Abstract: A first data set (1008) indicative of characteristics of a first computing device such as a server is compared and analyzed against a second data set (1012) indicative of characteristics of a second computing device. Computer-readable instructions operate on the data sets and are capable of determining at least one characteristic in the first data set that is different from a substantially similar characteristic in the second data set. A visual depiction (1004) on an output device (1000) provides an indication of the at least one difference so that a user can easily make a consolidation analysis. Preferably, the first and second data sets are stored in a relational database for analysis and the characteristic are compared by way of SQL queries on the relational database.