Patent ID: 6950865
Filing Date: 2005-09-27
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of performing an audit of a network, said method comprising the steps of: a) querying a plurality of devices in said network for device configuration information, wherein said plurality of devices comprise at least one node which is specified by said configuration information; b) based on a response from said plurality of devices to said queries of said step a), issuing a plurality of queries to retrieve status information from a plurality of nodes in said network; c) analyzing the responses to said status queries according to sets of rules to create network audit information, wherein said analyzing comprises determining a ranking of nodes of the plurality of devices, and wherein said ranking comprises separate rankings for a plurality of categories including at least two of: faults, performance, capacity planning, and topology; and d) reporting said network audit information including said ranking of nodes for said at least two categories.