Network management apparatus and method for the configuration of network devices

A method for the configuration of devices on a network is described. The method is preferably implemented using a network management software application and comprises initially retrieving configuration information from a text-based configuration file of a selected network device. The method further comprises a user changing a value of a parameter within the retrieved configuration information to a variable token. The variable may comprise an attribute of the network management application or a variable of a network device such as an SNMP MIB variable. The method further comprises applying the changed configuration information to selected network devices, by replacing the variable token with a corresponding value for each of said selected network devices.