1. A method for creating a managed network comprising a plurality of network elements, the method comprising: defining the managed network in a management information base coded in a first description language; storing the management information base in a first database residing on a computer; using the management information base to configure an interface for a particular network element of the network elements by coding characteristics of the particular network element in a second description language different from the first description language; and storing the configured interface in a second database residing on the computer.