US 2018/0123940 A1 · System and Method for Identifying Components of a Computer Network Based on Component Connections

Abstract

Identifying components of a computer network based on connections between the components includes performing a first discovery operation to identify respective attributes of a first set of components and performing a second discovery operation to infer respective components of the second set of components not identifiable by the first discovery operation. The second discovery operation is performed by sending probes for collecting network flow data indicative of network flows between components of the first set of components and other components of the computer network. The collected network flow data is used to identify connections between ones of the first set of components and ones of the other components, determining sequences of the identified connections, and infer respective attributes of at least some of the second set of components based on the determined sequences of the identified connections.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system for identifying components of a computer network based on connections between the components, the system comprising:

a memory;
and
a processor,
wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processor to:
perform a first discovery operation to identify respective attributes of a first set of components, wherein the computer network includes the first set of components and a second set of components having respective attributes not identifiable by the first discovery operation;
and
perform a second discovery operation comprising instructions to:
send probes configured to collect network flow data indicative of network flows between components of the first set of components and the second set of components of the computer network;
and
using the collected network flow data:
identify connections between ones of the first set of components and ones of the second set of components,
determine sequences of the identified connections, and
infer respective attributes of at least some of the second set of components based on the determined sequences of the identified connections.

10 more elements

A method for identifying components of a computer network based on connections between the components, the method comprising:

performing a first discovery operation to identify respective attributes of a first set of components, wherein the computer network includes the first set of components and a second set of components having respective attributes not identifiable by the first discovery operation;
and
performing a second discovery operation by:
sending probes for collecting network flow data indicative of network flows between components of the first set of components and the second set of components of the computer network;
using the collected network flow data:
identifying connections between ones of the first set of components and ones of the second set of components,
determining sequences of the identified connections, and
inferring respective attributes of at least some of the second set of components based on the determined sequences of the identified connections.

5 more elements

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate the performance of operations comprising:

sending discovery probes to produce probe data associated with a first set of components of the computer network for which credentials are available, wherein attributes of the first set of components are identifiable using the probe data;
and
sending network flow probes to collect network flow data associated with a second set of components of the computer network for which credentials are not available, wherein the collected network flow data is processed with the attributes of the first set of components to infer attributes of the second set of components.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

System and Method for Identifying Components of a Computer Network Based on Component Connections

Life of this patent

System and Method for Identifying Components of a Computer Network Based on Component Connections

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20