System using designer editor and knowledge base for configuring preconfigured software in an open system in a distributed environment

A system for configuring preconfigured software in networked open systems in a distributed environment, including, in a work station, a design device called a designer (DC), an editor (CE) and a knowledge base (KB), and, in a station to be configured, an interpreter (CI). The designer allows read and write access to the knowledge base which contains the data describing the various elements in the network that can be configured and the links between these various elements, said designer making it possible to define the various configuration capabilities of the editor on which the desired configuration is displayed. The editor uses the information in the knowledge base related to the topology of the network and the configuration parameters of the various elements which comprise the network to construct a configurable homogeneous entity which can be loaded into a station to be configured in which the interpreter executes the configuration operations, transforming the initial configuration parameters into parameters specific to the desired configuration which can also be used by the editor. The system implements a specific process for configuring preconfigured software.