Method and system for anomaly detection and presentation

#Embodiments according to the present invention generally relate to computer systems, in particular to systems that have a plurality of files that are administered across a plurality of computers.

#Organizations use large numbers of computers that are typically grouped together according to their main usage. For example, servers may be grouped according to clusters, business units, or other designations. System administrators maintain the grouped computers. One of the goals of the system administrators is to ensure that the computers within a group have similarly installed packages and patches.

#One method of doing installations across large numbers of computers and/or large numbers of groups is to use automated tools. The automated tools help to maintain uniformity within groups. Thus, the packages that are installed are identical on all computers within a group.

#Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements.

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary network architecture that can serve as a platform for embodiments of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a computer system suitable for implementing embodiments of the present invention.

#Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments in accordance with the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with these embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of embodiments of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments of the present invention.

#Some portions of the detailed descriptions, which follow, are presented in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. A procedure, computer-executed step, logic block, process, etc., is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps or instructions leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

#It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present invention, discussions utilizing terms such as “encoding,” “decoding,” “receiving,” “sending,” “using,” “applying,” “calculating,” “incrementing,” “comparing,” “selecting,” “summing,” “weighting,” “computing,” “accessing” or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.