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Overview of Project Content and Milestones
Networks have become more complex, and it is often difficult to keep track of the devices which are connected, and their settings. This project aims to automatically discover the devices on the network, and their current settings, which can then be used to determine if there is a misconfiguration error on the network.
The Main Deliverable(s)
Investigation of network discovery tools, such as from ping, traceroute, ARP cache, SNMP, and so on.
Implementation of a network discovery tools.
Application of network discovery for fault-finding in misconfiguration errors.
Definition of an expert system for fault diagnostics for network faults.
Evaluation of the time taken to discover a range of networks.
The Target Audience for the Deliverable(s)
Network management.
Fault diagnostics.
The Work to be Undertaken
Investigation of network discovery techniques.
Implementation of a network discovery system.
Application of network discovery to fault-finding methods for misconfiguration.
Evaluation of system performance related to the time to discover various topologies.
Additional Information / Knowledge Required
The project will use the .NET framework with C#, and training and support will be provided.
A background in network protocols will be provided, especially related to SNMP, ping, traceoute, and so on.
Information Sources that Provide a Context for the Project
1. Topology: Principles, Models, and Validation. IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, 13(6), 1205-1218.
2. Donnet, B., Raoult, P., Friedman, T., and Crovella, M. (2005). Efficient Algorithms for Large-Scale Topology Discovery. Proceedings of the 2005 ACM SIGMETRICS International Conference on Measurement and Modeling of Computer Systems. Banff, Alberta, Canada, 327-338.
3. Lowekamp, B., O'Hallaron, D., and Gross, T. (2001). Topology Discovery for Large Ethernet Networks. Proceedings of the 2001 Conference on Applications, Technologies, Architectures, and Protocols For Computer Communications, San Diego, CA, USA, 237-248.
4. Siamwalla, R., Sharma, R., and Keshav, S. (1998). Discovering Internet Topology. http://www.cs.cornell.edu/skeshav/papers/discovery.pdf. [Link]
5. Barrett, R., Kandogan, E., Maglio, P. P., Haber, E. M., Takayama, L. A., and Prabaker, M. (2004). Field Studies of Computer System Administrators: Analysis of System Management Tools and Practices. Proceedings of the 2004 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Chicago, IL, USA, 388-395.
The Importance of the Project
Effective network management is critical to many businesses, and this project will allow configurations and topologies to be discovered, and possibly use this information to determine misconfiguration errors.
The Key Challenge(s) to be Overcome
A major challenge is to create a network discovery system which is effective in most types of networks. This might include the usage of SNMP, with a range of other tools such as ping, ARP cache, and so on, to provide the required information. Another challenge is in the evaluation of the different methodologies that could be used.
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