 ncudes a communcatons adapter (167) for data commun catons Wth other computers, servers ( ), and for data communcatons Wth a data communcatons networks. Such data communcatons may be carred out seray through RS-232 connectons, through externa buses such as a Un versa Sera Bus ( USB ), through data communcatons net Works such as P data communcatons networks, and n other Ways as W occur to those of sk n the art. Communcatons adapters mpement the hardware eve of data communca tons through Whch one computer sends data communca tons to another computer, drecty or through a data commu ncatons network. Exampes of communcatons adapters usefu for remotey admnsterng a server accordng to embodments of the present nventon ncude modems for Wred da-up communcatons, Ethernet (EEE 802.3) adapt ers for Wred data communcatons network communcatons, and adapters for Wreess data communcatons net Work communcatons. [0036] The arrangement of servers ( ), components ( ), networks (101), management modue (152), and other devces makng up the exempary system ustrated n FG. 1 are for expanaton, not for mtaton. Data processng systems usefu accordng to varous embodments of the present nventon may ncude addtona servers, routers, other devces, and peer-to-peer archtectures, not shown n FG. 1, as W occur to those of sk n the art. NetWorks n such data processng systems may support many data com muncatons protocos, ncudng for exampe TCP (Trans msson Contro Protoco), P (nternet Protoco), HTTP (Hy pertext Transfer Protoco), WAP (Wreess Access Protoco), HDTP (Handhed Devce Transport Protoco), and others as W occur to those of sk n the art. Varous embodments of the present nventon may be mpemented on a varety of hardware patforms n addton to those ustrated n FG. 1. [0037] For further expanaton, FG. 2 sets forth a How chart ustratng an exempary method for remotey admn sterng a server (210) accordng to embodments of the present nventon. n the method of FG. 2, the server (210) ncudes non-voate memory (212) upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (218) representng the server. The server (210) aso ncudes one or more components (214, 216) nstaed n the server Wth each of the nstaed components (214, 216) ncudng non-voate memory (220, 224) n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (222, 226) representng the component. The server (210), smar to the exampe bade serer (118) of FG. 1, s connected for data communcatons to a management modue (152). [0038] The method of FG. 2 ncudes retrevng (202), by the management modue (152) from the server (210), the dgta mages (218) representng the server (210) and the dgta mages (222, 226) representng the nstaed compo nents (214, 216). Retrevng (202) the dgta mages (218, 222, 226) may be carred out through data communcatons network or an out-of-band bus, n varous Ways ncudng for exampe: by sendng a request for the mages n a data com muncatons message to a modue of?rmware, a modue of computer program nstructons, executng on the server (210); by readng, from non-voate computer memory (212) of the server (210) at a prede?ned memory address, data representng the mages; by recevng the mages n a data

12 Sep. 16,2010 communcatons message transmtted by a modue of com puter?rmware executng on the server, Wthout request by the management modue (152); and n other Ways as W occur to readers of sk n the art. Such a retreva may be carred out at varous tmes, ncudng for exampe: upon nstaaton of the server (210) n a server rack; perodcay at a prede?ned ntervas of tme; as part of a PoWer On Sef Test ( POST ) procedure carred out by a Basc nput Output Servces ( BOS ) modue of the server (210) When the server s pow ered-on; dynamcay, durng operaton of the management modue and server upon a detected faut of a component of the server; and at other tmes as may occur to readers of sk n the art. BOS of the server, for exampe, durng POST may form and transmt to the management modue (152) one or more data communcatons messages ncudng as payoad of the messages, mages of components and the server tsef, metadata assocated Wth the mages, and other con?guraton nformaton stored n memory (212, 220, 224) of the server (210) and the components (214, 216), [0039] The method of FG. 2 aso ncudes generatng (204), by the management modue (152) Wth the dgta mages (218) representng the server and the dgta mages (222, 226) representng the nstaed components (214, 216), a graphca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216). Generatng (204) a graph ca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216) may be carred out n varous Ways. One such Way of generatng a graphca representaton of the fuy con?gured server ncudes overappng the dgta mages accordng to markers embedded Wthn the mages and metadata descrbng the components, server, and mark ers. That s, the management modue may overap dfferent mages n dependence upon partcuar correspondng ponts of the dfferent mages, one upon another n accordance Wth the metadata descrbng the markers, and merge the varous ayers nto a snge ayer. Readers of sk n the art W recognze that s just one exempary Way of generatng such a graphca representaton from mutpe dgta mages, descrbed here for expanaton, not mtaton. [0040] The method of FG. 2 aso ncudes presentng (206), by the management modue (152) to