Dynamic test update in a remote computer monitoring system

A method of monitoring a first computer system from a second computer system, the first computer system including a plurality of monitored computers linked together by a network, comprising:

• executing diagnostics programs on the monitored computers to generate diagnostic results, the diagnostic results including an indication of currently installed components on each of the monitored computers;
• communicating the diagnostic results, including the indication of currently installed components to the second computer system, at a programmable periodic interval;
• comparing, in the second computer system, the indication of currently installed components on each of the monitored computers with a previously received indication of installed components, to determine if a different component configuration exists on any of the monitored computers;
• providing a notification indication if the different component configuration exists;
• and
• in response to the notification indication of the new component, searching a product database in the second computer system containing existing diagnostic tests for a preexisting diagnostic test for the new component, and sending the preexisting diagnostic test to at least one of the monitored computers if the product database contains the preexisting diagnostic test.

A method of monitoring a first computer system from a second computer system, comprising:

• executing a plurality of diagnostic tests in the first computer system to generate diagnostic test results, the diagnostic tests on the first computer system being programmably scheduled;
• receiving the diagnostic test results of the first computer system at the second computer system, at periodic intervals;
• comparing in the second computer system, the diagnostic test results with previously received diagnostic results, to determine if a component configuration in the first computer system has changed;
• providing a notification indication if the component configuration has changed;
• in response to the notification indication, providing a new diagnostic test when the changed component configuration indicates a new component exists, the new diagnostic test being provided to the first computer system from the second computer system;
• receiving at the first computer system, the new diagnostic test and indicating information of which of selected computers in the first computer system require the new test;
• and
• providing the new test to selected computers according to the indicating information.

A remote monitoring computer system comprising:

• a monitoring computer system communicatively coupled to receive diagnostic test results from a plurality of monitored computers at programmable periodic intervals;
• storage media in the monitoring computer system storing the diagnostic information communicated from the monitored computers over multiple ones of the programmable periodic intervals in a data base to provide a history of the diagnostic information;
• a comparison program stored on computer readable media in the monitoring computer system operable to compare portions of the diagnostic test results indicating currently installed components with previous portions of test results indicating installed components, stored in the data base, and to generate a notification thereof, thereby providing an indication of a change of components in the monitored computers;
• and
• a new diagnostic test program stored on computer readable media in the monitoring computer system, the monitoring computer system operable to provide the new diagnostic program to at least one of the monitored computers in response to the indication of a change of components indicating a new component.