Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
  • H04L41/12—Discovery or management of network topologies
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
  • H04L41/08—Configuration management of networks or network elements
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/50—Network services
  • H04L67/52—Network services specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/50—Network services
  • H04L67/54—Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
  • H04L41/34—Signalling channels for network management communication
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L43/00—Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
  • H04L43/08—Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
  • H04L43/0805—Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters by checking availability
  • H04L43/0811—Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters by checking availability by checking connectivity
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02D—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE
  • Y02D30/00—Reducing energy consumption in communication networks

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the field of computer networks and internetworking communications technologies.
• the present invention relates to locating devices connected to a network.
• the user and endpoint device information necessary for providing visibility and maintaining control can be difficult to obtain.
• IP Internet Protocol
• VLAN Virtual Local Area Network
• QoS Quality of Service
• LLDP Link Layer Discovery Protocol
• LLDP-enabled devices advertise information about themselves over the Data Link layer that allows devices to learn higher layer management reachability and connection endpoint information from adjacent devices. But not all devices may be LLDP-enabled. Moreover, the LLDP information must still be extracted from the devices and centrally stored.
• MIB Management Information Base
• SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
• a method and system for location and identification of devices/users connected to a network.
• a network location service is provided in which packet forwarding devices collect and maintain device/user location data, and provide the data to requesters in real-time.
• a packet forwarding device such as a switch, router, or hub, or the like, is provided with a network location service agent and a repository for storing network location data for devices/users connected to the network.
• the agent associates devices with their location when devices/users are connected to the network.
• the agent may detect the presence of a device/user connected to the network using network protocols such as LLDP, .1X Snooping, NetLogin, ARP/DHCP and or the MAC address and FDB entries associated with the device/user connection.
• the agent stores data indicating the location locally on the packet forwarding device for the duration of the connection.
• the agent may further store other data representing one or more attributes associated with the device/user connection, such as attributes obtained during detection of the presence of the device/user connected to the network using the network protocols such as LLDP, .1X Snooping, NetLogin, ARP/DHCP and or the MAC address and FDB entries associated with the device/user connection.
• the agent further responds to requests for location data for a particular Internet Protocol/Media Access Control (IP/MAC) identifiers, including forwarding requests to other packet forwarding devices in the network when a request cannot be satisfied, i.e., when location data for the particular IP/MAC is not available, including when the particular IP/MAC is not connected to the network or is not connected to the network via that packet forwarding device.
• IP/MAC Internet Protocol/Media Access Control
• the agent communicates with requesters of location data and other switches using one or more of an in-band channel or via a communications protocol such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol/S, or HTTP/S.
• the communications between the agents and requesters may be relayed using protocols such as the SOAP Web Services protocol.
• the requesters of location data may include a network or business application having access to the network.
• the requesters may be provided with a network location service client to facilitate issuing requests for location data and receiving responses.
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating certain aspects of a network location service in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating in further detail certain aspects of a network location service in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating aspects of an in-band channel used in the network location service in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
• FIGS. 4-6 are flow diagrams illustrating certain aspects of methods to be performed in a network location service implemented in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
• FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a suitable computing environment in which certain aspects of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 may be practiced.
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a simplified overview of a local area network (LAN) 102 within which a network location service may be implemented in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• the LAN 102 is a packet switched network that is supported by packet forwarding devices, switch A 112A and switch B 112B, each having a number of ports 118A/B.
• the switches A/B 112A/B are equipped with local repositories for storing location data 114A/B, as well as their own network location service agents 116 A/B.
• the network location agents 116 A/B are components of the switch that may be implemented in software or hardware or both.
• the ports 118A/B on the respective switches 112A/B are connected to any device capable of being connected to a network, including a wired device 120 as well as a wireless device 122 via a wireless access controller 124.
• the connected devices 120/122 may range from personal computers, printers and other peripheral devices, and may include but are not limited to desktop and wireless computers, personal digital assistants and other mobile devices, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) enabled telephones and other types of soft phones supporting voice communication over a packet switched network.
• VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol
• the LAN 102 is managed by a network management system (NMS) 104.
• NMS network management system
• the NMS 104 typically operates in conjunction with a policy/configuration NMS database 106, and has numerous features to facilitate managing the network 102, including features for configuring the ports 118A/B on the switches A/B 112A/B. In a typical embodiment, the NMS 104 facilitates the assignment of a physical location for the ports 118 A/B on the switches A/B 112 A/B.
• the LAN 102 may provide network location services to a network/business application 108, such as a location-based security application, an emergency 911 system, a presence/VoIP system, and asset/inventory management system, and/or a location-based personalization system.
• a network/business application 108 such as a location-based security application, an emergency 911 system, a presence/VoIP system, and asset/inventory management system, and/or a location-based personalization system.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a packet forwarding device such as the switches 112A/B in FIG. 1 (referred to hereafter as a switch for ease of reference) incorporated into a network location service 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
• a network location service agent 116 detects the presence of a device/user connecting to the network via one of the ports 118. Upon detection, using the internal services of the switch's operating system 204, the switch 112 captures user/device information 202 from the various protocols used to initiate the connection and/or from the information stored in the forwarding data base (FDB) as a result of the connection.
• FDB forwarding data base
• the user/device information 202 may include, but is not limited to attributes that identify the IP/MAC, VLAN, and QoS associated with the user/device.
• This user/device info 202 may be stored along with the physical location data 114 that has previously been configured for the port 118 through which the device connected to the switch 112.
• the NMS 104 may have previously configured the physical location for the port 118.
• the network location service agent 116 associates the physical location of the port through which the user/device established the connection with the user/device info 202.
• the agent 116 sends 212 the location data, along with other data, such as the IP/MAC/VLAN/QoS data gleaned upon detection of the presence of the device connecting to the network, to any one or more network business applications 108 that may have requested the information.
• the request is issued on demand, or in some cases by subscription, to receive location data now or when it becomes available.
• the network/business application 108 may incorporate a network location service client 110 to facilitate requesting and receiving the location data.
• the agent 116 sends 212 the location data and other user/device info in a packet directed to the address of the network/business application on the network using an in-band channel 206.
• the agent 116 may utilize the HTTP/S protocol and SOAP web services 210 to send the location and other data to the network/business application out-of-band via the Internet.
• FIG. 3 is a simplified example of a network location system's in-band channel communication.
• a network location service query 302 for a particular IP/MAC identifier 304 is issued 318 over the in-band channel to switch A 306.
• the switch 306 Upon receiving the query 302, the switch 306 interrogates its own local repository of location data to determine whether the particular IP/MAC identifier is present. If so, the switch 306 can issue a response 320 over the in-band channel back to the requester. If not, the switch 306 can forward 322 the query 302 to the next switch b 308.
• Switch B 308 interrogates its own local repository in the same manner as switch A 306, and similarly issues a response 324 or forwards 326/330 the query 302 to neighboring switches C and D 310/312, which in turn issue responses 328/332 or forward the query and so on, until the particular IP/MAC identifier has been located (or until the list of switches is exhausted).
• the network location system can use the in-band channel communication to respond in real-time or near real-time to requests for the location of a particular IP/MAC identifier.
• FIGS. 4-6 are flow diagrams illustrating certain aspects of methods to be performed in a network location service implemented in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
• the method 400 begins by assigning a physical location per port for each packet forwarding device in a LAN for which network location services are desired. In a typical embodiment, the assignment may be carried out using a network management system.
• the method 400 continues by configuring the location per port on the packet forwarding device. Once configured, the method 400 continues at decision block 406 to detect whether a user/device is attempting to connect to the network, or has connected to the network, via one of the configured ports. If so, the method 400 continues at process block 408 to relay the device/network attributes to one or more network business applications that have requested such information.
• a method 500 begins when a device/user is detected in a network location service enabled switch upon connection to the network via the switch's port.
• the method 500 forwards the device /user information/attributes captured during the connection to the local network location service agent residing on the switch.
