EP0511927A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Loop detection and dissolution in a focal point network
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1992-03-13
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-03-13
Abstract
Abstract In a focal point network, adjacent nodes may agree to a relationship where one node (a focal point or server node) supplies network management services to the other node (a non-focal point or served node). A served node forwards management services data to its server node without waiting for any request. There is a risk that the nodes will become configured into a closed loop within which data, once introduced, will circulate endlessly. To eliminate this risk, a loop-detection message is generated when a node acquires a new server node and is itself a server node for other nodes. The message, which includes the originating node's name, is passed from served node to server node. Each node inspects the message. If it does not find its own name, it appends its name to the message and passes it on to its own server node. If the node does find its own name, it generates a loop-detected message that revokes the server/served relationship with the current server node.
Inventors
- 👤 Sandra Lyn Benedict
- 👤 Jeffery Lake Crume
- 👤 Steven Myer Golberg
- 👤 Robert Louis Nielsen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 15:34
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L41/00; H04L41/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
250 words
A device for use in a computer network including a plurality of interconnected nodes wherein at least some of said nodes are server nodes capable of providing network management services to other nodes called served nodes, wherein a relationship between a server node and a served node may be established at the request of either node and wherein a node may concurrently act as a server node for other served nodes and as a served node of another server node, said device provided at a given node for detecting a closed loop among nodes which have requested server/served relationships with adjacent nodes, characterized in that it comprises : means for determining when the given node is to be served by a new server node; means responsive to said first-named means for creating a loop-detection message including the name of the given node; means for forwarding the created loop-detection message to the server node; means for receiving loop-detection messages provided by other nodes for whom the given node is itself a server node; means for examining a received loop-detection message for the names of nodes through which the loop-detection message has passed; and means responsive to the presence of the given node name in a received loop-detection message to generate a loop-detected message, said last-named means also being responsive to the absence of the given node's name in a received loop-detection message to alter the message to include the name and to forward the altered message to its own server node.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
49 words
The device as defined in claim 1 further including means responsive to the first-named means for determining whether the given node is itself a server node for other nodes in the network and wherein said message creating means becomes operable only if the given node is a server node.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
The device as defined in claim 2 further including means for forwarding the loop-detection message to the server node for the given node in order to revoke the server/served relationship, thereby opening the loop.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
26 words
The device as defined in either of claims 2 or 3 wherein the loop-detection message is altered by appending the given node's name to the message.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
93 words
The device as defined in claim 1 further comprising, a system for revoking an authorized server/served relationship that would result in a closed loop of nodes having such relationships, said system characterized in that it comprises: means for generating loop-detection messages and for forwarding said messages to adjacent server nodes; means for examining received loop-detection messages for the presence of the examining node's own name in the message; and means responsive to the presence of the examining node's own name to revoke a server-served relationship between the examining node and its server node.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system for revoking as defined in claim 5 wherein said name-responsive means operates only to revoke a server/served relationship for a particular service defined in the received loop detection message.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
212 words
A method for use in a computer network including a plurality of interconnected nodes wherein at least some of said nodes are server nodes capable of providing network management services to other nodes called served nodes, wherein a relationship between a server node and a served node may be established at the request of either node and wherein a node may concurrently act as a server node for other served nodes and as a served node of another server node, said method of detecting a closed loop among nodes that have requested server/served relationships with adjacent nodes, being practiced at a given node characterized in that it comprises the steps of: a) responding to a new server node by creating a loop-detection message including the given node's name; b) forwarding the created loop-detection message to the new server node; c) receiving loop-detection messages from other nodes for whom the given node is a server node; d) responding to the presence of the given node's name in a received loop-detection message to generate a loop-detected message; and e) responding to the absence of the given node's name in a received loop-detection message to add the name to the message and to forward the loop-detection message to a server node for the given node.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as defined in claim 5 including the further step of responding to a loop-detected message received from a served node to revoke the server/served relationship, thereby opening a closed loop.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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