Node discovery involving stealth node enumerators

• US 7,660,891 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2005
• Issued: 02/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Black, Richard John
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava; Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): KRISHNAN, VIVEK V
• Application Number:
  US11/302,651
• Publication Number:
  US 20060168180A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,518 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding

Abstract

A network node discovery method allows multiple enumerators to concurrently accept and interpret the same enumeration responses from responder nodes on a network. In this manner, the responder nodes do not have to issue individual responses for each enumerator. Each responder maintains a discovery state and one or more per-enumerator session states to manage when the responder should transmit enumeration responses. The enumeration, therefore, proceeds at a target network load, irrespective of the number of enumerators present, and completes in a short time by making efficient use of the network capacity available. Furthermore, an enumerator can determine that it need only wait for responses solicited by other enumerators, rather than requesting them, thereby reducing network traffic in the presence of many concurrently enumerating nodes.

Claims

1. A method of managing enumeration traffic by a selected enumerator in a computer network, the method to be performed on a computing system, the computing system comprising a processing unit coupled to a memory, the method comprising:

using the processing unit to detect enumeration requests from one or more enumerators in the computer network;

computing a stealth condition based on detection of the enumeration requests from the one or more enumerators, wherein the stealth condition is a condition in which the selected enumerator determines whether or not the selected enumerator can obtain needed enumeration responses without issuing enumeration requests and acknowledgements, wherein the computing operation comprises;

computing an acknowledgement load attributable to the one or more enumerators in the computer network;

computing a response load attributable to responders responding to the enumeration requests of the one or more enumerators in the computer network, wherein the stealth condition determines whether the acknowledgment load exceeds the response load;

transmitting enumeration requests from the selected enumerator in the computer network, if the stealth condition is not satisfied since the acknowledgement load does not exceed the response load and the selected enumerator determined that the selected enumerator cannot obtain needed enumeration responses without issuing enumeration requests and acknowledgements; and

refraining from transmission of enumeration requests from the selected enumerator, if the stealth condition is satisfied since the acknowledgement load exceeds the response load and the selected enumerator determined that the selected enumerator can obtain needed enumeration responses without issuing enumeration requests and acknowledgments.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

counting by the selected enumerator the enumeration requests from the one or more enumerators in the computer network to determine a count of the one or more enumerators.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the acknowledgement load depends upon the count of the enumerators transmitting enumeration requests in the computer network.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the acknowledgement load depends upon an estimate of a remaining number of active nodes to respond in the computer network.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the response load depends upon an estimate of a remaining number of active nodes to respond in the computer network.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the response load depends upon a retransmission threshold attributed to the responders.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the computing operation comprises:

computing a network load caused by transmitting acknowledgements from the one or more enumerators to the responders.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the computing operation comprises:

computing a network load caused by the responders transmitting a retransmission threshold number of enumeration responses in response to the enumeration requests of the one or more enumerators.

9. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a computer process implementing the method of claim 1.

10. A network node that manages enumeration traffic in a computer network, the network node comprising:

an enumeration module that detects enumeration requests from one or more enumerators in the computer network, the enumeration module embodied in a computer-readable medium;

a stealth condition module that computes a stealth condition based on detection of the enumeration requests from the one or more enumerators, wherein the stealth condition is a condition in which a selected enumerator determines whether or not the selected enumerator can obtain needed enumeration responses without issuing enumeration requests and acknowledgements, wherein the stealth condition module computes an acknowledgement load attributable to the one or more enumerators in the computer network and computes a response load attributable to responders responding to the enumeration requests of the one or more enumerators in the computer network, wherein the stealth condition determines whether the acknowledgment load exceeds the response load, the stealth condition module embodied in a computer-readable medium;

an enumeration request module that transmits enumeration requests, if the stealth condition is not satisfied since the acknowledgement load does not exceed the response load and the selected enumerator determined that the selected enumerator cannot obtain needed enumeration responses without issuing enumeration requests and acknowledgements, and refrains from transmitting enumeration requests, if the stealth condition is satisfied since the acknowledgement load exceeds the response load and the selected enumerator determined that the selected enumerator can obtain needed enumeration responses without issuing enumeration requests and acknowledgments, the enumeration request module embodied in a computer-readable medium.

11. The network node of claim 10 wherein the enumeration module counts the enumeration requests from the one or more enumerators in the computer network to determine a count of the one or more enumerators.

12. The network node of claim 11 wherein the acknowledgement load depends upon the count of the enumerators transmitting enumeration requests in the computer network.

13. The network node of claim 10 wherein the acknowledgement load depends upon an estimate of a remaining number of active nodes to respond in the computer network.

14. The network node of claim 10 wherein the response load depends upon an estimate of a remaining number of active nodes to respond in the computer network.

15. The network node of claim 10 wherein the response load depends upon a retransmission threshold attributed to the responders.

16. The network node of claim 10 wherein the stealth condition module that computes a network load caused by transmitting acknowledgements from the one or more enumerators to the responders.

17. The network node of claim 10 wherein the stealth condition module computes a network load caused by the responders transmitting a retransmission threshold number of enumeration responses in response to the enumeration requests of the one or more enumerators.

18. A network node that manages enumeration traffic in a computer network, the network node comprising:

means for detecting enumeration requests from one or more enumerators in the computer network;

means for computing a stealth condition based on detection of the enumeration requests from the one or more enumerators, wherein the stealth condition is a condition in which a selected enumerator determines whether or not the selected enumerator can obtain needed enumeration responses without issuing enumeration requests and acknowledgements, wherein the means for computing the stealth condition computes an acknowledgement load attributable to the one or more enumerators in the computer network and computes a response load attributable to responders responding to the enumeration requests of the one or more enumerators in the computer network, wherein the stealth condition determines whether the acknowledgment load exceeds the response load;

means for transmitting enumeration requests from the selected enumerator in the computer network, if the stealth condition is not satisfied since the acknowledgement load does not exceed the response load and the selected enumerator determined that the selected enumerator cannot obtain needed enumeration responses without issuing enumeration requests and acknowledgements; and

means for refraining from transmission of enumeration requests from the selected enumerator, if the stealth condition is satisfied since the acknowledgement load exceeds the response load and the selected enumerator determined that the selected enumerator can obtain needed enumeration responses without issuing enumeration requests and acknowledgments.