Pictorial-based user interface management of computer hardware components

• US 7,669,139 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2008
• Issued: 02/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lory, Bradley James, Peh, Chee, Mead, David Walter, Royer, Steven Edward, Hintermeister, Gregory Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Pillai; Namitha
• Application Number:
  US12/196,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20090013258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 715/736, 715/734, 715/767, 715/771, 715/853, 715/969, 715/970
• US Class Current: 715/771
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/328 Computer systems status display G06F11/327 takes precedence

Abstract

An apparatus and program product utilize a displayed pictorial representation that depicts the actual physical configuration of a plurality of hardware components in a physical computer system to facilitate the collective management of the underlying hardware components. Typically, within such a pictorial representation, a selected status is displayed for multiple of such hardware components, thereby permitting hardware components sharing common attributes or characteristics to be identified in an efficient and intuitive manner, as well as to permit collective management operations to be performed on all selected hardware components. In addition, a pictorial representation may be dynamically generated to represent the physical configuration of a plurality of hardware components within a plurality of computers. In connection with such dynamic generation, the plurality of computers may be accessed to identify the plurality of hardware components that are resident in such computers.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

(a) a memory; and

(b) a program resident in the memory and configured to display a pictorial representation on a computer display, the pictorial representation associated with a plurality of hardware components and representing a physical configuration of each of the plurality of hardware components that conveys a relative placement and location of at least a subset of the hardware components in physical space, wherein each of the plurality of hardware components is associated with at least one attribute, the program further configured to indicate, in response to user input, a selected status for multiple hardware components from the plurality of hardware components within the pictorial representation associated with the plurality of hardware components;

to dynamically retrieve a list of available management operations associated with at least two selected hardware components among the multiple hardware components having a selected status after indicating the selected status for the multiple hardware components;

to display the list of available management operations within a context sensitive menu after indicating the selected status for the multiple hardware components; and

to perform a management operation from among the list of available management operations on all of the multiple hardware components that have a selected status responsive to user input directed to the context sensitive menu, wherein the program is configured to indicate the selected status by selecting a filter criterion from a plurality of predetermined filter criteria, comparing attributes associated with the plurality of hardware components against the selected filter criterion, and selecting those hardware components associated with attributes that match the selected filter criterion, wherein the pictorial representation continues to depict at least one non-selected hardware component after such selection, wherein each of the plurality of predetermined filter criteria is associated with a predetermined view among a plurality of views, and wherein the list of available management operations includes only management operations that are appropriate for being performed on all of the multiple hardware components having a selected status.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pictorial representation includes a diagram of at least one enclosure within which the plurality of hardware components is disposed, the diagram further depicting a physical location of each of the plurality of hardware components in the enclosure.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first diagram depicts a first view of the enclosure taken from a first viewpoint, and wherein the pictorial representation further includes a second diagram depicting a second view of the enclosure taken from a second viewpoint.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of hardware components comprises an unused interface component configured to physically interconnect with another hardware component, wherein the program is further configured to manage the unused interface component through user input directed to the pictorial representation.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of hardware components is associated with at least one of a plurality of diagrams, each of which depicting a physical location of at least one of the plurality of hardware components, wherein the program is further configured to display within the pictorial representation only those diagrams from the plurality of diagrams that depict the physical location of at least one hardware component having a selected status.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program is further configured to visually highlight those portions of the pictorial representation that depict the physical configurations of the multiple hardware components that have a selected status.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program is further configured to update the status of a first hardware component among the plurality of hardware components to one of a selected and an unselected status responsive to user input directed to that portion of the pictorial representation that depicts the physical configuration of the first hardware component.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multiple hardware components are physically located in a plurality of computers, wherein the program is further configured to perform the management operation by performing the management operation in each of the plurality of computers.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program is further configured to dynamically retrieve the list of available management operations in response to user input directed to that portion of the pictorial representation that depicts the physical configuration of at least one of the at least two selected hardware components.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program is further configured to retrieve status information associated with a first hardware component among the plurality of hardware components in response to user input directed to that portion of the pictorial representation that depicts the physical configuration of the first hardware component.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program is resident on the same computer as the plurality of hardware components.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of hardware components is physically located on a different computer from that within which the program is resident.

13. A program product, comprising:

(a) a program configured to display a pictorial representation on a computer display, the pictorial representation associated with a plurality of hardware components and representing a physical configuration of each of the plurality of hardware components that conveys a relative placement and location of at least a subset of the hardware components in physical space, wherein each of the plurality of hardware components is associated with at least one attribute, the program further configured to indicate, in response to user input, a selected status for multiple hardware components from the plurality of hardware components within the pictorial representation associated with the plurality of hardware components;

to dynamically retrieve a list of available management operations associated with at least two selected hardware components among the multiple hardware components having a selected status after indicating the selected status for the multiple hardware components;

to display the list of available management operations within a context sensitive menu after indicating the selected status for the multiple hardware components; and

to perform a management operation from among the list of available management operations on all of the multiple hardware components that have a selected status responsive to user input directed to the context sensitive menu, wherein the program is configured to indicate the selected status by selecting a filter criterion from a plurality of predetermined filter criteria, comparing attributes associated with the plurality of hardware components against the selected filter criterion, and selecting those hardware components associated with attributes that match the selected filter criterion, wherein the pictorial representation continues to depict at least one non-selected hardware component after such selection, wherein each of the plurality of predetermined filter criteria is associated with a predetermined view among a plurality of views, and wherein the list of available management operations includes only management operations that are appropriate for being performed on all of the multiple hardware components having a selected status; and

(b) a recordable medium bearing the program.