Patent ID: 7738456

Claim:
A method for associating a physical location with a device connected to a network interface on an intermediate network device, comprising the steps of: receiving a data packet from a the device connected to a network; determining, by one or more processors, based on data in the data packet, a particular network interface that received the data packet on a particular intermediate network node that received the data packet earlier than any other intermediate network node in the network; determining, by one or more processors, an identity for an entity that originated the data packet based on the data in the data packet; determining, by one or more processors, a possible physical location for the entity based on the identity; and associating with the particular network interface a highest confidence location for the device based on the possible physical location of the entity, determining, by one or more processors, whether the current location data indicates the possible physical location; if it is determined that the current location data indicates the possible physical location, then determining whether current confidence data associated with the current location data indicates a current confidence value less than a predetermined confidence value; and if it is determined that the current confidence data indicates the current confidence value is less than the predetermined confidence value, then increasing the current confidence value indicated by the current confidence data.