Inferring connectivity in the presence of conflicting network data

摘要

The connectivity information provided by a variety of inference engines is integrated to provide a set of inferred links within a network. A consolidation is performed among inference engines that operate at a base level of connectivity detail to create a model of the network at this base level. The connectivity information provided by inference engines at each subsequent higher level of connectivity abstraction is then overlaid on the base level connectivity. By separately consolidating the connectivity information at each level of abstraction, the rules for dealing with conflicts can be simplified and/or better focused to resolve the conflict. By assuming that the more detailed lower level information is likely to be more accurate, rules can be developed to modify the connectivity models produced by the higher level techniques to conform to the lower level connectivity details while still maintaining the integrity of the higher level connectivity models.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method for identifying a topology between nodes a network, said method comprising:
receiving, from a plurality of data sources, sets of data indicating connectivity information of nodes in the network, wherein each set of data relates to at least one connectivity level within a hierarchy of connectivity levels; consolidating, at a first level within the hierarchy of connectivity levels, a first set of data into a first connectivity graph indicating connections between nodes in the network at the first level; consolidating, at a second level higher than the first level within the hierarchy of connectivity levels, a second set of data into a second connectivity graph indicating connections between nodes in the network at the second level; and overlaying the first and second connectivity graphs to determine at least a portion of a topology of the network.