Detecting nearby devices in a network environment
First Claim
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1. One or more non-transitory computer readable media having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
- identifying one or more devices in a network;
obtaining, for at least one of one or more network switches in the network, an indication of which port of the network switch a computing device is coupled to;
obtaining, for each of the one or more identified devices and for the at least one network switch, an indication of which port of the network switch the identified device is coupled to; and
determining, for at least one of the one or more identified devices, how physically distant the identified device is to the computing device, wherein the determining is based at least in part on the indication of which port of the network switch the computing device is coupled to and the indication of which ports of the network switch the one or more identified devices are coupled to.
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Abstract
In a networked environment, an inferred proximity of one or devices to another device is determined. The inferred proximity is determined, for a particular one of the one or more devices, based at least in part on which port of a network switch the particular device and the other device are coupled to.
17 Citations
31 Claims
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1. One or more non-transitory computer readable media having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
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identifying one or more devices in a network; obtaining, for at least one of one or more network switches in the network, an indication of which port of the network switch a computing device is coupled to; obtaining, for each of the one or more identified devices and for the at least one network switch, an indication of which port of the network switch the identified device is coupled to; and determining, for at least one of the one or more identified devices, how physically distant the identified device is to the computing device, wherein the determining is based at least in part on the indication of which port of the network switch the computing device is coupled to and the indication of which ports of the network switch the one or more identified devices are coupled to. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method, implemented in a computing device that is part of a network, the method comprising:
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detecting one or more network switches in the network; identifying one or more other devices of a particular type in the network; obtaining, for each of the identified one or more other devices and for at least one of the one or more network switches, an indication of which port of the network switch the device is coupled to, wherein the indication is obtained from at least one of the one or more network switches; and ranking, based at least in part on the obtained indications as well as which port of the network switch the computing device is coupled to, the one or more other devices in terms of their inferred physical proximity to the computing device. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method, implemented in a computing device that is a part of a network comprising:
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discovering network switches in a network; identifying devices connected to the network; determining each switch and each port to which the devices are coupled; determining each switch and each port to which a user computer is coupled; and ranking the devices based upon their inferred physical proximity to the user computer. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification