Studies of operator errors have identified several classes of errors typical of network service administrators. Most of these are the result of misconfiguration of new components and unintended actions such as restarts or disabling of hardware while diagnosing problems. Significantly, operators of all experience levels were found to introduce almost all classes of errors with roughly equal frequency.

Research conducted at Rutgers University [6] found that operator action-verification techniques allowed detection and prevention of over half of the errors typically introduced by operators. This data strongly argues for the implementation of reliable change control procedures and change verification as requisites for highly available networks. To support these activities, management tools must be in place to aid in detecting and reporting errors, both for validation of operator actions and diagnosing problems. Network documentation is typically inaccurate and outdated [7] (due in part to lack of change control) so management capabilities to verify configurations are essential.