Weighted determination in configuration management systems

A computer program product for resolving conflicting details in configuration reports comprising:

• one or more computer readable memory devices suitable for encoding software programs;
• and
• one or more computer instructions encoded by the one or more computer readable memory devices for causing a processor to:
• receive a plurality of configuration reports, the configuration reports reflecting configuration states or configuration state changes about a single configurable item, the configurable item having a plurality of reported configurable elements, the configuration reports being received from a plurality of different sources and being of unknown correctness regarding actual states of said single configurable item and its one or more installed elements;
• assign a weight value to each reported single configurable element which conflicts with another reported single configurable element in the configuration reports using one or more computer-based weighting rules, wherein the rules comprise a determination of a likelihood of correctness of each conflicting reported element actually being present and enabled in the configurable item, and wherein the conflict comprises at least one element detail selected from the group consisting of revision level, version level, patch level, capacity, license status, age, percentage of capacity used, percentage of capacity unused, installation date, and removal date, and excluding operational fault status;
• resolve each conflict by selecting only one of each of the conflicting elements having greater assigned likelihood of correctness weight values and preferences;
• and
• create a new configuration report for the selected single configurable item by producing a report containing only the single selected configurable elements having the greater likelihood of being present and enabled in the configurable item, and omitting non-selected configurable elements.

A system for resolving conflicting details in configuration reports comprising:

• a computing platform having a processor;
• a receiver portion of the computing platform for receiving a plurality of configuration reports, the received reports reflecting configuration states or configuration state changes about a single configurable item, the configurable item having a plurality of reported configurable elements, the configuration reports being received from a plurality of different sources and being of unknown correctness regarding actual states of the single configurable and its one or more installed configurable elements;
• a weight assigner portion of the computing platform for assigning a weight value to each reported single configurable element which conflicts with another reported single configurable element in the received configuration using one or more computer-based weighting rules, wherein the rules comprise a determination of a likelihood of correctness of each conflicting reported element actually being present and enabled in the configurable item, and wherein the conflict comprises at least one element detail selected from the group consisting of revision level, version level, patch level, capacity, license status, age, percentage of capacity used, percentage of capacity unused, installation date, and removal date, and excluding operational fault status;
• a resolver portion of the computing system for resolving each conflict by selecting only one of each of the conflicting elements having greater assigned likelihood of correctness weight values and preferences;
• and
• a report creator portion of the computing platform for creating a new configuration report for the selected single configurable item by producing a report containing only the selected configurable elements having the greater likelihood of being present and enabled in the configurable item and omitting non-selected configurable elements.