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Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. oftentimes provide support plans or warranties that cover hardware part replacement including field replaceable units (i.e., hardware parts that can be replaced at the customer's location) of customers' devices (e.g., desktops, laptops, etc.). In such cases, if a field replaceable unit (e.g., a fan, storage drive, memory module, etc.) on a customer's device malfunctions, the customer can request replacement of the malfunctioning field replaceable unit.
In some cases, the OEM may ship a new field replaceable unit to the customer to allow the customer to perform the replacement. In other cases, the OEM may send a technician to the customer's premises to perform the replacement. In any case, a faulty field replaceable unit can typically be verified only after it has been replaced such as when the faulty field replaceable unit is returned to the OEM, whether by the customer or the technician. Because of this, customers can submit false claims for replacement of a field replaceable unit.
For example, a customer could replace the original field replaceable unit that would be covered by a support plan or warranty with a field replaceable unit that should not be covered, whether innocently or dishonestly, and then request replacement, whether directly or as a result of reporting crashes or errors. In such a case, the OEM may replace the field replaceable unit that should not be covered because it has no way of verifying the field replaceable unit until after it is returned.
The present invention extends to systems, methods and computer program products for verifying a field replaceable unit before replacement. An integrity plugin on a customer device can be configured to compute a hash of each field replaceable unit on the customer device. The integrity plugin can share these hashes with an integrity service which can use the hashes to generate an integrity status of the field replaceable units. The integrity service can maintain the integrity status of the field replaceable units in an integrity database. When the customer requests replacement of a field replaceable unit, a technician device can interface with the integrity plugin to obtain a computed hash of the field replaceable unit. The integrity status for the field replaceable unit can then be used to evaluate the computed hash to thereby verify the integrity of the field replaceable unit. If the verification fails, the technician can forego replacing the field replaceable unit under a support or warranty plan.
In some embodiments, the present invention may be implemented as a method for verifying a field replaceable unit before replacement. A hash of a field replaceable unit can be calculated at a customer device. A scannable code can be generated from the hash of the field replaceable unit. The scannable code can be displayed on the customer device. In response to a technician scanning the scannable code on the customer device, a field replaceable unit integrity request can be sent to an integrity service. The field replaceable unit integrity request can include the hash of the field replaceable unit. In response to receiving the field replaceable unit integrity request, an integrity status of the field replaceable unit can be determined.
In some embodiments, the present invention may be implemented as computer storage media storing computer executable instructions which when executed implement a method for verifying a field replaceable unit before replacement. A scannable code that includes a hash calculated for a field replaceable unit installed on a customer device can be displayed on the customer device. In response to the scannable code being scanned, the hash calculated for the field replaceable unit can be sent to an integrity service. The hash calculated for the field replaceable unit can be compared to one or more known hashes associated with the customer device. When the hash calculated for the field replaceable unit matches the one or more known hashes associated with the customer device, a technician can be notified to replace the field replaceable unit.
In some embodiments, the present invention may be implemented as a system that includes a customer device having field replaceable units and an agent that includes an agent user interface and an integrity plugin, and a management solution that includes an integrity service and an integrity database. The integrity plugin can be configured to calculate hashes for the field replaceable units and to present scannable codes for the calculated hashes. The integrity service can be configured to receive the calculated hashes and compare the calculated hashes to known hashes for field replaceable units associated with the customer device and to provide integrity status based on the comparison.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Customer device 100 can represent any computing device that includes one or more field replaceable units. For example, customer device 100 could be a server, a desktop, a laptop, a thin client, a smart phone, another smart device, etc. Customer device 100 can include an agent 110 that includes an agent user interface 111 and an integrity plugin 112. Although not shown, agent 110 could also include a device management component (e.g., to allow customer device 100 to be managed by an administrator), a trusted device component (e.g., to allow a trust score for customer device 100 to be calculated for management purposes), and/or other components.
Management solution 200 can represent any arrangement of server computing components. For example, management solution 200 could be implemented in a public or private cloud or on a standalone server computing device. Management solution 200 can include an integrity service 210 and an integrity database 220. Although not shown, management solution 200 can include or be integrated with various other components such as an IT support system (e.g., support.dell.com), a management system (e.g., OneIT, TechDirect, Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, etc.), and/or other end point management or backend services.
Technician device 300 can represent a computing device used by a technician to verify a field replaceable unit of customer device 100. As described in detail below, in some cases, a technician could be located remotely from customer device 100 (e.g., the technician could be a support agent that handles a customer's support or warranty requests) and could determine that a replacement field replaceable unit should be sent to the customer, while in other cases, a technician could visit the customer's premises to perform the replacement. In cases where the technician visits the customer's premises, technician device 300 would typically be a mobile computing device such as a tablet or smart phone and may include a mobile or web application for performing the functionality described herein.
As an overview, integrity plugin 112 can be configured to compute a hash of each field replaceable unit on customer device 100. Integrity plugin 112 can share these hashes with integrity service 210 which can use the hashes to generate an integrity status of the field replaceable units. Integrity service 210 can maintain the integrity status of the field replaceable units in integrity database 220. When the customer requests replacement of a field replaceable unit, technician device 300 can interface with integrity plugin 112, such as via integrity service 210 or agent user interface 111, to obtain a computed hash of the field replaceable unit. The integrity status for the field replaceable unit can then be used to evaluate the computed hash to thereby verify the integrity of the field replaceable unit. If the verification fails, the technician can forego replacing the field replaceable unit under a support or warranty plan.
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In step 2a, which may be performed at a subsequent time such as when customer device 100 is first booted by the customer, when a new FRU is installed, and/or periodically, integrity plugin 112 can identify each field replaceable unit 130 that is currently present on customer device 100 and can compute a hash for each field replaceable unit 130. In step 2b, integrity plugin 112 can send a field replaceable unit report to integrity service 210. This field replaceable unit report can identify customer device 100 (e.g., by providing a device ID which is assumed to be DID1) and can include the computed hash for each field replaceable unit 130 (e.g., Hash1 for FRU 130-1, Hash2 for FRU 130-2, . . . Hashn for FRU 130-n). Also, as suggested above, in some embodiments, each computed hash could be associated with the type of the field replaceable unit.
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In some embodiments, the field replaceable unit integrity request could identify the type of field replaceable unit to be replaced and integrity service 210 may retrieve known hash(es) for only that type of field replaceable unit from integrity database 220. Also, in some embodiments, integrity service 210 could locate a stored integrity status report for customer device 100 and use it to determine whether the calculated hash matches a known hash.
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In summary, embodiments of the present invention provide a mechanism for a technician to verify a field replacement unit before replacing it. As a result, an OEM or other provider can minimize improper support or warranty claims including the associated costs.
Embodiments of the present invention may comprise or utilize special purpose or general-purpose computers including computer hardware, such as, for example, one or more processors and system memory. Embodiments within the scope of the present invention also include physical and other computer-readable media for carrying or storing computer-executable instructions and/or data structures. Such computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer system.
Computer-readable media are categorized into two disjoint categories: computer storage media and transmission media. Computer storage media (devices) include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, solid state drives (“SSDs”) (e.g., based on RAM), Flash memory, phase-change memory (“PCM”), other types of memory, other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other similar storage medium which can be used to store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. Transmission media include signals and carrier waves. Because computer storage media and transmission media are disjoint categories, computer storage media does not include signals or carrier waves.
Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which, when executed by a processor, cause a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language or P-Code, or even source code.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computer system configurations, including, personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, message processors, hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, mobile telephones, PDAs, tablets, smart watches, pagers, routers, switches, and the like.
The invention may also be practiced in distributed system environments where local and remote computer systems, which are linked (either by hardwired data links, wireless data links, or by a combination of hardwired and wireless data links) through a network, both perform tasks. In a distributed system environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. An example of a distributed system environment is a cloud of networked servers or server resources. Accordingly, the present invention can be hosted in a cloud environment.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.