Patent ID: 7792949

Claim:
A system that discovers devices in a network, comprising: a network management station that includes: a discovery engine configured to execute the following functions in the order recited: initiate a device discovery process in a network; determine that a device in the network is a gatekeeper, which is configured to maintain data transmission compatibility for video devices, accept endpoint registrations, translate names to internet protocol addresses, and govern calls to manage bandwidth; in response to a determination that the device in the network is a gatekeeper, automatically retrieve a list of network devices registered with the gatekeeper from the gatekeeper; determine types of devices included on the list retrieved from the gatekeeper; dynamically select a subset of one or more discovery tests from a plurality of available discovery tests to discover a configuration of the types of devices on the list, said subset of one or more discovery tests only including the discovery test or tests that are associated with the types of devices on the list retrieved from the gatekeeper, and eliminate an unnecessary discovery test or tests that correspond with devices not on the list, and perform the subset of discovery tests associated with the types of devices on the list retrieved from the gatekeeper to identify the configuration of devices on the list.