• the method 500 continues when the agent stores the location and device/user information/attributes in the switch's local data store. In this manner, the agent associates the physical location through which the user/device connected to the network with the other user/device information identifying the user/device, thereby creating a distributed physical location data repository of the users/devices connected to the network.
• the method 500 concludes by relaying the location and device/user information/attributes from the local network location service agent to one or more interested parties, i.e., the network/business applications.
• the information may be relayed in a packet over the packet switched network via an in-band channel.
• the information may be related via a protocol such as the HTTP/S protocol, using SOAP web services.
• a method 600 begins when a switch receives a request to determine whether a particular IP/MAC is currently connected to the network, and if so, from which location in the network.
• the method 600 continues when the NLS agent on the switch receiving the request checks locally for the particular IP/MAC identifier. If present, the method 600 continues at process block 606 when the network location service agent response to the request with the location and device/user attributes, if any. Otherwise, the network location service agent forwards the request to one or more other switches in the network to fulfill the request.
• the method 600 concludes when the network location service agent on the other switches in the network checks locally for the presence of the IP/MAC identifier and continues forwarding the request to neighboring switches until the particular IP/MAC is located and/or the switches are exhausted. In the latter case the switches may respond with a not found indication for the particular IP/MAC.
• FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a suitable computing environment in which certain aspects of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 may be practiced.
• the method for a network location service 200 may be implemented on a computer system 700 having components 701 - 706, including a processor 701, a memory 702, an Input/Output device 703, a data storage 704, and a network interface 705, coupled to each other via a bus 708.
• the components perform their conventional functions known in the art and provide the means for implementing the network location service 200.
• Collectively, these components represent a broad category of hardware systems, including but not limited to general purpose computer systems and specialized packet-forwarding devices.
• the memory component 702 may include one or more of random access memory (RAM), and nonvolatile storage devices (e.g., magnetic or optical disks) on which are stored instructions and data for use by processor 701, including the instructions and data that comprise the switch fabric and switch fabric components, as well as the network location service agent 116, user/device information 202, and location data 114 and other components of the network location service 200.
• RAM random access memory
• nonvolatile storage devices e.g., magnetic or optical disks
• the network interface component 705 may include the ports 118, as well as any logical groupings of ports into load shared groups.
• the data storage component 704 may also represent the user/device information 202 and location data 114 obtained by the network location service agent 116, as well as any routing or bridging tables in the switch fabric, and any other storage areas such as packet buffers, etc., used by the packet-forwarding device 112 and switch fabric for forwarding network packets or messages.
• the method and apparatus for a network location service in accordance with one embodiment of the invention as discussed above may be implemented as a series of software routines executed by computer system 700.
• the software routines may comprise a plurality or series of instructions, code sequences, configuration information, or other data to be accessed and/or executed by a processing system such as one or more of processor 701. Initially, the series of instructions, code sequences, configuration information, or other data may be stored on a data storage 704 and transferred to memory 702 via bus 708.
• the series of instructions, code sequences, configuration information, or other data can be stored a data storage 704 using any conventional computer-readable or machine-accessible storage medium, such as a diskette, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, DVD, ROM, etc. It is also to be appreciated that the series of instructions, code sequences, configuration information, or other data need not be stored locally, and could be stored on a propagated data signal received from a remote storage device, such as a server on a network, via a network/communication interface 705. The instructions, code sequences, configuration information, or other data may be copied from the data storage 704, such as mass storage, or from the propagated data signal into a memory 702 and accessed and executed by processor 701.
• the present invention is implemented in discrete hardware or firmware.
• one or more application specific integrated circuits could be programmed with some or all of the above-described functions of the present invention.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
• Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)

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• 2007
  • 2007-10-31 US US11/932,780 patent/US9166884B2/en active Active
• 2008
  • 2008-10-21 EP EP08844706.5A patent/EP2218214B1/en active Active
  • 2008-10-21 CN CN200880123530.8A patent/CN101911593B/zh active Active
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  • 2008-10-21 WO PCT/US2008/080660 patent/WO2009058618A1/en not_active Ceased
• 2014
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