Patent ID: 8289538

Claim:
A system for managing a job in accordance with a job specification and job content, comprising: a database that stores device information, wherein the stored device information includes the availability of printing devices and finishing devices; a configuration engine that analyzes the job specification and the database to identify first and second device configurations capable of producing the job, wherein the first device configuration specifies using a first printing device with a first finishing device and the second device configuration specifies using the first printing device with a second finishing device; and a controller responsive to a selection from the first and the second device configurations to produce a command stream in a format compatible with the selection, wherein the database stores device profiles and at least one of virtual device definitions, device configurations, configuration files, and job templates, wherein further the configuration engine associates the job specification with at least one of the virtual device definitions and job templates, and wherein the selection from the first and the second device configurations is based on the association.