Topology discovery comprising partitioning network nodes into groups and using multiple discovery agents operating concurrently in each group.

摘要

A method, system and computer-usable medium are disclosed for discovering the topology of a network by using multiple discovery agents operating in parallel. A NodeList containing information about known nodes in a target network is received. The number (IC) of discovery agents to be used is determined and the nodes are partitioned into node groups, each of which has a group identifier respectively assigning it to a discovery agent. A GraphList is created to hold information about known and discovered nodes. Each entry in the NodeList list is processed by its assigned discovery agent, which sends probe messages to the target node to determine the node identifiers of discovered neighboring nodes. If the discovered nodes are not listed in the NodeList, then they are assigned to a node group for processing. If the connections between the target and the discovered neighboring node nodes are not listed in the GraphList, then they are added. Once all node and connection information is collected by the node discovery agents and listed in the GraphList, a network topology is generated.