Apparatus and method for IP and MAC address discovery at the process layer

• US 6,574,664 B1
• Filed: 01/29/1999
• Issued: 06/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Liu, Shuosen Robert, Harrison, Brian D
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John A.
• Application Number:
  US09/240,205
• Time in Patent Office: 1,586 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/224, 709/226, 709/228, 709/229, 709/249
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types

Abstract

A method and apparatus for discovering IP and MAC addresses by an application program in a network. The network includes a number of SNMP-manageable and non-SNMP-manageable devices. Active devices can be discovered by the discovery node through a serial pinging mechanism which populates the MIB of the discovery node with IP and/or MAC addresses of all the devices on the network. An SNMP agent on the network is then used to perform a GetNext request that returns to the process layer the IP and MAC addresses of the non-SNMP manageable and SNMP-manageable devices.

Claims

1. In a first network having at least one node, each node associated with an abstracted physical hardware address and a physical hardware address, a method for discovering the abstracted physical hardware address and the physical hardware address associated with a node in the first network, the method comprising the steps of:

providing at least one application procedure;

providing in the first network a first discovery node and a second node, the first discovery node having a network management procedure and an address translation device, the address translation device having a capability to store the abstracted physical hardware address and the physical hardware address for the second node, the second node not having the network management procedure, the network management procedure having access to the address translation device and the application procedure having no access to the address translation device;

requesting that the second node provide the abstracted physical hardware address and the physical hardware address of the second node; and

storing the abstracted physical hardware address and the associated physical hardware address of the second node in a database accessible by the application procedure,

wherein the abstracted physical hardware address and the physical hardware address are addresses of a non-SNMP manageable device, and the network management procedure is an SNMP agent.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the address translation device is an address resolution protocol (ARP) table.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the abstracted physical hardware address is an internet protocol (IP) address.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein the physical hardware address is a medium access control (MAC) address.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

providing a second network in communication with the first network, the second network including a plurality of nodes, each node associated with an abstracted physical hardware address and a physical hardware address; and

obtaining the abstracted physical hardware address and the physical hardware address associated with one of the nodes on the second network.

6. A computer readable medium for use in a computer connected to a first network including a non-SNMP manageable device, comprising:

an SNMP agent;

an address storage mechanism that stores IP and hardware addresses associated with device on the first network; and

a first executable procedure including instructions that

obtains from the non-SNMP manageable device the IP and hardware addresses associated with the device,

stores the IP and hardware addresses of the non-SNMP manageable device in the address storage mechanism,

accesses the IP and hardware addresses from the address storage mechanism through the SNMP agent, and

stores the IP and hardware addresses thus accessed in a database accessible by an application procedure.

7. The apparatus of claim 6,

wherein the hardware address is a medium access control (MAC) address.

8. The apparatus of claim 6,

wherein the address storage mechanism is part of an SNMP management information base (MIB).

9. The apparatus of claim 6, comprising:

a second network in communication with the first network, the second network including a discovery node, the discovery node including an SNMP agent procedure; and

a second executable procedure including instructions that

obtain from the discovery node an IP and hardware address associated with a node on the second network.

10. An apparatus for discovering the IP and MAC address of a non-SNMP manageable device on a first network, comprising:

an SNMP agent;

a means for obtaining the IP and MAC addresses of the non-SNMP manageable device from the non-SNMP manageable device; and

a means for using the SNMP agent to access the IP and MAC addresses of the non-SNMP manageable device.

11. The apparatus of claim 10,

wherein the means for obtaining the IP and MAC addresses of the non-SNMP manageable device from the non-SNMP manageable device is serial pinging.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, comprising:

a second network in communication with the first network, the second network including a plurality of nodes; and

a means for obtaining the IP and MAC addresses of a node on the second network.

13. A method for discovering IP and MAC addresses associated with a non-SNMP manageable device on a first network including a first discovery node, comprising the steps of:

providing the first discovery node with an SNMP agent and an address translation device that stores the IP and MAC addresses of devices on the first network;

requesting that the non-SNMP manageable device provide an IP and MAC address to the first discovery node;

storing the IP and MAC addresses in the address translation device;

accessing the address translation device through the SNMP agent to obtain the IP and MAC addresses of the non-SNMP manageable device; and

storing the IP and MAC addresses thus accessed in a database accessible by an application procedure.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising the steps of:

providing a second network in communication with the first network, the second network including a plurality of nodes; and

obtaining the IP and MAC addresses of one of the nodes in the second network.