NETWORK APPLIANCE MAPPING

1 . A method, comprising:

by a solution appliance configured to manage resources in response to authorized users selecting tasks presented in a user interface:

receiving an indication of a status change for a functional appliance configured to provide at least one of the resources;

accessing a resource map that links the resources to the tasks; and

indicating the status change for the functional appliance on the user interface based on the resource map.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

by the solution appliance:

opening a communication channel with the functional appliance;

receiving status information from the functional appliance; and

by the functional appliance:

sending status information to the solution appliance.

3 . The method of claim 1 :

wherein the status change is an offline condition for the functional appliance; and

further comprising, by the solution appliance:

determining a cause of the offline condition;

determining a time schedule for the offline condition based on the cause of the offline condition; and

displaying the time schedule for the offline condition on the user interface to indicate a change to the availability of the functional appliance.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the user interface is a guest user interface; and

the user interface indicates a change to the availability of a task affected by the functional appliance.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the user interface is a solution administrator user interface; and

the user interface is modified to indicate a change to the availability of the functional appliance and a task affected by the functional appliance.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the user interface is for a system administrator; and

the user interface is modified to indicate a user affected by the functional appliance.

7 - 10 . (canceled)

11 . A method for displaying user capability, comprising, by a solution appliance configured to administer a resource:

detecting a functional appliance configured to provide the resource to the solution appliance;

mapping the resource to the functional appliance; and

assigning access to status information of the functional appliance for a user role having permission to utilize the resource from the function appliance.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further mapping a task administered by the solution appliance to the resource administered by the solution appliance.

13 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

by the solution appliance:

opening a communication channel with the functional appliance;

receiving status information from the functional appliance; and

by the functional appliance:

sending status information to the solution appliance.

14 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

by the solution appliance:

detecting an offline condition for the functional appliance;

determining a cause of the offline condition;

determining a time schedule for the offline condition based on the cause of the offline condition; and

displaying the time schedule for the offline condition into the status information of the functional appliance.

15 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising, by the solution appliance:

creating the user role having permission to utilize the resource from the functional appliance;

assigning the user role to a user;

receiving a request for access by the user;

querying a user directory for the user; and

identifying the user as having the user role.

16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein:

the user role is a guest;

the status information includes an availability of performance of a task;

permission to utilize the resource involves permission to perform the task; and

the status information is displayed on a guest user interface.

17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein:

the user role is a solution administrator;

the status information includes the availability of performance of the task and the availability of the functional appliance;

permission to utilize the resource involves permission to assign the task to task users; and

the status information is displayed on a solution administrator user interface.

18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein:

the user role is a system administrator;

the status information includes users affected by the functional appliance;

permission to utilize the resource involves permission to determine one or more solution appliances contacting the functional appliance and one or more tasks scheduled for the functional appliance; and

the status information is accessed from a service processor and displayed on a system administrator user interface.