Network management relay mechanism
First Claim
1. A method of interfacing a plurality of local network management agents to an information network where each agent can provide a subset of management operations, said method comprising:
- a)(i) analyzing a request received from said network under a predetermined network management protocol to identify each management operation to be performed and to identify an agent for performing each identified operation;
a)(ii) dividing said received request where more than one agent is identified;
a)(iii) forwarding, under said protocol, one or more local requests derived from said received request to said respective identified agent or agents;
b)(i) waiting for and receiving a local response under said protocol for each of said local requests from said identified agent or agents; and
b)(ii) forming, from said local response or responses, a response under said protocol to said received request to be transmitted over said network;
wherein said step (a)(i) comprises accessing a routing table to identify management operations performed by each locally connected agent.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A relay mechanism for a network management system permits ready extension and/or modification to an existing system through the use of standard network protocol agents. The relay mechanism uses standard SNMP messaging for both local and remote communication. Only the SNMP relay mechanism is connected to UDP port 161 into listen for management application requests. In operation, the relay examines incoming SNMP requests from a management application and, based on a number of parameters, creates one or more individual smaller SNMP requests which are relayed to the individual agents. When the SNMP relay mechanism receives all the responses to the local SNMP requests, it marshals the information into a single response which is then sent back to the management application.
68 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of interfacing a plurality of local network management agents to an information network where each agent can provide a subset of management operations, said method comprising:
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a)(i) analyzing a request received from said network under a predetermined network management protocol to identify each management operation to be performed and to identify an agent for performing each identified operation; a)(ii) dividing said received request where more than one agent is identified; a)(iii) forwarding, under said protocol, one or more local requests derived from said received request to said respective identified agent or agents; b)(i) waiting for and receiving a local response under said protocol for each of said local requests from said identified agent or agents; and b)(ii) forming, from said local response or responses, a response under said protocol to said received request to be transmitted over said network; wherein said step (a)(i) comprises accessing a routing table to identify management operations performed by each locally connected agent. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A network management relay mechanism for interfacing a plurality of local network management agents to an information network where each agent can provide a subset of management operations, said network management relay mechanism comprising:
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a request routing mechanism configured to provide functions, in use, of analyzing a request received from said network under a predetermined network management protocol to identify each management operation to be performed and to identify an agent for performing each identified operation, dividing said received request where more than one agent is identified and forwarding one or more local requests derived from said received request to said respective identified agent or agents, each local request being forwarded under said protocol; and a response mechanism configured to provide functions, in use, of waiting for and receiving a local response under said protocol to each of said local requests from said identified agent or agents, and forming, from said local response or responses, a response under said protocol to said received request to be transmitted over said network; wherein said routing mechanism is configured additionally to provide a function, in use, of accessing a routing table to identify management operations performed by each locally connected agent. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A network management relay program on a storage medium, said network management relay program being configured to be operable to interface a plurality of local network management agents to an information network where each agent can provide a subset of management operations and comprising:
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a request routing mechanism configured to be operable to provide functions of analyzing a request received from said network under a predetermined network management protocol to identify each management operation to be performed and to identify an agent for performing each identified operation, dividing said received request where more than one agent is identified and forwarding one or more local request derived from said received request to said respective identified agent or agents, each local request being forwarded under said protocol; and a response mechanism configured to be operable to provide functions of waiting for and receiving a local response under said protocol to each of said local requests from said identified agent or agents, and forming, from said local response or responses, a response under said protocol to said received request to be transmitted over said network; wherein said routing mechanism is configured additionally to provide a function of accessing a routing table to identify management operations performed by each locally connected agent. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. Apparatus comprising a computer having a memory connectable to an information network, a plurality of local network management agents, where each agent can provide a subset of management operations, and a software relay mechanism for connecting said plurality of local network management agents to said information network, said relay mechanism comprising:
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a request routing mechanism configured to provide functions, in use, of analyzing a request received from said network under a predetermined network management protocol to identify each management operation to be performed and to identify an agent for performing each identified operation, dividing said received request where more than one agent is identified and forwarding one or more local requests derived from said received request to said respective identified agent or agents, each local request being forwarded under said protocol; and a response mechanism configured to provide functions, in use, of waiting for and receiving a local response under said protocol to each of said local requests from said identified agent or agents, and forming, from said local response or responses, a response under said protocol to said received request to be transmitted over said network; wherein said routing mechanism is configured additionally to provide a function, in use, of accessing a routing table to identify the management operations performed by each locally connected agent. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification