Patent Abstract:
The present invention comprises a method and apparatus for automatic discovery of logical links between network devices. In one embodiment, the present invention comprises part of a network management system (“NM”) that manages a discrete set of network devices. The NM sends SNMP queries to individual network devices managed by the NM to obtain interface configuration data for each of the network interfaces of the device. The information requested includes destination information (“next hop” or “neighbor” IP address) for data packets sent from the interface. The NM checks to see whether a logical link corresponding to the received configuration information already exists in a logical link database maintained by the NM. If such a link exists the NM checks to see if the existing information for the link is valid. If the existing link data is valid, no change is made. If the existing information is not valid, or if no corresponding link is found in the link database, the NM creates a new link corresponding to the new configuration information. In one or more embodiments, the NM displays a graphical view of the discovered IP links on a graphical network map.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to the field of data communications networks, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for automatically discovering logical connections between network devices.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    A data communications network transmits data among and between network devices (sometimes also referred to as “nodes”) physically and logically connected to the network. The physical configuration of a network changes as network devices are added or removed from the network and as physical connections between devices are made or changed. The logical configuration of a network changes as logical connections are established between communicating network devices utilizing the physical structure of the network. Network devices include devices that can send and/or receive data, as well as devices that can forward data. Network devices that can forward data are important in all but the very simplest networks. In most networks direct connections do not exist between most network devices. Instead, each network device is connected to a limited number of adjacent network devices. For network devices to be able to communicate when they are not physically connected, the two communicating network devices rely on intermediate network devices to forward communications between them.  
           [0003]    Data is commonly transmitted over a data communications network in the form of discrete chunks of data referred to as “packets”. A string of data is broken up into packets at the sending network device and sent separately over the network to the receiving network device. The network device receives the individual packets and assembles them in the correct order to reconstruct the original data string. The particular manner in which packets are broken up and transmitted from one network device to another is defined as a “network protocol”. One prominent network protocol is the “Internet Protocol”, usually referred to by its acronym, “IP”, or as the “IP protocol.” Another protocol is called “Multi-Protocol Label Switching”, or “MPLS”.  
           [0004]    Data communications networks are often conceptualized as comprising a hierarchy of communications “layers” that establish different types of connections between network devices. The more basic functions are provided at the lower layers, while successively more sophisticated functions are provided at successively higher layers. Different protocols are used to communicate between devices on each layer. Layering allows sophisticated communications functions to be built up using relatively simple protocols at each layer.  
           [0005]    One common hierarchical network model is the so-called OSI “seven-layer” model. In the OSI model, each lower layer in the model provides communications capabilities or functions that are utilized by the next higher layer. A schematic illustration of the OSI seven-layer model is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the seven layers in the OSI model, beginning from the bottom, are physical layer  205 , data link layer  210 , network layer  215 , transport layer  220 , session layer  225 , presentation layer  230 , and application layer  235 . In relation to the OSI model, the IP protocol is commonly considered as being associated with the third layer, network layer  215 .  
           [0006]    In an IP network, each sending and receiving device is assigned a 32-bit address. The address is usually written as a series of four “octets” (e.g., numbers within a range of 0-255) separated by periods. Examples of IP addresses are 127.0.0.1, 205.160.34.112, 23.1.99.244, etc.  
           [0007]    Each IP packet sent over an IP network includes the sender&#39;s IP address and the recipient&#39;s IP address. The recipient&#39;s IP address is used to route the packet from the sending network device via intermediate network devices that have IP forwarding capabilities to the recipient network device.  
           [0008]    An example of a simple network that illustrates IP forwarding is shown in FIG. 1. The network of FIG. 1 includes two types of network devices: non-IP-forwarding devices  105 ,  110 ,  115  and  120  (represented by rectangles in FIG. 1 and which may, for example, comprise personal computers or computer workstations), and IP-forwarding devices  125 ,  130 ,  135 ,  140 ,  145  and  150  (represented by circles in FIG. 1 and which may, for example, comprise IP routers). The network devices in FIG. 1 are interconnected by a various bidirectional connections or links  160 ,  162 ,  164 ,  166 ,  168 ,  170 ,  172 ,  174 ,  176 ,  178  and  180 , represented in FIG. 1 by two-headed arrows. Links  160 - 180  may comprise direct physical connections between the adjacent network devices, or may comprise logical connections that involve intermediate devices but that are seen by the connected devices as direct connections. For example, network device  110  is connected to network device  130  via link  166 . That is, network device  110  knows that if it sends a communication via its interface port that is connected to link  166 , the communication will be received by network device  130 . It doesn&#39;t matter to network device  11 O whether link  166  is a single physical connection or a series of physical connections. Logical links such as links  160 - 180  in FIG. 1 that connect two network devices will be referred to sometimes herein as “IP links”. The term “IP links” as used herein includes logical links that use the IP protocol, as well as logical links utilizing other protocols, such as, for example, MPLS.  
           [0009]    In the example network of FIG. 1, network device  110  is connected directly (via link  166 ) only to network device  130 . For network device  110  to communicate to any other network device, the IP forwarding capabilities of network device  130  must be used.  
           [0010]    In FIG. 1, network device  130  has direct connections to three other network devices in addition to network device  110 , to which it is connected via link  166 . The other links are links  160 ,  168  and  176 , which connect network device  130  to network devices  125 ,  135  and  145 , respectively. Each of links  160 ,  166 ,  168  and  176  are typically connected to separate ports on network device  130 . Each port may be a separate physical interface, or two or more ports may share a single physical interface. Each port may have its own IP address assigned to it. In that case, network device  130 , as well of each of its ports, may have distinct IP addresses.  
           [0011]    Network device  130  of FIG. 1 has been defined to have IP forwarding capabilities. That means it must be able to receive an IP packet (intended for delivery to a network device other than network device  130 ) from one of the IP links it is connected to and forward it along at least one of the other the IP links it is connected to. In the general case where network device  130  is a typical router, network device  130  will be able to receive and forward IP packets from and to any of the IP links  160 ,  166 ,  168  and  176  it is connected to (provided the links are functioning). The other network devices  125 ,  135 ,  140 ,  145  and  150  with IP forwarding capabilities in the example of FIG. 1 are similarly able to receive and forward IP packets from and to any of the IP links they are connected to.  
           [0012]    If network device  110  wants to send a communication to, for example, network device  115 , there are a number of paths that the communication can take. The most direct path comprises links  166 ,  176 , and  178 . However, other paths include the path comprising links  166 ,  168 ,  174 ,  180  and  178 , and even the path comprising links  166 ,  160 ,  162 ,  174 ,  180  and  178 .  
           [0013]    When network device  110  sends out IP packets to network device  115 , it does not know what path each of the packets will take. Network device  110  simply addresses the packet to network device  115  using network device  115 &#39;s IP number (namely 129.111.110.9 in the example of FIG. 1), and sends it out over link  166  towards network device  130 .  
           [0014]    What network device  130  does with the packet after it receives it depends on how network device  130  is configured. For example, network device  130  may be configured to forward any packet received from link  166  along link  176 . Alternatively, network device  130  may be configured to forward packets along links depending on the destination IP number of the packet. Network device  130  may also be programmed to monitor traffic along each link and to adapt its forwarding scheme to traffic conditions.  
           [0015]    How each network device forwards packets depends on the capabilities and configuration of the particular network device. As is evident even from the simple network example of FIG. 1, it is important that network devices that do IP forwarding be properly configured to interoperate with each other to ensure that packets are correctly routed to their destination.  
           [0016]    Configuration of network devices within a network comprises an aspect of network management. Network devices may be locally managed or remotely (centrally) managed. Local management of a network device may be accomplished using a workstation or terminal directly connected to the network device. Remote management of a network device may be accomplished from remote terminals or workstations that communicate with the network device via the network, provided the network device is provided with a management protocol that allows remote management. One protocol used for remote management of network devices is the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). SNMP provides a set of commands and parameters that allow communication with and configuration of network devices. A person who is responsible for management of a network is commonly referred to as a “network manager.” Network management software systems provide tools to network managers that facilitate central management of often geographically dispersed network devices.  
           [0017]    To be able to manage a network device, a network manager must know that the network device exists, how it is connected to the network and to other network devices, and what its capabilities are. In addition, the network device must have the capability of being remotely managed, the network management system used by the network manager must be able to communicate with the network device using the correct protocol, and the network manager must be apply to supply any required logins, passwords, or other security information.  
           [0018]    The configuration of large networks often changes through the addition, removal and/or replacement of network devices. To properly manage large networks to ensure that IP packets are routed correctly over the network, the network manager must know when data forwarding network devices are added or removed. One system used to discover network devices with data forwarding capabilities is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ for “Method and Apparatus for Automatic Discovery of Network Devices with Data Forwarding Capabilities” assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein.  
