Method and apparatus for reducing the scope of queries that seek information from networked computers

摘要

A system and method for handling a query seeking information about computers of a network, where the query can be optimized in a way which limits the set of computers examined to a set smaller than all known computers. The query is examined to determine a limited list of computers to be accessed that would yield the complete result. If the query can be satisfied using data from a number of computers which is less than all of the computers in the network, then the number of computers which is less than all of the computers in the network is accessed to satisfy the query. In this manner, the data collection process for satisfying the query is generally more efficient than accessing all of the computers in the network.