Patent ID: 7587675

Claim:
A personal computer device comprising a processor for executing computer executable instructions, a memory and an input-output device, the personal computer device being programmed for displaying a network topology for a set of discovered devices, comprising: a network item application, executed by the personal computer device, that uses a plurality of discovery protocols to detect network devices and to provide a listing of the detected network devices along with device state information and association information; and a graphical user interface, executed by the personal computer device, that displays a representation of the personal computer device and each of the listed network devices with corresponding interconnection information in a left, middle, and right column topology format, wherein terminal device representations are disposed in the left column, intermediate connection device representations are disposed in the middle column, and external network representations are disposed in the right column; and wherein the interconnection information corresponds to at least one connection between two network devices, the two network devices comprising a parent device and a child device, the child device comprising the one of the two devices further connected from the personal computer device, and wherein if the child device is a terminal device and a first terminal child, a straight horizontal connection is created between the parent and the child, if the child device is a terminal device and not a first terminal child, a three segment connection is created between the parent and child, if the child device is a non-terminal device and a first non-terminal child, a straight vertical connection is created between the parent and child, and if the child device is a non-terminal device and the child device is not a first non-terminal child, a three segment connection is created between the parent and child.