Network Topology Discovery Technology And Algorithm Analysis And Research

With the development of the technology of computer networks and the worldwide popularity of Internet, the scale of computer networks is getting bulky and complex, the categories of the devices are multiple, such as hosts, PCs, bridges, routers and exchangers, which are connected with networks, and the information flows on the networks are increasing rapidly. On the other hand, the architectures of networks, corresponding network operating systems and network application softwares are very plentiful, complex, and vary greatly. Therefore, the technique of the computer network management has become a very important issue. The aim of network management is to guarantee its normal running, improve its efficiency, and decrease its costs by monitoring and controlling complex computer network.Topology discovery is a kind of important function of the network management platform. Its main purpose is to acquire and maintain the information of the existence of network devices and their connecting relations, by means of which the graphical representation of the connection of the entire network is given, which helps the network administrators have a whole understanding and realization of the topology of the whole network. It is essential for an effective network management to discover and trace the topology of a network. In this paper, techniques and algorithms of network topology discovery are analysed and researched.In this paper we will concentrate on the discovery of IP networks. An assumption we will make is that all devices, which are important for the discovery, are IP addressable. This means that devices, which operate on lower layer such as the data link, must either implement the TCP/IP protocol stack or they won't be discovered.First, the author makes an introduction on the technology of network topology discovery including the concept of topology discovery, and tools and means of it. Then the author analyzes the algorithms of topology discovery in detail, puts forward a universal algorithm of topology discovery based on ICMP, and implements a multithreaded application of host discovery algorithm. At last, the author summarizes this paper and points out the further research directions of topology discovery.