Monitoring distributed systems includes receiving availability parameters for distributed systems. A distributed system corresponds to at least one distributed system group. A status of at least one distributed system is determined according to the availability parameters. Grid map image data is generated that is operable to initiate display of a grid map. The grid map includes one or more areas. An area corresponds to a distributed system group. An area includes one or more cells. A cell has a status indicator indicating the status of at least one distributed system. A cell also has a display size indicating a relative importance of at least one distributed system. The grid map image data is transmitted to a client in order to display the grid map.