A method for creating an updateable report representing the alarm status of a network. Network alarms are categorized based on the source and type of alarm, the alarms are placed in a filtering system based on source and type, selected alarms are replaced with alarm representations, and a report is updated with alarm representations. The filtering system comprises non-temporal, temporal, and linkage-based filtering. Non-temporal filtering includes de-duplication, clear message mapping, and classification. Temporal filtering includes frequency-based and cycling-based filtering. Linkage-based filtering includes internal linkage-based and external linkage-based filtering. The network can comprise the interconnected networks of an enterprise or of a single domain of an enterprise. The domain can comprise a business domain or operating system domain. The network can comprise a group of client computers connected to a server computer. The report can be displayed on a computer screen or can be sent to another location for further processing.