Method of identifying device types on a local area network using passive monitoring
US5917808A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 17, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jun 29, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 17, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L43/0847
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a test instrument for testing local area networks (LANs), a method for identifying network device types on a LAN operating according to the TCP/IP protocol suite using passive monitoring is provided. A test instrument is coupled to the LAN to passively receive traffic in the form of frames that are being sent between the nodes on the LAN. The frames being sent may contain information that may be uniquely associated with specific types of network devices such as servers, routers, printers. A frame processor collects and extracts the frame information from the frames, including the message type and source IP address. The frame information is compared against sets of frame types, with each set of frame types uniquely associated with one of the network device types. The device types as detected are added to a station database.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.