Method and apparatus for generating a display based on logical groupings of network entities
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for grouping a network entity of a network system into one of a plurality of logical groups, wherein said network entity is connected to other network entities by at least a first connection, the method comprising the steps of:
- determining whether said first connection is a LAN connection or a WAN connection;
if said first connection is a LAN connection, then determining whether a further LAN connection is connected to said network entity;
if a further LAN connection is not connected to said network entity, then assigning only said first connection to a predetermined site group;
if a further LAN connection is connected to said network entity, then assigning both said first connection and said further connection to said predetermined site group;
assigning said network entity to one of said plurality of logical groups according to said predetermined site group of said first connection; and
generating on a display device a plurality of visual indicators, said plurality of visual indicators including a single visual indicator for said one of said plurality of logical groups.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for grouping the network entities that belong to a network system into logical groups, and generating a display of the network based on the logical groups. In the highest level display, a single visual indicator, such as an icon, is used to represent each logical group. Thus, a display of the entire network system need only contain as many visual indicators as there are logical groups. Typically, the number of logical groups will be significantly less than the number of actual network resources. Consequently, entire large network systems may be displayed without crowding the display screen with small, difficult to read icons. The logical groups are formed based on the type of connections that exist between the various logical entities in the network. Site groups are formed by combining all local area network connections that connection common network entities. Region groups are formed by combining all wide area network connections that connect common network entities. Small site groups may be merged into the region groups to further reduce the number of visual indicators required to visually represent the network system.
71 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for grouping a network entity of a network system into one of a plurality of logical groups, wherein said network entity is connected to other network entities by at least a first connection, the method comprising the steps of:
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determining whether said first connection is a LAN connection or a WAN connection; if said first connection is a LAN connection, then determining whether a further LAN connection is connected to said network entity; if a further LAN connection is not connected to said network entity, then assigning only said first connection to a predetermined site group; if a further LAN connection is connected to said network entity, then assigning both said first connection and said further connection to said predetermined site group; assigning said network entity to one of said plurality of logical groups according to said predetermined site group of said first connection; and generating on a display device a plurality of visual indicators, said plurality of visual indicators including a single visual indicator for said one of said plurality of logical groups. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for displaying a network system that contains a plurality of network entities connected to each other by a plurality of connections, wherein each connection of said plurality of connections corresponds to one of a plurality of connection types, the apparatus comprising:
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a processor; a display device coupled to said processor; a memory coupled to said processor, wherein the memory contains a sequence of instructions; wherein said processor is configured to retrieve said sequence of instructions from said memory and execute said sequence of instructions; wherein execution of said sequence of instructions causes said processor to; (a) identify which of said plurality of connections are LAN connections; (b) assign a respective LAN connection to a predetermined site group; (c) determine whether any further LAN connections share a common network entity with said respective LAN connection and, if so, to assign said further LAN connections to said predetermined site group; (d) repeat steps (b) and (c) until each LAN connection within said plurality of connections is assigned to one of a plurality of site groups; (e) assign each network entity to one of a plurality of logical groups based on the site group of a connection connected to each respective network entity; and (f) generate on said display device a plurality of visual indicators, wherein said plurality of visual indicators include a single visual indicator for each logical group of said plurality of logical groups. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification