Patent ID: 7676567

Claim:
A system for mapping a network, comprising: a collection system for collecting device identification and detail information from devices on the network by querying each device to retrieve the device identification and detail information, wherein the detail information includes device characteristic information and software information, the collection system comprising: a plurality of collection tools, wherein at least a first collection tool is configured to collect at least a first subset of the device identification and detail information for at least a first operating system, and at least a second collection tool is configured to collect at least a second subset of the device identification and detail information for at least a second operating system; a timer system for collecting the device identification and detail information at predetermined scheduled times; an analysis system for analyzing the collected device identification and detail information comprising rules for resolving any conflicts between device identification and detail information collected by the plurality of collection tools and configured to resolve conflicts between information for the at least first and second device identification and detail information and the at least first and second operating system; and a report system for generating a mapping report based on the analyzed device identification and detail information.