a user (100) through a graphca user nterface ( GU ) (140), the graph ca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216). Presentng (206) the graphca rep resentaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed com ponents (214, 216) may be carred out by renderng the graphca representaton on a computer dspay (180) or by attachng the graphca representaton to an ema and sendng the ema to a system techncan (100), or n other Ways as may occur to readers of sk n the art. [0041] For further expanaton, FG. 3 sets forth a How chart ustratng a further exempary method for remotey admnsterng a server (210) accordng to embodments of the present nventon. The method of FG. 3 s smar to the method of FG. 2 n that n the method of FG. 3, the server (210) ncudes non-voate memory (212) upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (218) representng the server, the server (210) ncudes one or more components (214, 216) Wth each of the components (214, 216) ncudng non-voate memory (220, 224) n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (222, 226) representng the component, and the server (210) s connected for data communcatons to a management modue (152). The method of FG. 3 s aso smar to the method of FG. 2 n that the method of FG. 3 aso ncudes the management modue s retrevng (202), the dgta mages (218, 222, 226), generatng (204) a graphca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216), and presentng (206) the graphca representaton (228) to a user (100) through a GU (140). [0042] The method of FG. 3 dffers from the method of FG. 2 however n that n the method of FG. 3 the server (210) s nstaed n a server rack (322) that ncudes non-voate memory (320) n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (312) representng the server rack (322). A server rack s a chasss n Whch many servers and server support devces, referred to here as computng components, may be nstaed. One exampe server rack s ustrated n the system of FG. 1, the bade server chasss (104). [0043] The exampe server rack (322) of FG. 3 ncudes severa computng components (316, 318) nstaed n the server rack (322). Each computng component (316, 318), n a manner smar to the server (210), s connected for data communcatons to the management modue (152) and ncudes non-voate memory (324, 326) n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (308, 310) representng the com putng component (316, 318). [0044] A computng component s any devce, component, aggregaton of hardware or software, or some combnaton thereof, nstaed n a server rack and supportng server opera tons of any type for servers nstaed n the same server rack. Such computng components support server operatons n a varety of manners ncudng by provdng no actua comput ng functons. PoWer suppes, for exampe, support server operatons by provdng power, but typcay no computng functons. Other computng components, however, such as routers, may provde some eve of computng functon n supportng server operatons. The exampe computng com ponents (316, 318) of FG. 3 may be mpemented as add tona servers Wth nstaed components, networkng devces that connect servers nstaed n the server rack for data com muncatons through a data communcatons network, nput/ output ( /O ) devces, and one or more dsk drve devces. Readers of sk n the art W mmedatey recognze that these computng components are but a few exampes of the many dfferent possbe computng components Whch may be nstaed n a server rack con?gured for remote admns traton n accordance Wth embodments of the present nven ton. Other exampe computng components are nstaed n the bade server chasss (104) ustrated n FG. 1 ncudng the router (130 on FG. 1), RAD array (136 on FG. 1), patch pane (134 on FG. 1), and power strp (138 on FG. 1). [0045] n the method of FG. 3, retrevng (202) the dgta mages (218) representng the server (210) and the dgta mages (222, 226) representng the nstaed components (214, 316) ncudes retrevng (302) the dgta mages (308, 310) representng the computng components (316, 318) nstaed n the server rack (322) and the dgta mages (314) representng the server rack (322). Retrevng (302) the dg ta mages (308, 310, 314) may be carred out by retrevng the dgta mages through an out-of-band bus connectng the computng components and server rack to management mod ue for data communcatons. [0046] n the method of FG. 3, generatng (204) a graph ca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216) ncudes generatng (304), Wth the dgta mages (308, 310) representng the computng com ponents (316, 318) nstaed n the server rack (322) and the dgta mages (312) representng the server rack (322), a

