Apparatus and methods for displaying a physical view of a device

Abstract

An apparatus and methods are disclosed for displaying a physical view of a monitored device. The apparatus for displaying a physical view of a device is provided with a plurality of modules configured to functionally execute the steps of displaying a physical representation of a device, generating a plurality of grid lines in association with a predetermined portion of the physical representation of the device, and displaying an icon configured to convey information regarding a status of the device, wherein the icon is displayed within an area defined by the plurality of grid lines. These modules in the described embodiments include a rendering module, a grid module, and a status module.

1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a rendering module configured to display a rack image of a physical rack of a plurality of monitored devices, wherein the rack image comprises a physical representation of the physical rack with device representations of each monitored device disposed within the rack image as the monitored device is disposed within the physical rack;   a status module configured to display an icon configured to convey a status of each monitored device of the plurality of monitored devices;   an event capture module configured to monitor a position of a mouse;   a monitor module configured to identify a monitored device at the position of the mouse and configuration data associated with the monitored device, wherein the configuration data defines an area of the rack view associated with the monitored device; and   wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of hardware and a non-transitory computer-readable medium.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the device representation of each monitored device further comprises a plurality of display layers, and wherein the status module is configured to display the icon in the first display layer. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , further comprising an event capture module configured to highlight a portion of a second display layer in response to a user selection. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the event capture module is further configured to display a device description in response to detecting a first selection event. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the event capture module further comprises an interface module configured to display a device interface in response to detecting a second selection event. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the interface module configured to manage communication of data to the identified monitored device. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the device interface further comprises a query panel configured to display a response from the monitored device to an information query to the monitored device. 
     
     
         8 . A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code executable to perform operations comprising:
 displaying a rack image of a physical rack of a plurality of monitored devices, wherein the rack image comprises a physical representation of the physical rack with device representations of each monitored device disposed within the rack image as the monitored device is disposed within the physical rack;   displaying an icon configured to convey a status of each monitored device of the plurality of monitored devices;   monitoring a position of a mouse;   identifying a monitored device at the position of the mouse and configuration data associated with the monitored device, wherein the configuration data defines an area of the rack view associated with the monitored device.   
     
     
         9 . The computer program product of  claim 8 , wherein the device representation of each monitored device further comprises a plurality of display layers, and wherein the operations further display the icon in the first display layer. 
     
     
         10 . The computer program product of  claim 9 , the operations further highlighting a portion of a second display layer in response to a user selection. 
     
     
         11 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , the operations further displaying a device description in response to detecting a first selection event. 
     
     
         12 . The computer program product of  claim 10 , the operations further displaying a device interface in response to detecting a second selection event. 
     
     
         13 . The computer program product of  claim 12 , the operations further managing communication of data to the identified monitored device. 
     
     
         14 . The computer program product of  claim 12 , the operations further displaying a response from the monitored device to an information query to the monitored device. 
     
     
         15 . A method for displaying a physical view of a physical device, the method comprising:
 displaying, by use of a processor, a rack image of a physical rack of a plurality of monitored devices, wherein the rack image comprises a physical representation of the physical rack with device representations of each monitored device disposed within the rack image as the monitored device is disposed within the physical rack;   displaying an icon configured to convey a status of each monitored device of the plurality of monitored devices;   monitoring a position of a mouse; and   identifying a monitored device at the position of the mouse and configuration data associated with the monitored device, wherein the configuration data defines an area of the rack view associated with the monitored device.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the device representation of each monitored device further comprises a plurality of display layers, and wherein the method further comprises displaying the icon in the first display layer. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , the method further comprising highlighting a portion of a second display layer in response to a user selection. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , the method further comprising displaying a device description in response to detecting a first selection event. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , the method further comprising displaying a device interface in response to detecting a second selection event. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , the method further comprising managing communication of data to the identified monitored device.