Patent ID: 7343409
Filing Date: 2008-03-11
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method, operable in a system that monitors a network, for discovering devices of various device types, wherein, for each device type, discovery information specifying a directory lookup procedure and a network probe procedure has been provided for that device type, the method comprising: (a) providing a discovery framework that is controlled by the system to discover devices on the network, the discovery framework having a predetermined interface; (b) during a discovery operation, reading the discovery information for a specific device type; and using the discovery information to instantiate a plug-in module with a directory lookup procedure and a network probe procedure that are both dependent on the specific device type and with the predetermined interface that is independent of the specific device type, the module specifying the directory lookup procedure for examining network directories for device references and the network probe procedure for probing the network for referenced devices; and (c) controlling the module with the discovery framework to discover devices of the specified type on the network.