13 Sep. 16,2010 graphca representaton (328) of the server rack (322) Wth the nstaed computng components (316, 318). Generatng (304) a graphca representaton (328) of the server rack (322) may be carred out n varous Ways ncudng, for exampe, n the manner descrbed above Wth respect to generatng the graphca representaton of a server, that s, overayng mages one on top of another and mergng the ayers of mages nto a snge graphca representaton. Another Way of generatng a graphca representaton of the server rack (322) may ncude embeddng hypernks at computng component and server ocatons n the graphca representaton of the server rack. Each hypernk may specfy a partcuar mage correspdonng to the computng component or server ocaton of the graph ca representaton of the server rack at Whch the hypernk s embedded. n ths Way, a user a user may nvoke an embedded hypernk n the graphca representaton of the server rack at a component or server ocaton and the mage of the comput ng component or server nstaed n that ocaton W be presented and dspayed. [0047] Generatng (304) a graphca representaton (328) of the server rack (322) n the method of FG. 3 aso ncudes generatng (305) a graphca representaton (330) of a topo ogy of data communcatons connectons among the comput ng components (316, 318) of the server rack (322) as part of the graphca representaton (328) of the server rack (322). A topoogy s the arrangement or mappng of the eements, nks, nodes, endponts, and so on, of a data communcatons network, especay the rea and ogca, that s, vrtua, nter connectons between nodesn ths exampe servers. Gener atng (305) a graphca representaton (330) of a topoogy of data communcatons connectons may be carred out by coor codng endponts, connectng the endponts Wth dffer ent coored nes, embeddng hypernks at each endpont such that upon nvocaton of one hypernk, that s one end pont, another endpont of a presenty connected data com muncatons path s dspayed, hghghted, or otherwse spec?ed. The nformaton descrbng such a topoogy may be retreved from many dfferent sources, such as for exampe, from a patch pane, network swtch, router, communcatons adapters of the servers, operatng systems of the servers, and so on as W occur to readers of sk n the art. [0048] Generatng (304) a graphca representaton (328) of the server rack (322) n the method of FG. 3 aso ncudes generatng (307) the graphca representaton (328) of the server rack (322) Wth status ndcators (332) specfyng a current user of a dsk drve devce nstaed n the server rack (322). A status ndcator (332) s a vsua ndcaton of a current user of a dsk drve devce, such as a optca drves: Compact Dsk ( CD ) ROM drves, Dgta Vdeo Dsk ROM drves, Foppy Dsk drves, and so on. A user as descrbed here Wth respect to the dsk drve devce may be a software appcaton runnng on a partcuar server. n many bade server chasss and server racks, the servers nstaed n the chasss or rack share use of a snge CD ROM drve, and for a system techncan to dentfy the server presenty usng the CD ROM drve, the techncan, n pror art, nspects status ndcators, LEDs, that When t represent a partcuar server by server sot n the chasss or rackled 1 represents the server nstaed n sot 1, LED 2 represents sot 2, and so on for exampe. Wth the graphca representaton of the server rack ncudng a representaton of such status ndcators specfyng the current user of a dsk drve devce, the system techncan need not be present at the server rack to dentfy the current user of the dsk drve devce. [0049] Presentng (206) the graphca representaton (228) to a user (100) through a GU (140) ncudes presentng (206) the graphca representaton (328) of the server rack (322) Wth the nstaed computng components (316, 318). Present ng (206) the graphca representaton (328) of the server rack (322) Wth the nstaed computng components (316, 318) may be carred out by renderng the graphca representaton on the dspay (180) n a GU WndoW for a system techncan (100), attachng the graphca representaton to an ema and sendng the ema to a system techncan, and n other Ways as W occur to readers of sk n the art. [0050] For further expanaton, FG. 4 sets forth a How chart ustratng a further exempary method for remotey admnsterng a server (210) accordng to embodments of the present nventon. The method of FG. 4 s smar to the method of FG. 2 n that n the method of FG. 4, the server (210) ncudes non-voate memory (212) upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (218) representng the server, the server (210) ncudes one or more components (214, 216) Wth each of the components (214, 216) ncudng non-voate memory (220, 224) n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (222, 226) representng the component, and the server (210) s connected for data communcatons to a management modue (152). The method of FG. 4 s aso smar to the method of FG. 2 n that the method of FG. 4 aso ncudes the management modue s retrevng (202), the dgta mages (218, 222, 226), generatng (204) a graphca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216), and presentng (206) the graphca representaton (228) to a user (100) through a GU (140). [0051] The method of FG. 4 dffers from the method of FG. 2, however, n that the method of FG. 4 aso ncudes detectng (402), by the management modue (152), a faut (403) n at east one component nstaed n the server (210). Detectng (402) a faut (403) n at east one component nstaed n the server (210) may be carred out n varous Ways ncudng, for exampe, by recevng a faut not?caton from the server through an out-of-band bus, dentfyng a faure n prmary, n-band data communcatons, and n other Ways as W occur to readers of sk n the art. [0052] n the method of FG. 4, generatng (204) a graph ca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216) ncudes generatng (404) the graph ca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth a hypernk (405) embedded n the graphca representaton Where the hypernk (405) spec?es a ocaton n a faut og?e (408) that ncudes