Method and apparatus for determining unmanaged network devices in the topology of a network
First Claim
1. A method for determining the topology of a network when a network tree, built from data relating to discovered devices of the network, includes one or more unresolved branches, the method comprising:
- for each unresolved branch of the network tree, attempting to determine the type of each of the discovered network devices on the branch,if the type of each discovered network device on the branch is determined to be an endstation type, inferring that an undiscovered connecting device is present on the branch;
if the type of at least one discovered network device on the branch is not an endstation type, leaving the topology of the branch unresolved; and
presenting the determined network topology as a network map, the map comprising icons representing network devices and lines representing network links, wherein the inferred connecting device is represented differently from a discovered connecting device.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A network management apparatus and method for determining the topology of a network 1 is described. The present invention uses data relating to discovered devices on the network 1, typically network management address table data, to build a network tree. Due to the presence of unsupported or unmanaged connecting network devices, some branches of the resulting tree may not be resolved. In order to address this, for each unresolved branch of the network tree, the present invention attempts to determine the type of each of the discovered network devices on the branch, and if the type of every discovered network device on the branch is determined to be an endstation type, the present invention determines that an undiscovered connecting device is present on the branch.
26 Citations
10 Claims
-
1. A method for determining the topology of a network when a network tree, built from data relating to discovered devices of the network, includes one or more unresolved branches, the method comprising:
-
for each unresolved branch of the network tree, attempting to determine the type of each of the discovered network devices on the branch, if the type of each discovered network device on the branch is determined to be an endstation type, inferring that an undiscovered connecting device is present on the branch; if the type of at least one discovered network device on the branch is not an endstation type, leaving the topology of the branch unresolved; and presenting the determined network topology as a network map, the map comprising icons representing network devices and lines representing network links, wherein the inferred connecting device is represented differently from a discovered connecting device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A computer readable medium including a computer program for determining the topology of a network when a network tree, built from data relating to discovered devices of the network, includes one or more unresolved branches, the program comprising the steps of:
-
attempting to determine the type of each of the discovered network devices on an unresolved branch of the network tree; inferring that an undiscovered connecting device is present on the unresolved branch if the type of each discovered network device on the branch is determined to be an endstation type; if at least one discovered network device on the unresolved branch is determined not to be an endstation type, leaving the topology of the branch unresolved; and presenting the determined network topology as a network map, the map comprising icons representing network devices and lines representing network links, wherein the inferred connecting device is represented differently from a discovered connecting device.
-
-
10. A network management apparatus for determining the topology of a network, the apparatus comprising;
-
a memory for receiving and storing data relating to discovered devices on the network; a processor, coupled to the memory, the processor configured to build a network tree using the received data, and, for each unresolved branch of the network tree, to attempt to determine the type of each of the discovered network devices on the branch; wherein, if the type of every discovered network device on an unresolved branch is determined to be an endstation type, the processor infers that an undiscovered connecting device is present on the branch, and if at least one discovered network device on the unresolved branch is determined not to be an endstation type, the processor does not infer the topology of the unresolved branch of the network; and means for presenting a network map showing the determined topology of the network selected from the group consisting of a display and a printer.
-
Specification