System for assessment of policy compliance of an arbitrary information topology

A system, method, and apparatus for representing an information topology on a computer, wherein the represented information topology comprises a plurality of information nodes and a plurality of states, representing a set of polices on the computer, wherein each policy expresses one or more requirements applied to the plurality of information nodes, and assessing compliance of the represented information topology by determining on the computer whether the plurality of states meet the requirements expressed in the plurality of policies.