Remotely identifying software on remote network nodes by discovering attributes of software files and comparing software file attributes to a unique signature from an audit table

摘要

Techniques are described for remotely identifying software and software that has been updated due to service patches using maintained audit tables. A system management tool (SMT) identifies software installed on each network node by comparing at a the name and size of installed files to a software audit table. The file name and file size are used as identification markers, and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value for a software file, translation key, and version number are used as refined identification markers. A system management tool (SMT) performs an inventory scan of the software on each network node and obtains a list of each file and the corresponding file size. The software audit file provides identifying information, such as the file name and corresponding size, for each known file. Known files can be quickly identified using a match criteria based, for example, on the file name and size. An inventory scan refinement process is also used to further identify software files, including those files that may have been modified due to software patches and may not be discovered by the first level of identifying information.