Automatic network identification for enhanced communications administration

Abstract

Described technologies automatically detect candidate networks having external nodes which communicate with nodes of a local network; a candidate external network can be identified even when the external nodes are owned by a different entity than the local network's owner. A list of network addresses which communicated with local network nodes is culled to obtain addresses likely to communicate in the future. A graph of local and external nodes is built, and connection strengths are assessed. A candidate network is identified, based on criteria such as connection frequency and duration, domain membership, address stability, address proximity, and others, using cutoff values that are set by default or by user action. The candidate network identification is then utilized as a basis for improved security though virtual private network establishment, improved bandwidth allocation, improved traffic anomaly detection, or network consolidation, for example.