           [0019]    In small local networks, for example those in which the entire network comprises only a handful of network devices, it is relatively easy for a network manager to physically inspect each network device and know from first hand inspection when a network device is added or removed. In large, geographically dispersed networks comprising hundreds of network devices, it would be extremely difficult for the network manager to know from a first hand inspection what the state of the entire network is at any given time.  
           [0020]    A network being managed often comprises of a plurality of subnets. A subnet is a group of network devices belonging to a specific block or subset of IP addresses. For example, one type of subnet comprises IP numbers that share the first three octets, as for example 215.223.46.x (where “x” can be any number from 0 to 255). Larger subnets may share only the first two octets (e.g. 215.223.x.y). In addition to subnets, networks may also include individual IP numbers or ranges of IP numbers. A network manager generally will know which subnets are included in the network being managed. However, the network manager will not necessarily know beforehand the IP number of a network device to be added to a network, particularly if the IP number is not within one of the network&#39;s known subnets.  
           [0021]    In addition to needing to know the identity and physical configuration of the network devices themselves, it is also important for the network manager to be able to monitor logical connections between network devices. A logical connection exists between network devices when at least one port of a first network device is configured so that a message sent out through that port will arrive at a known destination (either a network address or a second network device). The destination may be a particular port or interface on another network device, a particular IP address, or a particular subnetwork.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0022]    The present invention comprises a method and apparatus for automatic discovery of logical links between network devices. In one embodiment, the present invention comprises part of a network management system (“NM”) that manages a discrete set of network devices. The NM sends SNMP queries to individual network devices managed by the NM to obtain interface configuration data for each of the network interfaces of the device. The information requested includes destination information (“next hop” or “neighbor” IP address) for data packets sent from the interface.  
           [0023]    In addition to receiving interface configuration information from a managed network device in response to a SNMP query, the NM may also receive unsolicited interface configuration information via a SNMP message originating with the network device itself.  
           [0024]    The NM checks to see whether a logical link corresponding to the received configuration information already exists in a logical link database maintained by the NM. If such a link exists the NM checks to see if the existing information for the link is valid. If the existing link data is valid, no change is made. If the existing information is not valid, or if no corresponding link is found in the link database, the NM creates a new link corresponding to the new configuration information.  
           [0025]    If the destination information for an interface comprises a subnet address, the NM classifies the new link as a “Point-to-Subnet” IP link. If the destination information comprises a normal IP address, the NM checks to see whether the destination IP address corresponds to a network device under management of the NM. If the destination IP address does not correspond to a network device under management of the NM, the NM classifies the link between the network device and the IP address as a “Point-to-IP” link. If the destination IP address corresponds to a network device under management of the NM, the NM classifies the link as a “Point-to-Point” IP link. A “Point-to-Point” IP link may include links between interfaces that do not have individual IP addresses (“unnumbered interfaces”).  
           [0026]    The NM further classifies IP links into links that utilize the IP protocol (“IP Forwarding”), the MPLS protocol (“MPLS Forwarding”), or both (“IP and MPLS Forwarding”).  
           [0027]    In one or more embodiments, the NM displays a graphical view of the discovered IP links on a graphical network map.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0028]    [0028]FIG. 1 is a schematic of a data communications network that utilizes data forwarding.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 2 is a schematic of the OSI seven layer network model.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 3 is a schematic showing examples of types of IP links discovered in an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 4 is a schematic showing examples of types of IP links discovered in an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 5 is a schematic showing examples of numbered and unnumbered interfaces.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a process used in an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIGS. 7 a,    7   b  and  7   c  show examples of graphical depictions of IP links in an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 8 is a schematic of an apparatus comprising an embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0036]    A method and apparatus for automatically discovering logical links between network devices is presented. In one or more embodiments, the invention comprises part of a network management system (“NM”), such as, for example, the Alcatel  5620  Network Management System. In one or more embodiments, the invention is implemented by means of software programming operating on personal computers, computer workstations and or other computing platforms. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough description of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIGS. 3 and 4 show examples of types of logical links, referred to herein as “IP links”, discovered in one or more embodiments of the invention. IP links are classified according to the characteristics of their endpoints and of the protocols supported.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 3 shows examples of IP links classified according to their endpoint types. The links are shown with respect to two routing devices, Router A  305  and Router B  310 , that are both under management of a network management system (“NM”).  
