Discovery of conventional devices and bridges in hybrid communication networks
US8897169B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 3, 2011 |
| Grant date | Nov 25, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 17, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L2012/6432
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A hybrid network device can implement functionality for automatically detecting and locating legacy bridges in a communication network. In one embodiment, a first network device of a first class of network devices can determine that a second network device of a second class of network devices is communicatively located adjacent to at least one of a plurality of network interfaces of the first network device based, in part, on detecting that a packet originating from the second network device does not include a predetermined tag. The first network device can determine whether network segments associated with the first network device and a target network device are communicatively coupled via a network bridge device of the second class of network devices based on transmitting probe messages to the second network device and determining whether the target network device detected the probe messages.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.