Patent ID: 7926033

Claim:
A machine-implemented method for configuring a device, comprising the steps of: storing, at a server, base version data that describes a first data model, wherein the first data model is for a first version of a software application hosted on a network element; using, by server software on the server, the base version data to communicate with the first version of the software application to provision a service on the network element; receiving, at the server, incremental version data that describes changes between the first data model and a second data model for a second version of the software application; correlating, at the server, the incremental version data with the base version data; and at least initially, overlaying the incremental version data with the base version data to form merged version data that describes the second data model; and without upgrading the server software on the server, using, by the server software on the server, the merged version data to communicate with the second version of the software application to provision a new service on the network element; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.