         [0039]    Router A  305  has two IP links associated with it. Link  315  connects Router A  305  to a device having the IP address 155.100.100.111. The device associated with the IP address 155.100.100.111 is not being managed by the NM, therefore no information about this device is known to the NM other than its IP number and that it is linked to Router A  305  via link  315 . A link from a device being managed by the NM to an IP number for a device that is not being managed by the NM is referred to as a “Point-to-IP” link (an endpoint that terminates at a managed device is referred to as a “Point”).  
         [0040]    The other link connected to Router A  305  is link  320 , which connects Router A  305  to Router B  310 . Because each endpoint of link  320  terminates at a device managed by the NM (namely Router A and Router B, respectively), link  320  is referred to as a “Point-to-Point” link.  
         [0041]    In addition to link  320 , two other links are connected to Router B  310 .  
         [0042]    Link  330  connects Router B  310  to IP address 138.120.100.111, which is associated with a device that is not managed by the NM. Accordingly link  320 , like link  315 , is referred to as a “Point-to-IP” link.  
         [0043]    Link  325  does not connect Router B  310  to a particular IP address or device, but comprises a broadcast interface connecting Router B  310  to a subnet, designated 193.1.1.0/24. The “0/24” portion of the subnet address indicates that the subnet comprises devices with IP addresses whose first 24 bits comprise the first three specified octets, namely 193.1.1. This type of link, connecting a managed device to a subnet, is referred to as a “Point-to-Subnet” link.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 4 shows examples of IP links that are classified according to the protocols they support. FIG. 4 shows four IP links  430 ,  435 ,  440  and  445  between five routers  405 ,  410 ,  415 ,  420  and  425 . All of the routers are managed by a NM. Because the endpoints of each of the IP links in FIG. 4 comprise devices being managed by the NM, links  430 ,  435 ,  440  and  445  are all “Point-to-Point” IP links.  
         [0045]    Link  430  between Router A  405  and Router C  415  supports both IP and MPLS forwarding. Link  430  is therefore referred to as a “MPLS and IP Forwarding” IP link. Link  435  between Router B  410  and Router C  415  supports only IP forwarding. Link  435  is therefore referred to as an “IP Forwarding” IP link. Link  440  between Router C  415  and Router D  420  is, like link  430 , a “MPLS and IP Forwarding” IP link, while link  445  between Router D  420  and Router E  425 , like link  435 , is an “IP Forwarding” IP link. An additional type of link not shown in FIG. 4 is a link that supports only MPLS forwarding. Such a link is referred to as a “MPLS Forwarding” link.  
         [0046]    Point-to-Point links can further be characterized as “numbered” and “unnumbered” Point-to-Point links. Numbered and unnumbered Point-to-Point links are illustrated in FIG. 5.  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 5 shows two routers  510  and  520 , respectively. Router  510  comprises two network interfaces  530  and  560 . Interface  530  has been assigned local port number  1  and the IP number 64.56.7.82. It is referred to as a “numbered interface” because it has an IP number assigned to it. Interface  560  has been assigned local port number  2 , but has not been assigned an IP number. It is therefore referred to as an “unnumbered interface”. Using unnumbered interfaces for IP links conserves IP numbers (important because the number of possible IP numbers is limited).  
         [0048]    Router  520  also comprises two network interfaces  550  and  580 . Interface  550  is a “numbered interface” that has been assigned local the IP number 110.55.154.8. Interface  580  is an unnumbered interface that has been assigned local port number  2 .  
         [0049]    Numbered interface  550  is connected to numbered interface  530  via Point-to-Point IP link  540 . The configuration data for router  520  in this case identifies the next neighbor for interface  550  as “64.56.7.82” (the IP address for numbered interface  530 ). Similarly, the configuration data for router  510  identifies the next neighbor for interface  530  as “110.55.154.8” (the IP address for numbered interface  550 ).  
         [0050]    Unnumbered interface  580  of router  520  is connected to unnumbered interface  560  of router  510  via Point-to-Point IP link  570 . Although neither interface  560  nor interface  580  have IP numbers assigned to them, they both comprise interfaces of network devices (i.e. router  510  and  520 , respectively) that do have IP addresses. Accordingly, the configuration data for router  520  identifies the next neighbor for unnumbered interface  580  as “64.56.7.77” (the IP address of router  510 ), and the configuration data for router  510  identifies the next neighbor for unnumbered interface  560  as “110.55.154.15” (the IP address of router  520 ).  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an auto discovery process used in an embodiment of the invention. This embodiment forms part of a network management system (NM) that comprises a number of tools to allow a network manager (user) to manage routing devices in a network environment. The NM provides a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays various views of the network and devices being managed, and that provides menus from which the network manager can select various network management operations. In one or more embodiments, the views that a user may select include a “physical map” that shows a graphical representation of the physical devices and connections in the network being managed (e.g., OSI layers 1 and 2) and an “IP map” that shows a graphical representation of network devices and connections at a higher layer (e.g., OSI layer 3). One of the operations that may be selected is the auto discovery process of FIG. 6, which discovers layer 3 IP links that may be displayed on the layer 3 IP map.  
