Mechanism for implementing network discovery in a cable network

Abstract

In a digital network that includes a plurality of devices, which include multiple devices that transmit transport streams, a system and method are provided for discovering and mapping the transport streams and the plurality of devices included in the digital network. In the preferred embodiment, the system includes a controller that, among other things, receives network messages from the plurality of devices and determines or assigns transport stream identifiers in the network such that transport stream identifier conflicts do not occur. In the preferred embodiment, the plurality of devices are adapted to respond to a first message by sending a network message to the controller, and the devices are adapted to monitor their received transport stream(s) and respond to changes by sending a second network message to the controller. The network messages include a transport stream identifier, which is associated with a transport stream, and a device identifier, which is associated with the device that sent the message. The controller uses the received network messages to generate the transport stream map.