Patent ID: 7958450

Claim:
A method of providing a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to match a managed object that corresponds to a unit of a storage area network (SAN) with a component of SAN management tool, wherein matching allows the SAN management tool to validate the configuration of the SAN of which the unit is a part, the method comprising: receiving information describing a managed object; displaying, on the GUI, the received information and a result of an attempted match of the received information with a component, wherein a result indicates a current status of the attempted match; providing, on the GUI, a user-selectable listing of components for the displayed result, wherein the selection of a component from the user-selectable listing of components by a user creates a match between the received information for the managed object and the selected component; receiving input from a user, wherein the input comprises a selection of a component from the user-selectable listing of components for a result, such that the selection creates a match between the received information for the unit and the selected component; and in response to the input received from the user, providing a bulk matching dialog that indicates other managed objects with results similar to the displayed result from whose listing of components the selection was made, wherein the bulk matching dialog accepts further input from a user to apply the selection to any of the other managed objects.