Dynamic discovery of ISO layer-2 topology
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsAlain Vandenberghe, Willy Roche
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method is provided of determining a layer-2 topology of an IT infrastructure which includes layer-2 interconnect devices having ports. A list of layer-2 interconnect devices available in the IT infrastructure is obtained. Uplink and non-uplink ports of layer-2 interconnect devices are determined. All the, or a subset of the, layer-2 interconnect devices are assigned to one initial group. The initial group is iteratively refined by selecting a layer-2 interconnect device and assigning all layer-2 interconnect devices reachable via its non-uplink ports to new subgroups.
Claims9
A method of determining a layer-2 topology of an IT infrastructure comprising layer-2 interconnect devices having ports, the method comprising:
- obtaining a list of layer-2 interconnect devices and end devices available in the IT infrastructure,
- determining uplink and non-uplink ports of the layer-2 interconnect devices, wherein the uplink and non-uplink ports are determined by information stored in forward tables of the layer-2 interconnect devices, wherein the uplink ports of the layer-2 interconnect devices are the ports via which a root device is reachable and the non-uplink ports are all other ports,
- assigning all the, or a subset of the, layer-2 interconnect devices to one initial group, and
- iteratively refining the initial group by selecting a layer-2 interconnect device of the initial group and assigning all layer-2 interconnect devices reachable via its non-uplink ports to new subgroups.
A computer system for determining a layer-2 topology of an IT infrastructure comprising layer-2 interconnect devices having ports, the computer system being programmed to:
- obtain a list of layer-2 interconnect devices and end devices available in the IT infrastructure,
- determine uplink and non-uplink ports of the layer-2 interconnect devices and end devices, wherein the uplink and downlink ports are determined by information stored in forward tables of the layer-2 interconnect devices, wherein the uplink ports of the layer-2 interconnect devices are the ports via which a root device is reachable and the non-uplink ports are all other ports,
- assign all the, or a subset of the, layer-2 interconnect devices to one initial group, and
- iteratively refine the initial group by selecting a layer-2 interconnect device of the initial group and assign all layer-2 interconnect devices reachable via its non-uplink ports to new subgroups.
A computer-readable medium having stored thereon, computer-executable instructions that, if executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method comprising:
- obtaining a list of layer-2 interconnect devices and end devices available in the IT infrastructure,
- determining uplink and non-uplink ports of the layer-2 interconnect devices, wherein the uplink and downlink ports are determined by information stored in forward tables of the layer-2 interconnect devices, wherein the uplink ports of the layer-2 interconnect devices are the ports via which a root device is reachable and the non-uplink ports are all other ports,
- assigning all the, or a subset of the, layer-2 interconnect devices to one initial group, and
- iteratively refining the initial group by selecting a layer-2 interconnect device of the initial group and assigning all layer-2 interconnect devices reachable via its non-uplink ports to new subgroups.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.