Method and apparatus for performing disk diagnostics and repairs on remote clients. The method employs an embedded LAN microcontroller at a client to submit diagnostic commands to disk drives hosted by the client. Corresponding diagnostic data is returned from the disk to the LAN microcontroller, and an XML file containing the diagnostic data is generated. The XML file is then packaged as a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) message, which is bound to the Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP), processed via an Internet Protocol (IP) microstack, and sent to a management server via an out-of-band (OOB) communication channel that is transparent to an operating system running on the client. Upon receipt of the SOAP message, the diagnostic data are extracted from the XML file using an XML schema application. A user may request diagnostics be performed for selected disk drives connected to selected client hosts, wherein the request is packaged as an XML file in a SOAP request message. Upon receiving the SOAP request message, the diagnostic commands are extracted from the XML file and submitted to the disk drive.