Patent ID: 8767584

Claim:
A method for managing a network comprising a plurality of network elements, the method comprising: using at least one processor for: retrieving, for at least a portion of the network elements to be managed within the network, respective network element information comprising configuration information, status information and connections information; determining, using the retrieved network element information, network element connections by which data is communicated between the network elements to be managed; storing, in a computer readable storage medium, data representing at least a portion of the retrieved network element information and the determined network element connections; identifying, for each of a plurality of mobile services, those network elements and communications links therebetween within the network that are necessary to support the mobile service, the necessary network elements including a network element configured to communicate with User Equipment (UE) using the respective mobile service, a network element configured to communicate with a source of the respective mobile service, and any intermediate network elements; and storing, in a computer readable storage medium, data representing correlations of mobile services to respective identified necessary network elements and communications links therebetween.