Patent ID: 7742426

Claim:
A method of performing network system diagnostics, comprising: obtaining a respective identification of a first target device and a second target device deployed in a heterogeneous network; identifying a layer 2 device and a neighbor device that is communicably coupled to the layer 2 device, wherein the neighbor device and the layer 2 device are deployed in the heterogeneous network; obtaining from a port forwarding database (PFDB) maintained by the layer 2 device a MAC address that identifies the neighbor device; obtaining from the PFDB maintained by the layer 2 device a port of the layer 2 device, wherein the port is associated with the MAC address; determining if the layer 2 device is included in a network path between the first and second target devices by using the neighbor device, the MAC address, and the port; defining an order of the layer 2 device within the network path using the neighbor device, the MAC address, and the port; generating a first layer 2 path trace using the order of the layer 2 device within the network path; generating a second layer 2 path trace using the first layer 2 path trace and user-provided connectivity information related to at least one of the layer 2 device and the neighbor device; and displaying a graphical representation of the second layer 2 path trace.