After you have defined a network element in the CMP database, you associate it with the MPE device that you will use to manage that element.
There are also lower-level entities within the network that the MPE device manages that are not considered network elements. These are sub-elements, such as an interface on a router, or devices that are connected directly to network elements. Typically, there is no need to define these lower-level entities, because after a network element is associated with an MPE device, the lower-level devices related to that network element are discovered and associated automatically.
Create a network element profile for each device you are associating with an MPE device. After defining a network element in the CMP database, configure its protocol options. The options available depend on the network element type.
For ease of management, you can define network elements and then you can combine them into network element groups.