Patent ID: 7945651

Claim:
A method for configuring a network, the method comprising: creating a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) context and an associated SNMP view using a Network Management Station (NMS), the NMS being coupled to a plurality of network devices in the network; creating, by the NMS, an SNMP context name corresponding to the SNMP context; specifying a network configuration and an order of the network devices using the NMS and the SNMP context name, wherein the specified order comprises an order in which SNMP SET commands are to be executed on the network devices; specifying a set time in the NMS for the specified network configuration, wherein the set time represents a non-periodic time delay that begins in response to validation of the specified network configuration by all of the network devices, the validation being performed by each of the network devices in the specified order and using the SNMP context name; and pushing, from the NMS and in the specified order, the specified network configuration to each of the network devices in the network, wherein the pushing begins after the set time has elapsed, wherein the set time is greater than a time taken for pushing the network configuration across all of the network devices.