Ring topology discovery mechanism

A node for automatically discovering a topology of a communication network ring, the ring including a plurality of nodes, the node comprising:

• a first port and a second port, each port operable to receive and transmit data:
• at least one of the first port and the second port receiving at least one of a ring topology request and a response to the ring topology request from at least one other node on the ring, the at least one of the ring topology request and the response to the ring topology request including an identification of the at least one other node and an indication of a hop count needed to reach the at least one other node;
• the other of the first port and the second port than the port on which the at least one of a ring topology request and a response to the ring topology request was received forwarding the at least one of a ring topology request and a response to the ring topology request to at least one neighboring node on the ring;
• and
• a processor electrically connected to each port, the processor determining the topology based on the identification of the at least one node, the hop count, and an identification of the forwarding port.

A system for automatically discovering a topology of a communication network ring, the system comprising:

• a plurality of nodes interconnected in a ring configuration, each node including:
• a first port and a second port, each port operable to receive and transmit data:
• at least one of the first port and the second port receiving at least one of a ring topology request and a response to the ring topology request from at least one other node on the ring, the at least one of the ring topology request and the response to the ring topology request including an identification of the at least one other node and an indication of a hop count needed to reach the at least one other node;
• the other of the first port and the second port than the port on which the ring topology request was received forwarding the at least one of a ring topology request and a response to the ring topology request to at least one neighboring node on the ring;
• and
• a processor electrically connected to each port, the processor determining the topology based on the identification of the at least one node, the hop count, and an identification of the forwarding port.