The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 13, 2011
Filed:
Jan. 21, 2009
Gerd Bayer, Stuttgart, DE;
Felix Eickhoff, Schoenaich, DE;
Onur Keles, Boeblingen, DE;
Frank Koeble, Stuttgart, DE;
Andreas Koenig, Leonberg, DE;
Carl Mayer, Bissingen a.d. Teck, DE;
Gerd Bayer, Stuttgart, DE;
Felix Eickhoff, Schoenaich, DE;
Onur Keles, Boeblingen, DE;
Frank Koeble, Stuttgart, DE;
Andreas Koenig, Leonberg, DE;
Carl Mayer, Bissingen a.d. Teck, DE;
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
An improved method for connection exploration in a network is disclosed, wherein said network includes a plurality of network elements each including at least one port, wherein a globally unique identifier is assigned to each individual port of said network elements, and wherein connected ports of two network elements transfer their globally unique identifiers over a corresponding connection using heartbeat-ordered sequences. The method comprises capturing said transferred globally unique identifiers at receiving ports, storing each of said captured globally unique identifiers at a corresponding receiving port, reading out said transferred globally unique identifiers stored at each port of said network elements using an in-band access, matching said read out globally unique identifiers to a hardware configuration data set to identify connected network elements and connections between said connected network elements, and recording information about existing connections between said network elements.