ACCELERATING DEVICE, CONNECTION AND SERVICE DISCOVERY

• US 20150304167A1
• Filed: 04/22/2014
• Published: 10/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sarwal, Piyush, Farrell, Craig A., Martin, Daniel Ahn J.
• Granted Patent: US 10,033,583 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/085 Retrieval of network configuration; Tracking network configuration history

Abstract

There are provided a system, a method and a computer program product for managing one or more network devices. The one or more network devices are connected indirectly or directly to one or more networks and communicate each other by exchanging one or more messages. A classifier intercepts the one or more messages associated with one or more network devices. The classifier classifies each of the intercepted messages into a layer. A discovery system receives the each classified message and detecting, based on the each received classified message, a new network device added to the one or more networks and detecting one or more configuration changes made on the one or more network devices.

Claims

1. An apparatus for managing one or more network devices, the system comprising:

the one or more network devices being connected indirectly or directly to one or more networks and communicating each other by exchanging one or more messages;

a classifier intercepting the one or more messages associated with one or more network devices;

the classifier classifying each of the intercepted messages into a layer; and

a discovery system receiving the each classified message and detecting, based on the each received classified message, a new network device added to the one or more networks and detecting one or more configuration changes made on the one or more network devices.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in order to detect the new network device and to detect the configuration changes made on the one or more network devices, the discovery system performs:

parsing the each received classified message;

fitting, based on the parsing, the each received classified message to a message group among a plurality of message groups, the plurality of message groups including;

a message group associated with messages for adding the new network device into the one or more networks and a message group associated with messages for modifying configurations of the one or more network devices.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more messages include one or more of:

one or more configuration message associated with the one or more network devices;

one or more configuration files associated with the one or more network devices;

a coldStart trap message that reinitializes a corresponding network device and notifies that configuration of the corresponding network device is altered;

a warmStart trap message that reinitializes a corresponding network device and notifies that configuration of the corresponding network device is not altered;

one or more messages that indicates a creation of one or more virtual machines on the one or more network devices; and

log files echoed from the one or more network devices; and

service catalogs associated with the one or more network devices.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the classifier performs:

identifying one or more layers of;

a layer corresponding to an operating system of the one or more network devices;

a layer corresponding to a physical link in the one or more networks; and

a layer corresponding to each of the one or more networks.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein in order to classify the each message, the classifier performs:

determining a sender, a receiver and content of the each message;

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the classifier further performs:

evaluating whether the sender, the receiver and the content of the each message match a layer which includes an identification of the sender, an identification of the receiver, and a keyword of the content; and

upon determining that the sender, the receiver and the content of the each message match a layer which includes an identification of the sender, an identification of the receiver, a keyword of the content, sending the each message to a router that forwards the each message to a discovery system of a network domain that corresponds to the matched layer.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the classifier further performs:

evaluating whether the sender and the receiver of the each message match a layer which includes the identification of the sender and the identification of the receiver; and

upon determining that the sender and the receiver of the each message match a layer which includes the identification of the sender and the identification of the receiver, sending the each message to a router that forwards the each message to a discovery system of a network domain that corresponds to the matched layer.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the classifier further performs:

evaluating whether the content of the each message matches a layer which includes a keyword of the content; and

upon determining that the content of the each message matches a layer which includes a keyword of the content, sending the each message to a router that forwards the each message to a discovery system of a network domain that corresponds to the matched layer.

9. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the classifier further performs:

evaluating whether the sender, the receiver or the content of the each message match a layer which includes an identification of the sender, an identification of the receiver, or a keyword of the content;

upon determining that the sender, the receiver and the content of the each message does not match any layer, inserting a time stamp, which indicate a time period taken to process the each message by the classifier, into the each message; and

placing the each message with the inserted time stamp in a pending table.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the classifier further performs:

searching the pending table in order to find a match between the time stamp and a pre-determined elapsed time set in a pending table entry;

upon finding the match, sending the each message to a router that that forwards the each message to a network domain that corresponds to the found match; and

upon finding no match, creating an entry, in the pending table, which represents the each message and deleting the each message.

11. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the one or more network devices include one or more of:

a server device connected to the one or more networks;

a virtual machine running on the server device;

a data storage connected to the server device; and

one or more communication path in the one or more networks.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the data storage device stores the one or more messages according to corresponding message groups.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a verifier determining accuracy of the each message.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein in order to determine the accuracy of the each message, the verifier performs:

querying configuration files of the one or more network devices; and

querying a database used for managing the one or more network devices, wherein the verifier obviates querying the one or more network devices.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a correlation engine determining a relationship between the one or more messages; and

the correlation engine creating, based on the determined relationship, a network topology graph of the one or more network devices and of the one or more networks.

16. A method for managing one or more network devices, the method comprising:

exchanging one or more messages between the one or more network devices;

intercepting the one or more messages associated with one or more network devices;

classifying each of the intercepted messages into a layer; and

receiving the each classified message and detecting, based on the each received classified message, a new network device added to the one or more networks and detecting one or more configuration changes made on the one or more network devices.

17. The method according to claim 17, wherein the detecting comprises:

parsing the each received classified message;

fitting, based on the parsing, the each received classified message to a message group among a plurality of message groups, the plurality of message groups including;

a message group associated with messages for adding the new network device into the one or more networks and a message group associated with messages for modifying configurations of the one or more network devices.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the one or more messages include one or more of:

one or more configuration message associated with the one or more network devices;

one or more configuration files associated with the one or more network devices;

a coldStart trap message that reinitializes a corresponding network device and notifies that configuration of the corresponding network device is altered;

a warmStart trap message that reinitializes a corresponding network device and notifies that configuration of the corresponding network device is not altered;

one or more messages that indicates a creation of one or more virtual machines on the one or more network devices; and

log files echoed from the one or more network devices; and

service catalogs associated with the one or more network devices.

19. A computer program product for managing one or more network devices, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium excluding a propagating signal, the computer readable storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions run by the processing circuit for performing a method, said method comprising

exchanging one or more messages between the one or more network devices;

intercepting the one or more messages associated with one or more network devices;

classifying each of the intercepted messages into a layer; and

receiving the each classified message and detecting, based on the each received classified message, a new network device added to the one or more networks and detecting one or more configuration changes made on the one or more network devices.

20. The computer program product according to claim 19, wherein the detecting comprises:

parsing the each received classified message;

fitting, based on the parsing, the each received classified message to a message group among a plurality of message groups, the plurality of message groups including;

a message group associated with messages for adding the new network device into the one or more networks and a message group associated with messages for modifying configurations of the one or more network devices.