An expert system for UNIX problem resolution

Many organizations regardless of their size and type, require an experienced systems professional staff to maintain their computer equipment and to help in resolving problems. Using an expert system can enable staff members to resolve many trivial problems, giving more time to the support staff for installation, performance monitoring, and solving complex problems. This article describes such an expert system, which was written to support an R & D organization. The version currently in use can recognize 40% of the known problems that staff members encounter. This percent is based on a historical record of previously logged problems. Although the system is written for a UNIX † and SUN environment, its structure could be used to implement a similar system for different hardware and software.