Patent ID: 8805993

Claim:
A data collection server comprising: a processor; a database available to the processor, for storing a plurality of identifiers relating to a plurality of network elements; a computer readable storage medium including processor executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including: accessing a plurality of target files, each of the plurality of target files identifying a corresponding group of network elements associated with a data management server wherein the plurality of target files collectively identify all network elements associated with the data management server; initiating, by a data collection server, a plurality of concurrent sessions with the data management server; generating, for each of the concurrent sessions, a plurality of queries, wherein each query is associated with a network element from the group of network elements identified in the corresponding target file; concurrently sending each of the plurality of queries to the data management server over a corresponding one of the plurality of concurrent sessions, the plurality of concurrent sessions includes initiating a session for each of the plurality of target files; and responsive to receiving data corresponding to each network element from the data management server, storing the data in a data file organized according to a port list.