Patent ID: 8650268

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a network component, coupled with a communication network, having a plurality of network ports and a plurality of visual indicators that correspond respectively to the plurality of network ports; and a server comprising a plurality of network adaptors, wherein the server is configured to send a blinking message over the communication network to the network component, wherein the network component triggers a respective visual indicator, of the plurality of visual indicators, that corresponds to a selected port, of the plurality of network ports, to start blinking based on the blinking message, wherein the blinking identifies the selected port as being coupled to one of the plurality of network adaptors on the server; wherein the blinking message has at least one parameter, comprising a request to start blinking and a blinking rate, or a request to stop blinking; wherein the network component employs the at least one parameter to trigger the visual indicator that corresponds to the selected port; wherein, if the at least one parameter comprises a request to start blinking, the network component attempts to start a blinking action of the visual indicator that corresponds to the selected port at the blinking rate indicated in the parameter; and wherein, if the at least one parameter comprises a request to stop blinking, the network component attempts to stop a blinking action of the visual indicator that corresponds to the selected port.