         [0052]    The auto discovery process of FIG. 6 is initiated at block  600 . The process may be manually initiated by a user or may be automatically initiated by an initiating event. A user may initiate the auto discovery process, for example, by selected a network device shown on the IP map and selecting a “Discover Links” command from a pull down menu. An example of an initiating event that may activate the process of FIG. 6 is a SNMP message sent to the NM from a network device indicating that a new neighbor has been added to the configuration data for the network device (if the network device has been appropriately configured to send such a SNMP message or “trap” to the NM).  
         [0053]    After the auto discovery process of FIG. 6 has been initiated at step  600 , the process sends a request to the network device whose IP links are being discovered to obtain a list of local network interfaces (numbered and unnumbered) that have been configured for the network device. The request may be sent, for example, as a SNMP “get-Next” or “get-Bulk” request. The list may identify a local network interface by an index that comprises the IP address (in the case of a numbered interface) and/or the local port number (in the case of an unnumbered interface).  
         [0054]    At step  610  the first interface in the list is selected and the neighbor IP address for that interface is obtained at step  615 . Depending on the embodiment and the type of requests supported by the NM and the network device, the IP number for the interface may have been included in the information obtained in response the request sent by the NM at step  605 , or a separate request to the network device may be necessary to obtain the neighbor IP address. The local interface index for the currently selected interface (for example the IP number of the network device and the port number for the interface in the case of an unnumbered interface or the IP number of the interface in the case of a numbered interface) and its associated next neighbor IP number are stored in memory at step  620 . Additional configuration data that may have been obtained from the device, such as the protocol(s) supported by the selected interface, may also be stored.  
         [0055]    At step  625  a determination is made as to whether there are any additional interfaces for which the next neighbor IP number has not yet been obtained. If there are such additional interfaces, the next interface is selected at step  630  and the process returns to step  615 . If there are no such additional interfaces, the process begins processing the local interface index/next neighbor IP address pairs (“attribute pairs”) stored in memory at step  635 .  
         [0056]    At step  635 , the process selects the first local interface index/next neighbor IP address pair from memory. At step  640  a determination is made as to whether an existing link exists (for example in an IP link database maintained by the NM) whose endpoints comprise the currently selected local interface index and the next neighbor IP number. If no such link exists, a new IP link having the local interface index as one endpoint and the next neighbor IP number as the other endpoint is created and added to the IP link database at step  660 . The new link may be a Point-to-Point link (numbered or unnumbered) or a Point-to-IP link (depending on whether or not the next neighbor IP number belongs to a device under management of the NM), or a Point-to-Subnet link, as appropriate. The process then proceeds to step  650 , where a determination is made as to whether there are any additional local interface index/next neighbor IP address pairs in memory that need to be processed. If no further pairs need to be processed, the end of the auto discovery process is signalled at step  675  (for example by displaying a message to the user on the GUI of the NM), and the IP Map is updated with any discovered new and/or updated links at step  680 .  
         [0057]    If it is determined at step  640  that an existing link has the currently selected local interface index and next neighbor IP address as its endpoints, the process proceeds to step  645 . At step  645 , a determination is made as to whether both endpoints are known for the existing link. In this case, an endpoint is “known” if the identity of the network device at that endpoint is under management of the NM, or if the endpoint comprises a broadcast interface to a subnet. For example, for Point-to-Point and Point-to-Subnet links, both endpoints are considered to be “known”, while for a Point-to-IP link, the “IP” endpoint is considered to be “unknown.” 
         [0058]    If it is determined at step  645  that both endpoints of the existing link are “known”, no change is made and the process continues to step  650 . If it is determined at step  645  that both endpoints are not known, the existing link is deleted at step  665  and an updated link having the local interface index as one endpoint and the next neighbor IP address as the other endpoint is created and added to the IP link database at step  670 . The updated link may be a Point-to-Point link (numbered or unnumbered) or a Point-to-IP link (depending on whether or not the next neighbor IP number belongs to a device under management of the NM), or a Point-to-Subnet link, as appropriate. The process then proceeds on to step  650 .  
