3com Corporation

Robert Duncan

David James Stevenson

Christopher Robert Linzell

Alastair Hugh Chisholm

Andrew Hunter Gray

Hamish Donald Stuart Martin

Colin Tinto

Ronan François Daniel Grandin

Vanessa Serra

Simon Peter Valentine

David John Maxwell

Iain Hogg

Hamish D S Martin

Daniel Simon Ginger

Neil William Gray

Steven James Urouhart

Mike Moran

The gateway devices in a VPN require configuration when the VPN is set up and to reflect changes. To process the configuration tasks efficiently, a method is described of configuring a virtual private network (VPN) within a shared network, in which a queue of configuration tasks is created for gateway devices belonging to the VPN. The configuration tasks include sending static network routing information to said gateway devices. The tasks are deployed by retrieving a next task from the queue, and interrogating the gateway device to which the task relates, to identifying any change in subnetworks connected thereto since the task was created. If no change is identified, the retrieved task is performed. If, on the other hand, a change is identified, update configuration tasks are created for all relevant gateway devices in the VPN. The update task for each gateway device is then merged with any not yet performed task in the queue for that gateway device, and the task retrieved from the queue merged with the and update task is performed.

Configuration of VPNs

A network management apparatus and method for determining the topology of a network in which a Spanning-Tree protocol is implemented, is disclosed in which address table data is obtained from the ports of the core network devices on the network, and the identity of the ports of the core network devices are determined. Spanning-Tree protocol information is obtained from the core network devices and used to process the address table data to remove data relating to ports having links which are inactive. The topology of the network is then determined using the processed data by first selecting one of the core network devices as a root network device, and then using the processed address table data to build a network tree from the selected root device.

Network management apparatus and method for determining the topology of a network

A method and apparatus for determining a time interval for periodically polling a device on a networkis described. The method determines the most restrictive link on the path to the network device, the level of restrictiveness of a link being dependent on the nature of the link, such as the link speed and link type. The time interval between polling is determined based on the nature of the most restrictive link. Thus, the time interval can be determined according to the type and speed of the links between the polling device, which in a preferred embodiment is a network management station, and the polled device on the network

Method and apparatus for determining a polling interval in a network management system

A network management apparatus and method reduces the number of events presented in an event list to a user. In particular, the apparatus and method reduces the number of events, which are generated during the monitoring of a network and may be due to rebooting of a device on the network, presented to the user by determining, upon receiving an event relating to a device, whether a more significant event already appears in the event list relating to the device, and if so, preventing the received event from being presented in the event list to the user.

Network management apparatus and method for processing events associated with device reboot

In a network of managed devices, a method of processing network events to reduce the number of events to be displayed in an event log, comprising receiving information relating to network events, passing information regarding a network event to an event processor, determining if the information passed to the event processor relates to a type of event processed by that event processor, and if it is of such a type, processing said information if information on a related event has already been received by that event processor. The method also includes passing said information on to a further event processor if the information received does not relate to a type of event processed by said first event processor. A set of event processors for carrying out the method is described together with a computer program, or a program on a computer readable medium loadable into a digital computer, or embodied in a carrier wave, which computer program operates in accordance with the method.

System using a series of event processors for processing network events to reduce number of events to be displayed

A network management apparatus and method for identifying an event which is indicative of the underlying cause of more than one of a plurality of events detected by a network management station on a network is described in which the management station has knowledge of the topology of the network. Using the topology of the network, the apparatus and method considers the location of the network device causing each event in the plurality of events, and determines as the causal event, the event which has occurred at a location closest to the network management station. The method is preferably implemented in the form of a computer program.

Network management apparatus and method for identifying causal events on a network

A method for fetching sparsely indexed MIB tables for a managed network device using an approximation operation, such as a GetNext SNMP operation, comprises sending a plurality of operations in a first data packet at least one of the plurality of approximation operations specifying a speculative approximation. By using speculative approximations of index values of data to be fetched, it is possible to retrieve MIB table data more quickly and efficiently.

Method and apparatus for fetching sparsely indexed MIB tables in managed network systems

A system and method for providing a stress value representing the performance of a network comprising network devices is described. A raw data value for a monitored characteristic of a network device or link is obtained by the management system and compared with a predetermined threshold value for the monitored characteristic. If the raw data value is greater than or equal to said threshold value, the management system provides a stress value equal to a default value, said default value being a maximum or minimum value of a predefined bounded range; and if the raw value is less than said threshold value, the management system calculates a stress value within said predefined bounded range using an appropriate algorithm for said monitored characteristic.

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Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Robert Duncan