Patent ID: 7113989

Claim:
A Command Line Interface (CLI) framework component of a Network Management System (NMS), the NMS managing a plurality of field installed managed communications network entities of a communications network, each field installed managed communications network entity being represented and modeled by an associated managed object instance stored in a managed objects database associated with the NMS, the CLI framework component comprising: a. a CLI dictionary codifying a plurality of managed communications network entity-specific CLI commands and maintaining at least one mapping between the managed communications network entity-specific CLI commands and a corresponding managed object type; b. a generic processor executing coded logic to: i. detect an event affecting a particular managed object instance; ii. responsive to the detected event selectively generate a sequence of CLI commands required to configure the field installed managed communications network entity associated with said managed object instance by consulting the CLI dictionary; iii. handle execution of said sequence of CLI commands at said field installed managed communications network entity, including interpreting CLI command execution results received from said field installed managed communications network entity; and iv. generating an error report based on an unsuccessful execution of any CLI commands as indicated by the execution results; and c. a communications module transmitting said sequence of CLI commands to said field installed managed communications network entity to be executed thereon, and conveying the execution results received from said field installed managed communications network entity to the generic processor, wherein a network management and service provisioning solution is provide making abstraction of managed communications network entity types.