Patent ID: 8661292

Claim:
A method of testing a network comprising: (a) providing a test device connected inline in the network, wherein the test device has one or more authentication patterns stored therein, and wherein the test device has memory for storing a set of collected network addresses; (b) examining received packets at the test device; (c) if one of the received packets includes none of the authentication patterns, adding a destination address or a source address of said packet to a set of collected network addresses, and forwarding said packet from the test device to the destination address of said packet; (d) originating a test device identification packet, at the test device wherein a source address of the test device identification packet is one from the set of collected network addresses, and wherein the test device identification packet includes one of the authentication patterns; (e) if one of the received packets is a request packet matching any of the authentication patterns and having a test parameter, forming a test result packet at the test device, wherein the test result packet includes one of the authentication patterns; and, sending the test result packet from the test device to a source address of the request packet, wherein a source address of the test result packet is one from the set of collected network addresses and identifies a first downstream device that is downstream from the test device with respect to packets originated at the device having the source address of the request packet.