1. In an expert system for providing diagnostic services for a communication network including a plurality of network devices capable of generating alarms in response to network problems, a method of processing said alarms reported from said network devices, comprising the steps of: receiving a current said alarm from one of said network devices; comparing said current alarm with other said alarms previously received from other said network devices to determine whether said current alarm corresponds to one of said previously received alarms in that both said current alarm and said previously received alarms serve to report a common said network problem in said network; said comparing step further including retrieving information from a database regarding a portion of said network's topology and determining from said portion if any of said network devices providing said previously received alarms and said one network device producing said current alarm could produce said previously received alarms and said current alarm, respectively, in response to said common network problem; and discarding said current alarm if said current alarm and any of said previously received alarms are determined to be in produced by said common common problem.