A network management system in which an administrator may specify attributes of interest, and the specified attributes are monitored. Graphs/reports corresponding to the specified reports may be generated in a single place (e.g., on a web page) such that the data points for the various attributes may be correlated easily. The specified attributes may contain attributes which are dynamically created (e.g., counters measuring various aspects related to instances of objects). The network management system provides the ability to discover such attributes using a suitable interface, and selection of such attributes as well.