nformaton (410) descrbng the detected faut (403). A faut og?e s a?e that ncudes nformaton descrbng fauts detected n components of servers. The management modue, a system management server, the server tsef a may mantan separate faut ogs. n pror art, a system techncan Woud have to search through each faut og to dentfy the porton of the faut descrbng a current faut. mbeddng a hypernk n the graphca representaton of the server accordng to embodments of the present nven ton enabes a system techncan to qucky ocate the porton of the faut ogs n Whch the current faut s descrbed. [0053] Generatng (404) the graphca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth a hypernk (405) embedded n the graphca representaton may be carred out Wth an mage map, a st of coordnates reatng to a dgta mage, created n order to hypernk areas of the mage to varous destnatons, n contrast to a typca mage nk, n Whch the entre area of the mage nks to a snge destnaton. The ntenton of an

14 Sep. 16,2010 mage map s to provde a Way of nkng varous parts of an mage Wthout dvdng the mage nto separate mage?es. The detected faut (403), that s the data representng the faut, may dentfy the fauty component by component D, MAC address, P address, or some other unque or sem-unque dent?er. The management modue may use such an dent?er to form a hypernk to a og?e n Whch the dent?er s an ndex nto nformaton descrbng the faut and the fauty component. Ths s but one Way among many to embed a hypernk n the graphca representaton of the server descrbed here for expanaton not mtaton. [0054] The hypernk may be embedded n the graphca representaton such that a system techncan s presented Wth the faut og upon nvokng the hypernk Wth a mouse, a user nput devce. The hypernk may be embedded n varous portons of the mage, such as for exampe, n the graphca representaton of the fauty component, n a status ndcator specfyng a fauty component, and so on. That s, to retreve a faut og ncudng nformaton descrbng the present faut, the system techncan need ony nvoke a mouse cck When the mouse ponter s ocated over the fauty component or ocated over the status ndcator specfyng the fauty compo nent. [0055] For further expanaton, FG. 5 sets forth a How chart ustratng a further exempary method for remotey admnsterng a server (210) accordng to embodments of the present nventon. The method of FG. 5 s smar to the method of FG. 2 n that n the method of FG. 5, the server (210) ncudes non-voate memory (212) upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (218) representng the server, the server (210) ncudes one or more components (214, 216) Wth each of the components (214, 216) ncudng non-voate memory (220, 224) n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (222, 226) representng the component, and the server (210) s connected for data communcatons to a management modue (152). The method of FG. 5 s aso smar to the method of FG. 2 n that the method of FG. 5 aso ncudes the management modue s retrevng (202), the dgta mages (218, 222, 226), generatng (204) a graphca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216), and presentng (206) the graphca representaton (228) to a user (100) through a GU (140). The method of FG. 5 s aso smar to method of FG. 4, ncud ng as t does detectng (402), by the management modue (152), a faut (403) n at east one component (214, 216) nstaed n the server (210). [0056] The method of FG. 5 dffers from the methods of FG. 2 and FG. 4, however, n that n the method of FG. 5 generatng (204) a graphca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216) ncudes generatng (502) the graphca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth one or more status ndcators (504) specfyng the at east one component n Whch the manage ment modue detected the faut. Generatng (502) the graph ca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth one or more status ndcators (504) specfyng the at east one component n Whch the management modue detected the faut may be carred out by repacng on or more dgta mages n the graphca representaton Wth dgta mages ncudng the status ndcators, modfyng coors of one or more pxes of the graphca representaton correspondng to a status ndca tor, or n other Ways as W occur to readers of sk n the art. Such status ndcators may be graphcay represented as LED ndcators, or as text dspaced upon the graphca represen tatons, and n other Ways as W occur to readers of sk n the art. [0057] For further expanaton, FG. 6 sets forth a How chart ustratng a further exempary method for remotey admnsterng a server (210) accordng to embodments of the present nventon. The method of FG. 6 s smar to the method of FG. 2 n that n the method of FG. 6, the server (210) ncudes non-voate memory (212) upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (218) representng the server, the server (210) ncudes one or more components (214, 216) Wth each of the components (214, 216) ncudng non-voate memory (220, 224) n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages (222, 226) representng the component, and the server (210) s connected for data communcatons to a management modue (152). The method of FG. 6 s aso smar to the method of FG. 2 n that the method of FG. 6 aso ncudes the management modue s retrevng (202), the dgta mages (218, 222, 226), generatng (204) a graphca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components (214, 216), and presentng (206) the graphca representaton (228) to a user (100) through a GU (140). The method of FG. 6 s aso smar to method of FG. 4, ncud ng as t does detectng (402), by the management modue (152), a faut (403) n at east one component (214, 216) nstaed n the server (210). [0058] The method of FG. 6 dffers from the method of FG. 2, however, n that the method of FG. 6 ncudes detect ng (602), by the management modue (152), a change (601) n the nstaed components (214, 216) n the server (210) and updatng (604), by the management modue (152), the graph ca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components to re?ect the detected change (601). [0059] Detectng (602), by the management modue (152), a change (601) n the nstaed components (214, 216) n the server (210) may be carred out n varous Ways ncudng, for exampe, by: recevng through an out-of-band data commu ncatons bus, a change not?caton from the server upon nstaaton or remova of a component; dentfyng the change upon an automatc perodc pong of the servers n a server rack; or by dentfyng the change upon request by a system techncan to po currenty nstaed servers for con?guraton changes; and so on. [0060] Updatng (604) the graphca representaton (228) of the server (210) Wth the nstaed components to re?ect the detected change (601) may be carred out n dependence upon the change: f the change of the nstaed components of the server ncudes an addton of a component n the server, then the management modue may retreve addtona dgta mages from the newy nstaed component, overay the pres enty retreved addtona dgta mages on the graphca rep resentaton, that s, re-generate the graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components; f the change of the nstaed components of the server ncudes remova of a partcuar component, then the management modue may re generate the graphca representaton Wthout the dgta mages representng that partcuar component, now removed from the server. [0061] Exempary embodments of the present nventon are descrbed argey n the context of a fuy functona computer system for remotey admnsterng a server. Read ers of sk n the art W recognze, however, that the present nventon aso may be emboded n a computer program prod uct dsposed on sgna bearng meda for use Wth any sutabe

15 Sep. 16, 2010 data processng system. Such sgna bearng meda may be transmsson meda or recordabe meda for machne-read abe nformaton, ncudng magnetc meda, optca meda, or other sutabe meda. Exampes of recordabe meda ncude magnetc dsks n hard drves or dskettes, compact dsks for optca drves, magnetc tape, and others as W occur to those of sk n the art. Exampes of transmsson meda ncude teephone networks for voce communcatons and dgta data communcatons networks such as, for exampe, EthemetsTM and networks that communcate Wth the ntemet Protoco and the Word Wde Web as We as Wreess transmsson meda such as, for exampe, networks mpemented accordng to the EEE famy of spec?catons. Persons sked n the art W mmedatey recog nze that any computer system havng sutabe programmng means W be capabe of executng the steps of the method of the nventon as emboded n a program product. Persons sked n the art W recognze mmedatey that, athough some of the exempary embodments descrbed n ths spec?caton are orented to software nstaed and executng on computer hardware, nevertheess, aternatve embodments mpemented as?rmware or as hardware are We Wthn the scope of the present nventon. [0062] t W be understood from the foregong descrpton that mod?catons and changes may be made n varous embodments of the present nventon Wthout departng from ts true sprt. The descrptons n ths spec?caton are for purposes of ustraton ony and are not to be construed n a mtng sense. The scope of the present nventon s mted ony by the anguage of the foowng cams. What s camed s: 1. A method of remotey admnsterng a server, the server comprsng non-voate memory upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the server, the server further comprsng one or more components nstaed n the server Wth each component comprsng non-voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the component, the server connected for data communcatons to a management modue, the method com prsng: retrevng, by the management modue from the server, the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components; generatng, by the management modue Wth the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components, a graphca rep resentaton of the server Wth the nstaed components; and presentng, by the management modue to a user through a graphca user nterface ( GU ), the graphca represen taton of the server Wth the nstaed components. 