Patent ID: 8914478

Claim:
A system for use with a storage area network having storage area network devices, comprising: a plurality of provider servers having provider modules installed thereon, each provider module managing one or more specific storage area network devices in accordance with a common storage management protocol; and a systems manager including a processor and a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: managing a plurality of storage area network devices based upon a common model of information protocol wherein the systems manager manages storage area network devices through the provider modules installed on the provider servers; receiving by the systems manager, storage area network device information for a storage area network device to be managed by the systems manager; in response to the received storage area network device information, the systems manager automatically determining if an installed provider module is suitable for the storage area network device to be managed by the systems manager; in response to a determination by the systems manager that an installed provider module is suitable for the storage area network device to be managed by the systems manager, the systems manager identifying the provider module determined to be suitable for the storage area network device to be managed by the systems manager; and in response to a determination by the systems manager that an installed provider module is not suitable for the storage area network device to be managed by the systems manager, the systems manager automatically installing in a provider server an additional provider module that is suitable for the storage area network device to be managed by the systems manager.