Method and system for simulating computer networks to facilitate testing of computer network security
First Claim
1. A method for simulating a computer network in order to facilitate testing computer network security, said method comprising:
- providing a hardware inventory of physical network components;
providing a software library of simulated network components;
in response to the receipt of a computer network configuration to be simulated, acquiring physical network components from said hardware inventory and simulated network components from said software library;
configuring said acquired physical network components via an interface switch;
configuring said acquired simulated network components via a plurality of daemons; and
performing computer network security tests on said simulated computer network in real-time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for simulating computer networks and computer network components to test computer network security is disclosed. A user specifies a desired configuration of a simulated computer network by using a configuration manager. The user also defines all the network components within the simulated computer network by specifying whether a component should be provided in hardware or should be simulated via software. Upon receiving the above-mentioned information from the user, the configuration manager acquires the required hardware resources from a hardware inventory. The configuration manager utilizes an interface switch that connects the hardware in the hardware inventory to produce the desired network layout. Next, the specified configuration for each of the network components is pushed into the acquired hardware resources. Computer network components to be simulated with software are subsequently initialized by the configuration manager. At this point, the user can use the simulated computer network for real-time testing of network security.
88 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for simulating a computer network in order to facilitate testing computer network security, said method comprising:
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providing a hardware inventory of physical network components;
providing a software library of simulated network components;
in response to the receipt of a computer network configuration to be simulated, acquiring physical network components from said hardware inventory and simulated network components from said software library;
configuring said acquired physical network components via an interface switch;
configuring said acquired simulated network components via a plurality of daemons; and
performing computer network security tests on said simulated computer network in real-time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer program product residing on a computer usable medium for simulating a computer network in order to facilitate testing computer network security, said computer program product comprising:
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program code means for providing a hardware inventory of physical network components;
program code means for providing a software library of simulated network components;
in response to the receipt of a computer network configuration to be simulated and network components for said simulated computer network, program code means for acquiring physical network components from said hardware inventory and simulated network components from said software library;
program code means for configuring said acquired physical network components via an interface switch;
program code means for configuring said acquired simulated network components via a plurality of daemons; and
program code means for performing computer network security tests on said simulated computer network in real-time. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer system for simulating a computer network in order to facilitate testing computer network security, said computer system comprising:
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an inventory of physical computer network components;
a software library containing a plurality of simulated computer network components;
a configuration manager to allow a user to specify a desired configuration of a simulated computer network; and
an interface switch for establishing logical links between said configuration manager and at least one of said computer network components within said inventory of physical computer network components. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification