Pre-Grant Publication Number: 20070271363
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Prior Art Detail
Summary / Description
| Summary / Description | The prior art reference relates to automatic discovery of new nodes connected to a network by using network probes. The addresses of the discovered nodes are stored in a listed database for sharing among other probes. |
Basic Information
| Type of Prior Art | Issued Patents - US |
| Country | United States of America |
| Patent/Application # | 5185860 |
| Kind Code | United States (US) - United STATES Patent - A |
| Patentee Name | HEWLETT PACKARD CO (US) |
| Relevant Pages, Columns, or Lines | Claims 1, 2, 10, 11, and 15; |
| URL | http://www.freepatentsonline.co... |
| Filing Date | September 2, 1993 |
| Additional Information | |
Notes / To Do
| Notes | |
Excerpt
Excerpt "A computer network node discovery process for determining nodes connected to a computer network, said process comprising the steps of:
(a) sending a general response message to all nodes on said network;
(b) creating a node list containing the address of each node responding to said general response message;
(c) obtaining, from each node in said node list, a second list of addresses of other nodes with which said node communicates;
(d) adding each node in said second list to said node list;
(e) repeating steps (c) through (d) for each of said nodes in said second list;
(f) storing said node list in a file." |
Relevance
Claims
13
A method comprising:
dynamically scanning a network with a first network scanner;
dynamically scanning the network with a second network scanner;
determining a new network address, wherein the new network address is discovered by the first network scanner and not discovered by the second network scanner; and
updating the second scanner with the new address.
Relevance
"1. A computer network node discovery process for determining nodes connected to a computer network, said process comprising the steps of:
(a) obtaining, from one node of a set of known nodes on said computer network, a list of addresses of one or more other nodes with which said one node communicates comprising the steps of
(a1) obtaining from each bridge unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said bridge unit,
(a2) obtaining from each route unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said router unit,
(a3) obtaining from each gateway unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said gateway unit,
(b) repeating step (a) for each of said other nodes obtained; and
(c) storing said list of node addresses in a file;
(d) repeating steps (a) through (c) at regular time intervals;
whereby said list of node addresses may be displayed to a user of said computer network.
2. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of:
(a4) obtaining from any network probe device connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes known to the said network probe device."
"1. A computer network node discovery process for determining nodes connected to a computer network, said process comprising the steps of:
(a) obtaining, from one node of a set of known nodes on said computer network, a list of addresses of one or more other nodes with which said one node communicates comprising the steps of
(a1) obtaining from each bridge unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said bridge unit,
(a2) obtaining from each route unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said router unit,
(a3) obtaining from each gateway unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said gateway unit,
(b) repeating step (a) for each of said other nodes obtained; and
(c) storing said list of node addresses in a file;
(d) repeating steps (a) through (c) at regular time intervals;
whereby said list of node addresses may be displayed to a user of said computer network.
2. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of:
(a4) obtaining from any network probe device connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes known to the said network probe device."
Claim Chart
All
18
The method of Claim 13, further comprising:
dynamically scanning a network with a third network scanner; and
determining a second new network address, wherein the second new network address is discovered by the third network scanner and not discovered by either the first scanner or the second scanner;
updating the first scanner with the second address; and
updating the second scanner with the second address,
wherein the third network scanner performs a third separate function.
Relevance
"1. A computer network node discovery process for determining nodes connected to a computer network, said process comprising the steps of:
(a) obtaining, from one node of a set of known nodes on said computer network, a list of addresses of one or more other nodes with which said one node communicates comprising the steps of
(a1) obtaining from each bridge unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said bridge unit,
(a2) obtaining from each route unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said router unit,
(a3) obtaining from each gateway unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said gateway unit,
(b) repeating step (a) for each of said other nodes obtained; and
(c) storing said list of node addresses in a file;
(d) repeating steps (a) through (c) at regular time intervals;
whereby said list of node addresses may be displayed to a user of said computer network.
2. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of:
(a4) obtaining from any network probe device connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes known to the said network probe device."
"1. A computer network node discovery process for determining nodes connected to a computer network, said process comprising the steps of:
(a) obtaining, from one node of a set of known nodes on said computer network, a list of addresses of one or more other nodes with which said one node communicates comprising the steps of
(a1) obtaining from each bridge unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said bridge unit,
(a2) obtaining from each route unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said router unit,
(a3) obtaining from each gateway unit connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes accessible by said gateway unit,
(b) repeating step (a) for each of said other nodes obtained; and
(c) storing said list of node addresses in a file;
(d) repeating steps (a) through (c) at regular time intervals;
whereby said list of node addresses may be displayed to a user of said computer network.
2. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of:
(a4) obtaining from any network probe device connected to said network a list of addresses of all nodes known to the said network probe device."
Claim Chart
None
19
The method of Claim 13, wherein the method is automatically repeated after all previously known devices have been scanned.
Relevance
"10. A computer network node discovery process for determining nodes connected to a computer network, said process comprising the steps of:
(a) sending a general response message to all nodes on said network;
(b) creating a node list containing the address of each node responding to said general response message;
(c) obtaining, from each node in said node list, a second list of addresses of other nodes with which said node communicates;
(d) adding each node in said second list to said node list;
(e) repeating steps (c) through (d) for each of said nodes in said second list;
(f) storing said node list in a file.
11. The process of claim 10 further comprising the step of:
(g) repeating steps (a) through (f) at regular time intervals."
"The process of querying discovery agents to obtain a list of nodes known to be discovery agents, must be repeated at timed intervals. At any given time on a network, one or more nodes may not be responding to the network, either because it is inoperative, or because it is not powered up. Therefore, if the discovery process is attempted during this time, these unavailable nodes will not be discovered. By repeating the discovery process over time at regular intervals, additional nodes on a network can be discovered." (Lines 51-60 of Column 2)
"10. A computer network node discovery process for determining nodes connected to a computer network, said process comprising the steps of:
(a) sending a general response message to all nodes on said network;
(b) creating a node list containing the address of each node responding to said general response message;
(c) obtaining, from each node in said node list, a second list of addresses of other nodes with which said node communicates;
(d) adding each node in said second list to said node list;
(e) repeating steps (c) through (d) for each of said nodes in said second list;
(f) storing said node list in a file.
11. The process of claim 10 further comprising the step of:
(g) repeating steps (a) through (f) at regular time intervals."
"The process of querying discovery agents to obtain a list of nodes known to be discovery agents, must be repeated at timed intervals. At any given time on a network, one or more nodes may not be responding to the network, either because it is inoperative, or because it is not powered up. Therefore, if the discovery process is attempted during this time, these unavailable nodes will not be discovered. By repeating the discovery process over time at regular intervals, additional nodes on a network can be discovered." (Lines 51-60 of Column 2)
Claim Chart
None
20
The method of Claim 13, wherein the new network address is added to a database.
Relevance
"Block 604 then initializes the database used to permanently store the nodes, and loads node list from existing entries in the database. If a database for the network does not exist, the discovery system has the ability to create that database. If a database of the network already exists, the discovery system will use the node information which is already available in that database to query other nodes within the system." (Lines 55-65 of Column 5)
"Block 604 then initializes the database used to permanently store the nodes, and loads node list from existing entries in the database. If a database for the network does not exist, the discovery system has the ability to create that database. If a database of the network already exists, the discovery system will use the node information which is already available in that database to query other nodes within the system." (Lines 55-65 of Column 5)
Claim Chart
None
23
The method of Claim 22, further comprising:
displaying a network-wide metric based on the combined data.
Relevance
"After all the nodes on a network are discovered, the list of nodes is written to a database where it can be displayed by the network manager or other users of the network." (Abstract)
"After all the nodes on a network are discovered, the list of nodes is written to a database where it can be displayed by the network manager or other users of the network." (Abstract)
Claim Chart
None
25
The method of Claim 13, wherein the network comprises at least one of a WAN, a LAN, and a VPN.
Relevance
"It is another object of the invention to provide a method of discovering network nodes on a TCP/IP network." (Column 2, 21-24)
"It is another object of the invention to provide a method of discovering network nodes on a TCP/IP network." (Column 2, 21-24)
Claim Chart
None
