NETWORK TOPOLOGY DETECTION METHOD

• Main Authors: MIKAMI HIROHIDE, HIRANO SATOYUKI, INUTSUKA TOSHINOBU, YAMASHITA TAKAO, SUZUKI RYOICHI, MATSUMOTO MASAYA
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 14.11.2003
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHICCOMMUNICATION

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for automatically detecting a topology of an Ethernet(R) network composed of Ethernet(R) frame transfer processing apparatuses having different development sources and a method for detecting difference between a connection of apparatuses intended by an Ethernet(R) network designer and a real connection of the apparatuses. SOLUTION: By using an apparatus identifier and an identifier of a connected port to be exchanged based upon Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) specified in IEEE802.3ad between the two Ethernet(R) frame transfer processing apparatuses with mutually connected ports on the Ethernet(R) network composed of the plurality of Ethernet(R) frame transfer processing apparatuses, information on the connection between the two Ethernet(R) frame transfer apparatuses is acquired and information on the connections of all the Ethernet(R) frame transfer processing apparatuses on the Ethernet(R) network is similarly acquired to automatically detect the topology of the Ethernet(R) network. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO