METHODS AND APPARATUS FACILITATING EFFICIENT DISPLAY OF DATA

A display function associated with a storage area network manager process initiates display of a respective hierarchical tree including elements of a storage area network. The hierarchical tree can include parent nodes (representing resources associated with the storage area network) that can be selectively expanded by a user for purposes of viewing sub-information associated with a respective parent resource in the tree. When a user clicks or selects a specific entry in the tree to expand it, a query object triggered by the selection notifies a respective processing function of managed objects (e.g., specific objects in a database) that are related to the selected storage area network resources. The respective processing function utilizes attribute information depending on a type of managed object in a database for purposes of reducing an amount of object data that must be retrieved from the database and identifying pertinent sub-information to update the hierarchical tree.