Decentralized network discovery for industrial control systems

A system for decentralized discovery and graphical representation of network devices connected across a plurality of network nodes in a communication network, the system comprising:

• a plurality of network nodes, wherein each network node comprises a control network module (CNM), wherein each control network module of the plurality of network nodes is configured to:
• capture using a link layer discovery protocol (LLDP) attribute data of one or more network devices connected to the network node and associated with the control network module;
• construct a switch data table identifying a media access control (MAC) address for each port of a communication network switch associated with each network device and control network module for each network node;
• compile a neighbor data table for each network device connected to the network node using the attribute data captured by the LLDP and the switch data table;
• generate a neighboring device table containing the network devices connected to the control network module of each network node using the neighbor data table;
• query another control network module associated with another network node of the plurality of network nodes for a neighboring device table associated with the another network node;
• update the neighboring device table of the network node based on at least the neighboring device table associated with the another network node, and
• generate a graphical representation of the plurality of network nodes and network devices connected to the plurality of network nodes on a display based on at least the updated neighboring device table of the network node.