# US 2014/0157040 A1 · Identifying software responsible for changes in system stability > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0157040 A1 - Document ID: US20140157040A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/709,317 - Filed: 2012-12-10 - Published: 2014-06-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-11-30 - Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation - Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation - Inventors: Albert D. Bennah; Adrian X. Rodriguez; Eric Woods - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140157040A1 ## CPC - G06F 11/0793: {Remedial or corrective actions (recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40)} - G06F 11/0706: {the processing taking place on a specific hardware platform or in a specific software environment} - G06F 11/0751: {Error or fault detection not based on redundancy (power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06)} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A computer-implemented method detects a stability change in a computer system, and identifies a first set of at least one capability of the computer system that is affected by the stability change. In response to detecting the stability change, the method identifies a software application that was installed prior to the stability change, and identifies a second set of at least one capability of the computer system that is utilized by the identified software application. The method compares the first and second capability sets to determine a degree of similarity, and compares the time that the stability change was detected to the time that the identified software application was installed to determine a temporal proximity. The method then identifies the likelihood that the identified software application is the cause of the stability change, wherein the identified likelihood is a function of the degree of similarity and the temporal proximity. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method, comprising: detecting a stability change in a computer system; identifying a first set of at least one capability of the computer system that is affected by the stability change; identifying, in response to detecting the stability change, a software application that was installed or updated to the computer system prior to the stability change; identifying a second set of at least one capability of the computer system that is utilized by the identified software application; comparing the first set of at least one capability to the second set of at least one capability to determine a degree of similarity; comparing a first time that the stability change was detected to a second time that the identified software application was installed or updated to determine a temporal proximity; and identifying the likelihood that the identified software application is the cause of the stability change, wherein the identified likelihood is a function of the degree of similarity and the temporal proximity. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computer system includes a management node and a plurality of servers in communication with the management node. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first set of at least one capability and the second set of at least one capability include one or more capability independently selected from CPU utilization, memory utilization, and network connectivity. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identified software application is an update to a driver or firmware. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identified software application is an updated version of a previously installed software application. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identified software application includes a driver for a hard disk drive, a network interface, or an input/output port. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: informing other computer systems that the identified software application may cause a stability change. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: preparing a list of software applications including the name of the identified software application and the likelihood that the identified software application is the cause of the stability change. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the list of software applications includes software applications likely to increase stability and software applications likely to increase instability. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the stability change is an increase in an amount of stability. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the stability change is an increase in an amount of instability. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising: the computer system removing the identified software application. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising: the computer system installing an updated version of the identified software application. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the step of detecting a stability change in a computer system includes detecting that the CPU utilization is greater than a predetermined CPU utilization threshold, detecting that network utilization is less than a predetermined network utilization threshold, or detecting that memory utilization is less than a predetermined memory utilization threshold. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: informing at least one other computer system of the likelihood that the identified software application is the cause of the stability change. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising preparing a list of software applications having greater than a predetermined likelihood as being the cause of instability in the computer system, and providing the list to at least one other computer system. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising: the other computer system, in response to receiving the list, avoiding installation of any of the software applications on the list. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising preparing a list of software applications having greater than a predetermined likelihood as being the cause of stability in the computer system, and providing the list to at least one other computer system. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The computer-implemented method of claim 18, further comprising: the other computer system, in response to receiving the list, installing one or more of the software applications on the list. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the other computer system installs one of the software applications on the list that is an update of a software application already installed on the other computer system.