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US 8,787,207 B2Granted
Topology discovery of a private network
AssigneeCisco Technology, Inc.
InventorsFuJen Feng, Ming Chow
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to a method and system for determining devices connected to a private network through a gateway. A Network Management System (NMS) through the use of inquiries and Port Address Translation (PAT) commands is able to determine the topology of the network of devices within a private network and thus communicate with them. This is achieved through the use of Port Address Translation (PAT) initiated by the NMS to set a port for each device connected to the gateway.
Claims14
A method, comprising:
- receiving, by a network interface, a discovery request from a Network Management System (NMS), wherein the discovery request includes a request to identify a first device of a private network, and wherein the NMS is not part of the private network;
- identifying, by a processor, the first device;
- transmitting, by the network interface, a first private IP address for the first device to the NMS;
- waiting, by the network interface, to receive an access request from the NMS to add a first Port Address Translation (PAT) entry for the first device;
- receiving, by the network interface, the access request from the NMS to add the first Port Address Translation (PAT) entry for the first device, wherein the access request includes the first private IP address and designates a first port for communication with the first device;
- receiving, by the network interface, a second discovery request from the NMS to identify a second device of the private network known by the first device;
- identifying, by the processor, the second device;
- waiting, by the network interface, to receive a second access request to add a second PAT entry for the second device;
- receiving, by the network interface, the second access request to add the second PAT entry for the second device, wherein the access request includes a second private IP address and designates a second port for communication with the second device;
- adding, by the processor, the first PAT entry and the second PAT entry to a translation table, wherein the first PAT entry and the second PAT entry include respective the first private IP address and the second private IP address and respective the first designated port and the second designated port;
- communicating, by the network interface, the translation table to the NMS;
- and
- removing, by the processor, the PAT entries.
10 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- a network interface;
- and
- one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:
- receive, via the network interface, a discovery request from a Network Management System (NMS), wherein the discovery request includes a request to identify a first device of a private network, and wherein the NMS is not part of the private network;
- identify the first device;
- transmit, via the network interface, a first private IP address for the first device to the NMS;
- wait to receive an access request from the NMS to add a first Port Address Translation (PAT) entry for the first device;
- receive, via the network interface, the access request from the NMS to add the first Port Address Translation (PAT) entry for the first device, wherein the access request includes the first private IP address and designates a first port for communication with the first device;
- receive, via the network interface, a second discovery request from the NMS to identify a second device of the private network known by the first device;
- identify the second device;
- wait to receive a second access request to add a second PAT entry for the second device;
- receive, via the network interface, the second access request to add the second PAT entry for the second device, wherein the access request includes a second private IP address and designates a second port for communication with the second device;
- add the first PAT entry and the second PAT entry to a translation table, wherein the first PAT entry and the second PAT entry include respective the first private IP address and the second private IP address and respective the first designated port and the second designated port;
- communicate, via the network interface, the translation table to the NMS;
- and
- remove the PAT entries.
13 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.