methods and apparatus are disclosed for providing a data framework and associated client / server protocol for storing and exchanging data among computers in a network . a data schema having an n - way tree - type structure with a root node layer , intermediate node layers , and a data layer for storing configuration data is described . the intermediate node layers contain a multitude of nodes containing categorical information relating to components and various aspects of the computer network . following a tree structure , each intermediate node and root node has branches emanating to nodes below it . these subordinate nodes are referred to as children nodes . the data node layer is at the bottom of the tree and contains actual specific configuration data relating to components and other aspects of the computer network , such as information regarding users registered to use the network . certain portions of the intermediate nodes and data nodes make up persistent dataspaces in which the actual specific configuration data in the data nodes is modified on either a client or a server computer , and is stored on the server computer . this allows the associated specific information to be nonvolatile and accessible by a multiplicity of client computers . the client / server protocol allows configuration data to be transferred between a client and server and for the maintenance of the connection between the client and the server . configuration data and user profiles are stored on a server computer thereby minimizing the amount of memory needed by the client computer , which can be a device with low memory capabilities such as network computers , pdas , or smart cards . the protocol also includes a method of coalescing configuration data before sending it to a client computer thereby reducing the memory requirements of the client computer .