Patent ID: 7505995

Claim:
In a computing system that uses a management tool for configuration, state monitoring, system extensions, and other administrative tasks corresponding to various objects within a distributed environment of related hardware resources, software resources, or both, a method of providing a user interface for the management tool based on an object-relational model in order to allow for ease in extending the management tool, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, cause the computing system to perform the following: the method comprising: executing a management tool that provides a general framework for controlling one or more objects within a distributed system, wherein the general framework is part of a hierarchical layered system built on top of an object-relational model, which defines relationships between one or more objects, settings, parts, and attributes within and across various types within a type space of the distributed system; receiving object-relational information based on the object-relational model when controlling the one or more objects within the type space using the management tool, wherein at least a portion of the object-relational information is received from type specific metadata or code developed outside the general framework, and wherein the object-relational information received is one or more of metadata, metadata attributes, wizard page tool, type specific pages, summary information of configuration changes, and available specific types; and based on the received object-relational information, dynamically generating a user interface that displays structure of components derived from relationships between the one or more objects, settings, parts, and attributes, without requiring the general framework to have encoded therein specific knowledge of the types, relationships, and what should be displayed such that changes to specific types in the type space do not require a change to the general framework.