Method for port connectivity discovery in transparent high bandwidth networks
US6681248B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 12, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jan 20, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 12, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04J2203/006
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a network having a trace capability, a method to track the connectivity of the network uses the trace messages. A network manager creates a list of ports in the network and uses that list to track the connectivity. For each port, the manager first checks whether there is a current connection and if it finds one, records the connection. For the unconnected ports, the manager enables the transmission of a trace message that identifies the transmitting port. When a trace detected message is received from a port, the network manager updates the list of ports with the connection just reported and disables the trace message that was detected. A port sending a trace message that is not detected is marked as not connected in the list. The method is useful in high bandwidth circuit-based networks, such as optical networks, composed of links of many types and utilizing differing protocols.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.