12. A device comprising: an interface having an input and an output; a memory adapted and configured to store a first ontology and a second ontology; and a controller coupled to the interface and the memory, the controller being programmed to receive an indication of an occurrence of an event from at least one managed element; wherein the event indicates a change in state of the at least one managed element at the input of the interface and to access the first ontology and retrieve selected information associated with the event from the first ontology, the controller being further programmed to access the second ontology and obtain at least one first rule associated with the event from the second ontology using at least in part the selected information and applying the at least one first rule and responsively determining a cause of the event.
15. The device of claim 12 wherein the controller is further programmed to present the characteristic at the output of the interface to a user.