2. The method of cam 1 Wheren: the server s nstaed n a server rack that ncudes non voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the server rack, the server rack comprsng computng components nstaed n the server rack, the computng components connected for data communcatons to the management modue, each of the computng components comprsng non-voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the computng component, the computng components further comprsng addtona servers Wth nstaed components, networkng devces that connect servers nstaed n the server rack for data communca tons through a data communcatons network, nput/ output ( /O ) devces, and one or more dsk drve devces; retrevng the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components further comprses retrevng the dgta mages repre sentng the computng components nstaed n the server rack and the dgta mages representng the server rack; generatng a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses generatng, Wth the dgta mages representng the computng compo nents nstaed n the server rack and the dgta mages representng the server rack, a graphca representaton of the server rack Wth the nstaed computng compo nents; and presentng the graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses presentng the graphca representaton of the server rack Wth the nstaed computng components. 3. The method of cam 2 Wheren generatng the graphca representaton of the server rack further comprses generatng a graphca representaton of a topoogy of data communca tons connectons among the computng components of the server rack as part of the graphca representaton of the server rack. 4. The method of cam 2 Wheren generatng the graphca representaton of the server rack further comprses generatng the graphca representaton of the server rack Wth status ndcators specfyng a current user of a dsk drve devce nstaed n the server rack. 5. The method of cam 1 Wheren: the method further comprses detectng, by the manage ment modue, a faut n at east one component nstaed n the server; and generatng a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses generatng the graphca representaton of the server Wth a hypernk embedded n the graphca representaton, the hypernk specfyng a ocaton n a faut og?e that ncudes nformaton descrbng the detected faut. 6. The method of cam 1 Wheren: the method further comprses detectng, by the manage ment modue, a faut n at east one component nstaed n the server; and generatng a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses generatng the graphca representaton of the server Wth one or more status ndcators specfyng the at east one component n Whch the management modue detected the faut. 7. The method of cam 1 further comprsng: detectng, by the management modue, a change n the nstaed components n the server; and updatng, by the management modue, the graphca rep resentaton of the server Wth the nstaed components to re?ect the detected change. 8. An apparatus for remotey admnsterng a server, the server comprsng non-voate memory upon Whch s ds posed one or more dgta mages representng the server, the server further comprsng one or more components nstaed n the server Wth each component comprsng non-voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the component, the server connected for data communcatons to a management modue, the apparatus

16 Sep. 16,2010 comprsng a computer processor, a computer memory opera tvey couped to the computer processor, the computer memory havng dsposed Wthn t computer program nstruc tons capabe of: retrevng, by the management modue from the server, the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components; generatng, by the management modue Wth the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components, a graphca rep resentaton of the server Wth the nstaed components; and presentng, by the management modue to a user through a graphca user nterface ( GU ), the graphca represen taton of the server Wth the nstaed components. 9. The apparatus of cam 8 Wheren: the server s nstaed n a server rack that ncudes non voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the server rack, the server rack comprsng computng components nstaed n the server rack, the computng components connected for data communcatons to the management modue, each of the computng components comprsng non-voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the computng component, the computng components further comprsng addtona servers Wth nstaed components, networkng devces that connect servers nstaed n the server rack for data communca tons through a data communcatons network, nput/ output ( / O ) devces, and one or more dsk drve devces; retrevng the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components further comprses retrevng the dgta mages repre sentng the computng components nstaed n the server rack and the dgta mages representng the server rack; generatng a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses generatng, Wth the dgta mages representng the computng compo nents nstaed n the server rack and the dgta mages representng the server rack, a graphca representaton of the server rack Wth the nstaed computng compo nents; and presentng the graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses presentng the graphca representaton of the server rack Wth the nstaed computng components. 