Patent ID: 7908353
Filing Date: 2011-03-15
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A network management method comprising: identifying, by a computing system, overlapping address spaces between a plurality of networks; generating, by the computing system, virtual servers associated with the overlapping address spaces, wherein each virtual server of the virtual servers is associated with an overlapping address space of the overlapping address spaces; installing, by the computing system, a copy of management software on each virtual server of the virtual servers; installing, by the computing system, consolidation software on a consolidation server; configuring, by the computing system, each copy of the management software for discovering and managing an associated overlapping address space of the overlapping address spaces; configuring, by the computing system, each virtual server of the virtual servers for exporting discovered overlapping address spaces of the overlapping address spaces; configuring, by the computing system, the consolidation software for receiving and consolidating the discovered overlapping address spaces form the virtual servers; configuring, by the computing system, each virtual server of the virtual servers for exporting event data associated with the overlapping address spaces; configuring, by the computing system, the consolidation software for receiving and consolidating the event data from the virtual servers; providing a first virtual server within the virtual servers associated with a first overlapping address space of the overlapping address spaces; discovering, by said the virtual server, the first overlapping address space; generating, by the first virtual server, a first topology report indicating the first overlapping address space; storing, by the first virtual server, the first topology report; monitoring, by the first virtual server, the first overlapping address space; generating, by the first virtual server in response to monitoring the first overlapping address space, first events data indicating a status of first devices associated with the first overlapping address space; storing, by the first virtual server, the first events data; and transmitting, by the first virtual server to the consolidation server, the first topology report and the first events data.