Claims
- 1. A method for testing a link in a network that communicatively couples a plurality of network devices, comprising:
establishing a MAC layer scan test route sequence that includes each link in a communication network; creating a test agent configured to traverse each link in the scan test route sequence; and deploying the test agent on the communication network, wherein the test agent examines a link in the scan test route sequence to determine information about the link.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing step comprises sending a series of broadcast messages from each of the plurality of network devices in the communication network.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing step comprises sequential application of a network tour.
- 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the network tour is a postman tour.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing step comprises performing a depth first search of the communication network.
- 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the performing step comprises constructing a scan chain table at each network device in the communication network.
- 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the performing step comprises generating a canonical addressing scheme based on hop count.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the test agent examines each link in the scan test route sequence to determine information about the communication network.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the test agent reports the link information to a test station.
- 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
creating a plurality of test agents; and deploying each of the plurality of test agents on the communication network.
- 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of test agents report link information to a single test station.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the test agent is an abstract data type configured for transmission in the data payload of one or more communication packets.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises a test type indicator that identifies the type of test to be performed on a link.
- 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises source route information.
- 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises intermediate link information results.
- 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises a link attribute to be analyzed in connection with examining a link.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the link attribute is a link connectivity state.
- 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the link attribute is a network device routing configuration.
- 19. The method of claim 12, wherein the test agent comprises executable instructions to be performed in connection with examining a link.
- 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the executable instructions modify the tests performed by the test agent when examining a link.
- 21. The method of claim 19 wherein the executable instructions are invoked at a subset of the plurality of network devices.
- 22. A system for testing a link in a network that communicatively couples a plurality of network devices, comprising:
a test station having a network communication means and a memory, the test station communicatively coupled with a plurality of network devices via a network; a scan test route sequence comprising each link in the network; a test agent configured to examine a link in the scan test route sequence to determine information about the link.
- 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the communication means is a wireless transceiver.
- 24. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent is created by the test station.
- 25. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent is further configured to report the link information to a test station.
- 26. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent is further configured to examine each link in the scan test route sequence to determine information about the communication network.
- 27. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent is an abstract data type configured for transmission in the data payload of one or more communication packets.
- 28. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises a test type indicator that identifies the type of test to be performed on a link.
- 29. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises source route information.
- 30. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises intermediate link information results.
- 31. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises a link attribute to be analyzed in connection with examining a link.
- 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the link attribute is a link connectivity state.
- 33. The system of claim 31, wherein the link attribute is a network device routing configuration.
- 34. The system of claim 22, wherein the test agent comprises executable instructions to be performed in connection with examining a link.
- 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the executable instructions modify the tests performed by the test agent when examining a link.
- 36. The system of claim 34, wherein the executable instructions are invoked at a subset of the plurality of network devices.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/380,425 filed on May 13, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60380425 |
May 2002 |
US |