Patent ID: 8849980

Claim:
An apparatus to monitor a computer system component, the apparatus comprising: an identifier module that associates a visual identifier with a computer system component, the visual identifier identifying an initiator of the association of the visual identifier with the computer system component; a function module that associates one or more control functions with the visual identifier; a presentation module that selectively displays the visual identifier for the computer system component within a present view of a user interface, the present view displaying a graphical topology of an information technology system, wherein the presentation module selectively displays the visual identifier while the computer system component has a detail view outside the scope of the present view and to maintain the visual identifier in the present view as the present view changes to each of a plurality of views, the detail view of the computer system component being outside the scope of at least one of the plurality of views, each of the plurality of views displaying the graphical topology at a different detail level, the visual identifier applying a particular control function associated with the computer system component directly in each of the plurality of views in response to a selection received through the visual identifier, the presentation module further applying the particular control function to the computer system component in the present view while the computer system component is outside the scope of the present view in response to the selection received through the visual identifier; and a monitoring module that monitors the computer system component associated with the visual identifier and modifies the visual identifier in response to a change in operational status for the computer system component, wherein all or a portion of the identifier module, the function module, the presentation module, and the monitoring module comprise one or more of hardware and one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media storing executable code.