Network management agent with user created objects

Claim 1

A process of adding user defined software objects to agent means and of invoking user defined objects in a computer network having network management software, said network having at least one managed node (104, 108), said managed node having an agent means (106, 110, 200), running as background software, for providing management information and management control for said managed node; the process comprising the following steps: defining at least one object identification in a configuration text file (208) in a particular agent by entering a user defined object identifier (302, 306), an object type (312), and a directory path (308, 314) for an associated executable program; reading said configuration file by said particular agent when said particular agent is started (402); incorporating information from said configuration file into a management information base within said particular agent (404, 406); characterised by re-reading said configuration file and re-incorporating information from said configuration file into said management information base when a reconfigure command is received; sending a network management command and said object identification and a first data parameter, if said object type requires data, from a user to said particular agent; receiving said network management command and said object identification and said first data parameter by said particular agent; finding said object identification, by said particular agent, in said management information base; initiating said associated executable program and sending said first data parameter to said associated executable program by said particular agent; returning a second data parameter from said executable program by said particular agent to said user if said object type requires returned data.

Claim 10

A method of extending the set of executable functions of a running agent in a computer network system comprising a managing computer (102) and at least one managed computer (104, 108), the managing computer and the managed computer connected by a network, the managed computer including an executable program and an agent (106, 110, 200), capable of receiving information from the managing computer, running as background software, the agent, while running, having a set of executable functions defined by a collection of management objects (202, 204) forming a management information base; the method comprising the following steps: a. defining a new management object (206) in a text file (208) in the managing computer, the new management object associated with the executable program, the text file including at least one object identification (302-306) and a directory path for the executable program (308); b, sending the text file, over the network, from the managing computer to the managed computer; c. sending a reconfigure command, over the network, from the managing computer to the agent; d. receiving the reconfigure command by the agent; e. appending the text file, by the running agent, to the collection of management objects in the running agent, in response to the reconfigure command; and f. interpreting the new management object defined by the text file as an executable function, thereby extending the set of executable functions of the running agent.