         [0059]    An example of a circumstance under which an existing link is deleted and an updated link is created using the procedure of steps  645 ,  665  and  670  is when there is an existing Point-to-IP link whose “IP” endpoint corresponds to the local interface index of the currently selected local interface index/next neighbor IP address pair. Because the previously “unknown” endpoint is now “known” (i.e. it belongs to a network device that is now being managed by the NM), the existing “Point-to-IP” link is replaced with a new “Point-to-Point” link.  
         [0060]    [0060]FIGS. 7 a,    7   b  and  7   c  show examples of how IP links between known (managed) network devices  700  and  710  may be depicted on a graphical IP map in one or more embodiments of the invention.  
         [0061]    In FIG. 7 a,  IP link  715  is shown as a uni-directional arrow from interface  720  (having the IP address 144.23.55.88) on network device  700  to interface  725  (having the IP address 212.33.44.16) on network device  710 . The arrow is depicted as going in one direction only: from network device  700  to network device  710 . In the embodiment of FIG. 7 a,  such a uni-directional arrow indicates that the interface at the tail of the arrow (i.e. interface  720 ) is configured to “see” the interface at the head of arrow (i.e. interface  725 ) but that the interface at the head of the arrow is not configured to “see” the interface at the tail of the arrow (a first interface “sees” a second interface if the first interface is configured to have the second interface as its “next hop” or “neighbor”).  
         [0062]    A link such as link  715  of FIG. 7 a  is not a fully functioning IP link because it only functions uni-directionally, from network device  700  to network device  710 . Because link  715  is not fully functional, in addition to being shown as a uni-directional arrow, it may also be shown in a color (for example red) that indicates to a user that there is a problem with the link. In one or more embodiments, a fully functioning link is shown in green, a link that is operational but has a problem is shown in yellow, and a not functioning link is shown in red.  
         [0063]    In FIG. 7 b,  both interface  720  of network device  700  and interface  725  of network device  710  are properly configured to “see” each other. Accordingly, IP link  730  is shown as a bi-directional arrow.  
         [0064]    In FIG. 7 c,  interface  720  of network device  700  is configured to see interface  725  of network device  710 . Interface  725 , however, is not configured to see interface  720 . Instead, its “next neighbor” IP address has been mistakenly configured as 87.122.45.211. Link  750  is accordingly shown as a uni-directional arrow from interface  720  to interface  725 . In addition, an additional IP link  735  is shown as a unidirectional arrow from interface  725  to IP address  740 .  
         [0065]    In the embodiments of FIGS. 7 a,    7   b  and  7   c,  a user may obtain configuration information for a network device or IP link depicted on the IP map by selecting the device or IP link (for example using a pointing device such as a mouse) and, depending on the embodiment, either double-clicking, right-clicking, or selecting an appropriate pull-down menu command.  
         [0066]    [0066]FIG. 8 is a schematic of an apparatus comprising an embodiment of the invention. The embodiment of FIG. 8 comprises a central processing unit (CPU)  800 , a display device  850 , a keyboard  880  and a mouse or trackball  890 . CPU  800  may, for example, comprise a personal computer or computer workstation containing one or more processors that execute computer software program instructions. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, CPU  800  comprises computer program instructions for a network management system  810 . Network management system  810  comprises a number of software modules, including a managed devices database  811 , a managed devices identification system  812 , a logical link database  813 , a logical link creation system  814 , a logical link comparison system  815 , and a message analysis system  820  for analyzing messages received by CPU  800  via network communications interface  830 , which connects CPU  800  to network  840 .  
         [0067]    Display device  860 , which may, for example, comprise a CRT or LCD computer display device, comprises a display area  855  for displaying graphical and textual information to a user. Display area  855  may also comprise a touch screen or other mechanism for accepting input from a user. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, display area  855  includes a logical link display window  860 . In one embodiment, window  860  comprises a discovery range window in which network address ranges for discovering network devices can be specified by a user and are displayed, while window  870  comprises a discovered devices window in which discovered devices are displayed and from which a user can select one or more of the listed devices for management. Display device  860  together with keyboard  880  and mouse or trackball  890  form a user interface that provides information to and accepts information from a user.  
         [0068]    Thus, a method and apparatus for automatic discovery of logical links between network devices has been presented. Although the invention has been described using certain specific examples, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to these few examples. For example, although the invention has been described with respect to network devices having IP and MPLS forwarding capabilities, the invention is applicable to network devices having forwarding capabilities using other protocols as well. Other embodiments utilizing the inventive features of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and are encompassed herein.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7