Patent ID: 7783746

Claim:
A method, comprising: providing a table in a network element that includes a first plurality of software objects, the network element being provided in an optical network, the optical network including an element management system and a connection including a fiber optic cable; providing a list in the element management system, the list including a second plurality of software objects, each of the second plurality of software objects corresponding to a respective one of the first plurality of software objects; providing a first plurality of attributes, each of which being associated with a corresponding one of the first plurality of software objects, the first plurality of attributes being provided in the network element; providing a second plurality of attributes associated with the table, the second plurality of attributes being provided in the network element; modifying one of the first plurality of software objects in response to a fault in the connection; modifying the first and second pluralities of attributes after said one of the first plurality of software objects has been modified, the modified first and second pluralities of attributes being indicative of the modified one of the first plurality of software objects; determining, with the element management system, that the first and second pluralities of attributes have been modified; identifying, based on the modified first and second pluralities of attributes, data in the table corresponding to the modified one of the plurality of software objects; supplying the data from the table to the element management system; and modifying one of the second plurality of software objects based on the data, the modified one of the second plurality of software objects corresponding to the modified one of the first plurality of software objects, such that the modified one of the first plurality of software objects and the modified one of the second plurality of software objects are synchronized with one another.