Apparatus and method for detecting a layout of a switched local network

A method according to claim I wherein said switched network comprises an FDDI (fiber distributed data interface) ring and wherein said step of identifying comprises the step of determining which switches are connected to said FDDI ring.

Apparatus for monitoring a layout of a local network, the network including a first plurality of ports associated, via end-station to port connections, with a second plurality of end-stations, the apparatus comprising:

• a network layout identifier operative to generate a representation of the layout of the network;
• and
• a network layout updater operative to update said representation if only a portion of the layout of the network changes.

A method for monitoring a layout of a local network, the network including a first plurality of ports associated with one another via at least one port to port connections, and associated, via end-station to port connections, with a second plurality of end-stations, wherein at least one of the port to port connections passes through a bridging element, the method comprising:

• determining and storing the layout of the network including identifying all port to port connections;
• and
• identifying all port to port connections which include bridges, the identifying step comprising conveying messages which do not pass through bridging elements and identifying ports which did not receive said messages.

A method for storing a network layout, the method comprising:

• storing network layout information in a database;
• and
• providing a database management system operative to access said network layout information.

Database apparatus for representing the layout of a network, the apparatus comprising:

• a computerized representation of a plurality of elements included in a network;
• and
• a plurality of element keys associated respectively with the plurality of elements, wherein each element key indicates a location of the corresponding element within the computerized representation and a location of the corresponding element within the network.

A method for generating a hierarchical display of the layout of a network including a multiplicity of elements, the method comprising:

• displaying a first level representation of the network including a first plurality of icons which is less in number than said multiplicity of elements, wherein at least one of the icons represents a subset of more than one elements from among said multiplicity of elements;
• and
• for each of the at least one subsets, displaying a second plurality of icons representing the subset.

A method for generating a display of a network layout, the method comprising:

• displaying a first plurality of network elements and a second plurality of connections between individual ones of said first plurality of network elements;
• and
• displaying a representation of at least one characteristics of at least one of said second plurality of connections.

A method for managing a network including a plurality of elements including at least one switching hubs, the method comprising:

• generating a display of the network including generating at least one hotspots respectively representing at least one switching hubs included in the network;
• upon selection of an individual one of the hotspots, activating a switching hub manager which is operative to manage the switching hub corresponding to said individual hotspot.

A method for displaying a network layout, the network including a plurality of elements including at least one hubs, the method comprising:

• accepting a user's selection of an individual hub from among said at least one hubs;
• generating a hub-centric view display of the network including only the individual hub and at least a subset of the elements connected therewith.

Apparatus for determining the layout of a network including a multiplicity of network elements based on information collected from said plurality of network elements, the apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of network element polling devices which operate in parallel to poll the multiplicity of network elements, thereby to collect said information therefrom;
• and
• a network layout deriving unit operative to receive said information from said plurality of network element polling devices and to derive the layout of the network therefrom.