A system and method can be used to collect communication information including Layer 2 and Layer 3 information during normal communications between devices or other elements within a network. In a particular embodiment, the information can be generated as address resolution protocol tables and media access control tables, which are used to keep track of which elements are connected to other elements and to map network addresses to media access control identifiers. The communication information can be used in performing an action, such as servicing the system, auditing the system, checking for security breaches or policy violations, or other suitable action.