Patent ID: 8578016

Claim:
A data processing system for identifying nodes in a network data processing system, the data processing system comprising: a bus system; a communications unit connected to the bus system; a memory connected to the bus system, wherein the memory includes a set of instructions; and a processing unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to receive cache data from a set of routers in the data processing system on a periodic basis, wherein the cache data includes an identification of the nodes sending data packets onto the network data processing system; identify the nodes on the network data processing system using the cache data from the set of routers; identify communication paths between end nodes using the cache data from the set of routers; and generate a display of the nodes in a graphical view comprising the communications paths between the nodes with a graphical indication of network traffic volume using the cache data received on a periodic basis, wherein the graphical view includes network traffic volume and node relationships over time.