10. The apparatus of cam 9 Wheren generatng the graphca representaton of the server rack further comprses generatng a graphca representaton of a topoogy of data communcatons connectons among the computng compo nents of the server rack as part of the graphca representaton of the server rack. 11. The apparatus of cam 9 Wheren generatng the graphca representaton of the server rack further comprses generatng the graphca representaton of the server rack Wth status ndcators specfyng a current user of a dsk drve devce nstaed n the server rack. 12. The apparatus of cam 8 Wheren: the apparatus further comprses computer program nstruc tons capabe of detectng, by the management modue, a faut n at east one component nstaed n the server; and generatng a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses generatng the graphca representaton of the server Wth a hypernk embedded n the graphca representaton, the hypernk specfyng a ocaton n a faut og?e that ncudes nformaton descrbng the detected faut. 13. The apparatus of cam 8 Wheren: the apparatus further comprses computer program nstruc tons capabe of detectng, by the management modue, a faut n at east one component nstaed n the server; and generatng a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses generatng the graphca representaton of the server Wth one or more status ndcators specfyng the at east one component n Whch the management modue detected the faut. 14. The apparatus of cam 8 further comprsng computer program nstructons capabe of: detectng, by the management modue, a change n the nstaed components n the server; and updatng, by the management modue, the graphca rep resentaton of the server Wth the nstaed components to re?ect the detected change. 15. A computer program product for remotey admnster ng a server, the server comprsng non-voate memory upon Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the server, the server further comprsng one or more components nstaed n the server Wth each component comprsng non voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the component, the server connected for data communcatons to a management modue, the computer program product dsposed n a computer readabe recordng medum, the computer program product comprsng com puter program nstructons capabe of: retrevng, by the management modue from the server, the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components; generatng, by the management modue Wth the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components, a graphca rep resentaton of the server Wth the nstaed components; and presentng, by the management modue to a user through a graphca user nterface ( GU ), the graphca represen taton of the server Wth the nstaed components. 16. The computer program product of cam 15 Wheren: the server s nstaed n a server rack that ncudes non voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the server rack, the server rack comprsng computng components nstaed n the server rack, the computng components connected for data communcatons to the management modue, each of the computng components comprsng non-voate memory n Whch s dsposed one or more dgta mages representng the computng component, the computng components further comprsng addtona servers Wth nstaed components, networkng devces that connect servers nstaed n the server rack for data communca tons through a data communcatons network, nput/ output ( /O ) devces, and one or more dsk drve devces; retrevng the dgta mages representng the server and the dgta mages representng the nstaed components further comprses retrevng the dgta mages repre

17 10 Sep. 16,2010 sentng the computng components nstaed n the server rack and the dgta mages representng the server rack; generatng a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses generatng, Wth the dgta mages representng the computng compo nents nstaed n the server rack and the dgta mages representng the server rack, a graphca representaton of the server rack Wth the nstaed computng compo nents; and presentng the graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses presentng the graphca representaton of the server rack Wth the nstaed computng components. 17. The computer program product of cam 16 Wheren generatng the graphca representaton of the server rack further comprses generatng a graphca representaton of a topoogy of data communcatons connectons among the computng components of the server rack as part of the graphca representaton of the server rack. 18. The computer program product of cam 16 Wheren generatng the graphca representaton of the server rack further comprses generatng the graphca representaton of the server rack Wth status ndcators specfyng a current user of a dsk drve devce nstaed n the server rack. 19. The computer program product of cam 15 Wheren: the computer program product further comprses computer program nstructons capabe of detectng, by the man agement modue, a faut n at east one component nstaed n the server; and generatng a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses generatng the graphca representaton of the server Wth a hypernk embedded n the graphca representaton, the hypernk specfyng a ocaton n a faut og?e that ncudes nformaton descrbng the detected faut. 20. The computer program product of cam 15 Wheren: the computer program product further comprses computer program nstructons capabe of detectng, by the man agement modue, a faut n at east one component nstaed n the server; and generatng a graphca representaton of the server Wth the nstaed components further comprses generatng the graphca representaton of the server Wth one or more status ndcators specfyng the at east one component n Whch the management modue detected the faut. * * * * *