Patent ID: 7000006

Claim:
A method for implementing management policies on a network using topology reduction, the network including at least a first domain having a plurality of network elements, the method comprising: determining one or more management components in the network; determining two or more domains, wherein each (a) is bounded, in the network, by one or more of the management components and (b) does not contain any management components; determining a communication path passing through the first domain of the network that characterizes the first domain as a node, the communication path being characterized to pass communications without information loss; implementing a management policy for the network using the communication path; wherein determining the communication path passing through the first domain includes: identifying a second domain for a source element of a communication that uses the communication path, the second domain including a plurality of network elements; identifying a third domain for a destination element for the communication, the third domain including a plurality of network elements; characterizing a portion of the communication path within the second domain as a distance between the source element and an interface to the second domain, the portion of the communication path within the second domain being characterized without information loss; and characterizing a portion of the communication path within the third domain as a distance between the destination element and an interface to the third domain, the portion of the communication path within the third domain being characterized without information loss.