Patent ID: 7120678
Filing Date: 2006-10-10
Classification: H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. An apparatus comprising: a first database that stores information identifying which of one or more nodes in a network are associated with each of a plurality of customers; a plurality of customer-defined view definition files each containing at least one definition of an aspect of the network to be viewed by a corresponding customer, wherein at least one of the at least one definition defines a calculation based on at least one component, and wherein at least one of the at least one component defines a function involving collecting data associated with at least one network variable from at least one of said one or more nodes associated with the corresponding customer; a second database that stores device-type information for nodes on the network; and a configuration generation tool operable to generate a network data collection configuration file customized to one of said customer-defined view definition files based on information received from said first and second databases, wherein the generated network data collection configuration file is usable in directing a network data collector to collect network data in accordance with the customer-defined view definition file.