Problem diagnosis in complex san environments

A computer program product to more effectively and efficiently diagnose problems in a storage network, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having computer-usable program code embodied therein, the computer-usable program code configured to perform the following when executed by at least one processor:

• generate, for a storage network, a resource map that identifies components in the storage network;
• identify, for each component in the resource map, an importance factor that indicates how important the component is in the storage network;
• detect a problem in the storage network;
• identify, for each component in the resource map, a potential cause factor that indicates how likely the component is to have caused the problem;
• and
• calculate, for each component in the resource map, a problem responsibility factor to indicate to what extent the component is held responsible for the problem.

A system to more effectively and efficiently diagnose problems in a storage network, the system comprising:

• at least one processor;
• at least one memory device coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions for execution on the at least one processor, the instructions causing the at least one processor to:
• generate, for a storage network, a resource map that identifies components in the storage network;
• identify, for each component in the resource map, an importance factor that indicates how important the component is in the storage network;
• detect a problem in the storage network;
• identify, for each component in the resource map, a potential cause factor that indicates how likely the component is to have caused the problem;
• and
• calculate, for each component in the resource map, a problem responsibility factor to indicate to what extent the component is held responsible for the problem.