Patent ID: 8595344

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising: selecting in a computer system at least one virtualization level option for a business network from among at least: a first virtualization level option that includes externalizing interaction logic in the business network, a second virtualization level option that includes virtualizing content in the business network, and a third virtualization level option that includes virtualizing components in the business network, wherein the business network comprises a plurality of network components and one or more middleware components, each of the plurality of network components being selected from the group consisting of: computing devices, processes, metadata, and configuration information, and wherein the one or more middleware components are configured to facilitate communication between the network components; performing the selected virtualization level option using the computer system, wherein performing the selected virtualization level option comprises: crawling the business network to identify the plurality of network components that are part of the business network, wherein the plurality of network components are discovered by the crawling based on one or more patterns that are associated with the selected virtualization level option, selecting a particular subset of the plurality of network components based on the selected virtualization level option, and generating a virtualization of the business network based on i) the middleware components, ii) the particular subset of the plurality of network components, and iii) the selected virtualization level option, wherein the generated virtualization provides a single view through which aspects of the subset of the plurality of network components can be accessed and controlled; and outputting, by the computer system, information associated with the virtualization generated from performing the selected virtualization level option.