Device description and management language for computer network devices

• US 6,304,877 B1
• Filed: 04/26/1999
• Issued: 10/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: 3Com Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: LeBlanc, Michael Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Sanjiv
• Application Number:
  US09/299,709
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 707/100, 707/10, 707/200, 707/203, 707/205, 364/188, 364/130, 709/223, 709/224, 702/188, 700/19, 370/469
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0843 based on generic templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies

Abstract

A computer network management software program in a network management device, with a device description language (DDL) file providing an abstraction of features of a network device in a computer network. The DDL file is a human readable text file. A management application monitors and controls a plurality of the network devices on the computer network. The management application includes a configfile parser package for parsing each of the DDL files during executing of the management application to provide information from each of the DDL files to the management application. The management application also includes a hotsystemsnmp package for polling each of the plurality of network devices according to polling features of the respective network devices as determined by the configfile parser package.

Claims

1. A computer network management software program in a network management device, the program comprising:

a device description language (DDL) file providing an abstraction of features of a network device in a computer network, said DDL file being a human readable text file;

a management application for monitoring and controlling a plurality of the network devices on the computer network, said management application including a configfile parser package for parsing each of said DDL files during executing of said management application to provide information from each of said DDL files to said management application, said management application including a hotsystemsnmp package for polling each of the plurality of network devices according to polling features of the respective network devices as determined by said configfile parser package, said DDL file includes a polling process definition section describing the polling process supported by the respective network device.

2. The program in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

said DDL file includes a system capabilities section describing capabilities of the respective network device.

3. The program in accordance with claim 2, wherein:

said capabilities of said DDL file include a sizing of the respective network device.

4. The program in accordance with claim 2, wherein:

said capabilities of said DDL file include a description of one of filters, portgroups, slotgroups and address groups of the respective network device.

5. The program in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

said DDL file includes tokens and attributes.

6. The program in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

said DDL file includes a literal string providing a name of the respective network device.

7. The program in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

said DDL file includes static information of the respective network device.

8. The program in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

said configfile parser package parses said DDL file during initial execution of said management application.

10. The program in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of DDL files are provide, each of said plurality of DDL files describes one of the network devices.

11. The program in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

said DDL file and said management application are encoded in memory devices of the network management device.

9. A computer network management software program in a network management device, the program comprising:

a device description language (DDL) file providing an abstraction of features of a network device in a computer network, said DDL file being a human readable text file;

a management application for monitoring and controlling a plurality of the network devices on the computer network, said management application including a configfile parser package for parsing each of said DDL files during executing of said management application to provide information from each of said DDL files to said management application, said management application including a hotsystemsnmp package for polling each of the plurality of network devices according to polling features of the respective network devices as determined by said configfile parser package, wherein;

each said network device operates using one of a plurality of versions of agent software;

said DDL file includes a plurality of divisions, each said division describing features of one of said versions of said agent software; and

said management application reads agent software version information from the network devices and uses features from a respective said division of said DDL file for monitoring and control of the respective network device.

12. A method for managing a plurality of devices of a computer network, the method comprising:

creating a device description language (DDL) file providing an abstraction of features of one of the devices of the computer network in a human readable text file;

creating a management application source file for monitoring and controlling the plurality of devices on the network;

compiling sad management application source file into a management application executable file without reading information from said DDL file;

executing said management application executable file, said executing including parsing said DDL file to provide information from said DDL file to said management application, said executing also including poling the one device according to polling features of the device as determined during said parsing of said DDL file, wherein said DDL file includes a polling process definition section describing the polling processes supported by the respective network device.