Patent ID: 7730428

Claim:
A computer-implemented method in which at least one computer executes instructions retrieved from computer storage for providing information associated with a storage area network, the computer-implemented method comprising steps of: in a first region of a display screen, displaying an expandable tree of icons; receiving a selection of a particular icon from the expandable tree of icons displayed in the first region, the selected particular icon representing a corresponding particular group of resources associated with the storage area network; in response to receiving the selection, displaying a linearly arranged sequence of selectable view mode icons in a second region of the display screen, each view mode icon indicating a respective different type of storage area network information available for viewing and that is associated with the selected particular icon from the expandable tree of icons; in response to a selection of a first view mode icon in the linearly arranged sequence of selectable view mode icons, displaying a first type of storage area network information associated with first view mode icon in a first table graphically associated with the first view mode icon; and displaying the linearly arranged sequence of selectable view mode icons in the second region of the display screen along with the first table; in response to a selection of a second view mode icon in the linearly arranged sequence of selectable view mode icons, displaying a second type of storage area network information associated with the second view mode icon in a second table graphically associated with the second view mode icon, the second table being displayed in place of the first table, while maintaining the display of the linearly arranged sequence of selectable view mode icons in the second region of the display screen; wherein displaying the set of selectable view mode icons includes: in the second region of the display screen, displaying i) a set of selectable view mode icons that directly correspond to entries in the expandable tree in the first region of the display screen, and ii) a set of selectable view mode icons that do not directly correspond to any entries in the expandable tree in the first region of the display screen; and providing different sets of column header information for the first table and the second table, a first set of column header information displayed in the first table to indicate a corresponding type of displayed resource information in the first table and a second set of column header information displayed in the second table to indicate a corresponding type of displayed resource information in the second table.