Pushing attribute information to storage devices for network topology access

A computer program product stored on a tangible computer readable medium operative on the computer for providing access to topology information in a storage area network, for creating a topology of the storage area network, for a retrieving device that is coupled to a storage array,

• wherein the storage area network is composed of a plurality of networking devices including hosts, each host coupled to at least one initiator, each initiator coupled to one or more targets that provide access to a storage array, each initiator having an associated identifier, the computer program product comprising:
• a. computer code for automatically ascertaining, from each host, host attribute information by polling each initiator coupled to a corresponding host;
• b. computer code for relating identifiers, associated with coupled initiators, to the networking host attribute information to form topology information, the topology information comprising data representing interconnections among the networking devices from the plurality of networking devices;
• and
• c. computer code for storing the topology information in a data structure within the storage array,
• wherein the identifier is a worldwide name, and
• wherein the host attribute information includes a reference to operating system type of the host and a reference to initiator type.