1. A method of allocating addresses to network elements in a network includes the steps of: modeling the network by: apportioning an address space associated with the network into a plurality of hierarchical levels other than a Top-Level, Next-Level and Site Level; and generating a virtual topology map of the network, the virtual topology map comprising a plurality of virtual network objects, each virtual network object representing a network element and including a tag and prefix information associated with one of the plurality of hierarchical levels of the address space, the tag being assigned based on at least one characteristic of the network element with respect to connected segments; and deploying the network element by utilizing the tag to obtain an address, whereby addresses are allocated to network elements based on the respective characteristics of those network elements.