Method and apparatus for determination of network topology

• US 7,646,729 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2004
• Issued: 01/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Rajan, Govinda N., van Willigenburg, Willem
• Primary Examiner(s): Jagannathan; Melanie
• Application Number:
  US10/870,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,035 Days
• Field of Search: 370/254
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/042 comprising distributed management centres cooperatively managing the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies

Abstract

A method and apparatus for determining network topology includes adapting a single sniffer to collect information from nodes associated with at least two selected areas of the network and determining a topology of at least a portion of the network using the collected information.

Claims

1. A method for managing a communications network, the method comprising:

adapting a sniffer to collect information from nodes of a first outer nodal area of the communications network,

wherein the communications network comprises;

an inner nodal area; and

a plurality of outer nodal areas connected to the inner nodal area via respective nodes of the inner nodal area,

each outer nodal area comprising a plurality of nodes, each of the plurality of nodes configured to send link status messages only to other nodes of the outer nodal area,

wherein the adapting comprises;

configuring the sniffer as a partition designated inner-nodal-area node of the first outer nodal area;

adapting the sniffer to collect information from nodes of a second outer nodal area of the communications network by configuring the sniffer as a partition designated inner-nodal-area node of the second outer nodal area; and

determining a topology of at least a portion of the communications network using the collected information, the portion of the communications network comprising the first and second outer nodal areas.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

connecting the sniffer to a central location of the communications network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sniffer is a part of an existing network management system of the communications network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sniffer is a stand-alone device connected independently to a central location of the communications network.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

for each remaining outer nodal area of the plurality of outer nodal areas;

adapting the sniffer to collect information from nodes of the remaining outer nodal area by configuring the sniffer as a partition designated inner-nodal-area node of the remaining outer nodal area.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining a topology of the entire communications network using the collected information from each of the plurality of outer nodal areas.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the collected information comprises link state messages sent by nodes of the first and second outer nodal areas.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the collected information is based upon an existing network protocol.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the existing network protocol is part of ISO-IEC 10589:

2001.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the topology further comprises:

collecting information about the first inner nodal area;

calculating the topology according to the first inner nodal area;

subsequently receiving information about the second inner nodal area; and

recalculating the topology based upon the second inner nodal area.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the topology further comprises:

receiving information from all nodes of all areas in the communications network; and

performing a single topology calculation.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein each node of the inner nodal area that connects a respective outer nodal area to the inner nodal area is a two-level node such that, at one level, the node functions as a member of the inner nodal area and, at another level, the node functions as a member of the respective outer nodal area.

13. A computer readable storage medium containing a program which, when executed, performs an operation for managing a communications network, the operation comprising:

adapting a sniffer to collect information from nodes of a first outer nodal area of the communications network,

wherein the communications network comprises;

an inner nodal area; and

a plurality of outer nodal areas connected to the inner nodal area via respective nodes of the inner nodal area,

each outer nodal area comprising a plurality of nodes, each of the plurality of nodes configured to send link status messages only to other nodes of the outer nodal area,

wherein the adapting comprises;

configuring the sniffer as a partition designated inner-nodal-area node of the first outer nodal area;

adapting the sniffer to collect information from nodes of a second outer nodal area of the communications network by configuring the sniffer as a partition designated inner-nodal-area node of the second outer nodal area; and

determining a topology of at least a portion of the communications network using the collected information, the portion of the communications network comprising the first and second outer nodal areas.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the operation further comprises:

connecting the sniffer to a central location of the communications network.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the sniffer is a part of an existing network management system of the communications network.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the sniffer is a stand-alone device connected independently to a central location of the communications network.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operation further comprises:

for each remaining outer nodal area of the plurality of outer nodal areas;

adapting the sniffer to collect information from nodes of the remaining outer nodal area by configuring the sniffer as a partition designated inner-nodal-area node of the remaining outer nodal area.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the operation further comprises:

determining a topology of the entire communications network using the collected information from each of the plurality of outer nodal areas.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the collected information comprises link state messages sent by nodes of the first and second outer nodal areas.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein said collected information is based upon an existing network protocol.

21. The computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the existing network protocol is part of ISO-IEC 10589:

2001.

22. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein the determining the topology further comprises:

collecting information about the first inner nodal area;

calculating the topology according to the first inner nodal area;

subsequently receiving information about the second inner nodal area; and

recalculating the topology based upon the second inner nodal area.

23. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the determining the topology further comprises:

receiving information from all nodes of all areas in the communications network; and

performing a single topology calculation.

24. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein each node of the inner nodal area that connects a respective outer nodal area to the inner nodal area is a two-level node such that, at one level, the node functions as a member of the inner nodal area and, at another level, the node functions as a member of the respective outer nodal area.

25. A communications network comprising:

an inner nodal area, comprising a plurality of nodes;

two or more outer nodal areas connected to the inner nodal area via respective nodes of the inner nodal area, each of the two or more outer nodal areas comprising a respective plurality of nodes each of the respective plurality of nodes configured to send link status messages only to other nodes of the outer nodal area; and

a single sniffer adapted to detect topology information about all nodes in the inner nodal area and the two or more outer nodal areas from a central location in the communications network by being configured sequentially as a partition designated inner-nodal-area node of each of the two or more outer nodal area.

26. The communications network of claim 25, wherein the single sniffer is connected to the inner nodal area.

27. The communications network of claim 25, wherein the single sniffer is a part of an existing network management system of the communications network.

28. The communications network of claim 25, wherein the single sniffer is a stand-alone device connected independently to the central location of the communications network.

29. The communications network of claim 26, wherein the single sniffer is instructed to function as a partition designated node in an existing network protocol.

30. The communications network of claim 29, wherein the existing network protocol is ISO-IEC 10589:

2001.

31. A method for managing a communications network having an inner nodal area and a plurality of outer nodal areas connected to the inner nodal area via respective nodes of the inner nodal area, the method comprising:

adapting a single sniffer to collect information from nodes associated with at least two of the plurality of outer nodal areas of the communications network by configuring the sniffer, sequentially, as a partition designated inner-nodal-area node of each of the at least two outer nodal areas; and

determining a topology of at least a portion of the communications network using the collected information, the portion of the communications network comprising the at least two of outer nodal areas.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the collected information comprises link state messages sent by all nodes of the at least two outer nodal areas.