What are classes and instances?
A class is a group of objects that are structurally and operationally related, such as switches or routers. An object or element that belongs to a class is called an instance of that class; for example, a specific Cisco Catalyst 550 device is an instance of the Switch class. The most commonly used DFM classes are described in an appendix in the appropriate DFM user guide (see http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/cw2000/dfm/index.htm). The terms object and are also used interchangeably, although an element normally specifies something physical (such as a power supply), while an object can specify something logical (such as a VLAN).
