Method for determining whether two pieces of network equipment are directly connected
US6182135A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 5, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jan 30, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 5, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/351
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method by which a pair of communicating network equipment drivers can determine if the equipment they control such as a network adapter or a switch port are directly connected by a single network cable, is applicable to network protocols which include a link active signaling technique as part of the physical layer specification. The method includes determining whether the link is in a first state in which there is only one device coupled to the link without intervening devices which are members of a particular class, or in a second state in which there may be more than one device coupled to the link without intervening devices which are members of the particular class. If the link is in the first state, then a physical layer test involving the physical layer link active signaling mechanism is executed to ensure that the responding device is coupled to the same link without intervening devices that are not members of the particular class.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.