Entity e.g. web server, inventory storage system for e.g. firewall, has child/terminal nodes linked to parent node by relation so that entity versions and group of versions of child or terminal nodes form part of parent node version group

摘要

The system (14) has a database with a hierarchical tree structure (1) in which terminal nodes (2, 5, 6) represent entity versions, and a child node (3) and a parent node represent groups of entity versions. The child node or one of the terminal nodes is connected to the parent node by an order relation such that the entity versions and the group of entity versions represented by the child node form a part of the group of entity versions represented by the parent node. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a method for implementing a system for storing entity inventory (2) a method for passive monitoring of a communication network (3) a method for detecting and preventing intrusion in a communication network.