1. A method comprising:
downloading an instrument management application from a distributed network analyzer (DNA), the DNA being an instrument managed by the instrument management application and having an internet protocol (IP) address; and
automatically adding the IP address to a list of instruments displayed to a user of the downloaded instrument management application by the downloaded instrument management application.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said automatically adding comprises:
sending a message, by the DNA, including the IP address of the DNA to the downloaded instrument management application, wherein the sent IP address is the IP address added to the list.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
if sending the message to the downloaded instrument management application is unsuccessful, resending the message by the DNA a predetermined number of times or until the message is received by the downloaded instrument management application.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:
waiting, by the DNA, for a predetermined period of time before each time the message is resent.
5. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
contacting the DNA and thereby gathering other identification information of the DNA; and
automatically adding said other identification information to the displayed list.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
listening for other messages from the DNA to thereby detect other messages; and
updating identification information of the DNA in the displayed list in accordance with information contained in the detected messages.
7. An apparatus comprising:
means for downloading an instrument management application from a distributed network analyzer (DNA), the DNA being an instrument managed by the instrument management application and having an internet protocol (IP) address; and
means for automatically adding the IP address to a list of instruments displayed to a user of the downloaded instrument management application by the downloaded instrument management application.
8. A method comprising:
downloading an instrument management application from a distributed network analyzer (DNA), the DNA being an instrument managed by the instrument management application and having an internet protocol (IP) address;
sending a message, by the DNA, including the IP address of the DNA to the downloaded instrument management application, wherein said sending a message comprises
if sending the message to the downloaded instrument management application is unsuccessful, resending the message by the DNA a predetermined number of times or until the message is received by the downloaded instrument management application, and
waiting, by the DNA, for a predetermined period before each time the message is resent;
contacting the DNA and thereby gathering other identification information of the DNA;
automatically adding the IP address included in the message sent by the DNA and the other identification information of the DNA to a list of instruments displayed to a user of the downloaded instrument management application by the downloaded instrument management application;
listening for other messages from the DNA to thereby detect the other messages; and
updating identification information of the DNA in the displayed list in accordance with information contained in the detected messages.
9. A method comprising:
downloading an instrument management application from a distributed network analyzer (DNA) to a remote computer; and
running the downloaded instrument management application on the remote computer to thereby manage the DNA from the remote computer.
10. An apparatus comprising:
means for downloading an instrument management application from a distributed network analyzer (DNA) to a remote computer; and
means for running the downloaded instrument management application on the remote computer to thereby manage the DNA from the remote computer.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A method for simulating multicast connections in a multi-endpoint communication system, the method comprising:
linking a plurality of communication nodes in a tree structure using unicast connections, wherein at least a portion of the communication nodes are to repeat data received from a parent node to one or more child nodes in the tree structure;
receiving a request from a new communication node to join the tree structure;
identifying one of the plurality of communication nodes that is likely to be in a same local area network as the new communication node; and
connecting the new communication node to the identified communication node within the tree structure.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying comprises determining that the identified node shares a portion of a network address with the new communication node.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the network address comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying comprises determining that the identified node shares a subnet address with the new communication node.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining at a communication node a network address for a parent node and any child nodes in the tree structure.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining at a communication node at least a portion of a network address for any descendant nodes in the tree structure.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining at a communication node a socket connection with a server node, a parent node, and any child nodes in the tree structure.
8. The method of claim 6, further comprising maintaining at a communication node an indication of whether a high-speed connection exists between the communication node and each child node in the tree structure, and wherein identifying comprises identifying one of the plurality of communication nodes that is likely to be in a same local area network as the new communication node and is connectable to the new communication node by a high-speed connection.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a maximum number of child nodes for a communication node based on an amount of bandwidth available to the communication node.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein connecting comprises rearranging at least a portion of the tree structure to accommodate the new communication node.
11. A system for reducing latency in multi-endpoint communication between a plurality of communication nodes linked in a tree structure by unicast connections, wherein at least a portion of the communication nodes are to repeat data received from a parent node to one or more child nodes in the tree structure, the system comprising:
a multi-endpoint communication server to receive a request from a new communication node to join the tree structure;
a node selector to identify one of the plurality of communication nodes that is likely to be in a same local area network as the new communication node; and
a node linker to connect the new communication node to the identified communication node within the tree structure.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the node selector is to determine that the identified node shares a portion of a network address with the new communication node.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the network address comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein the node selector is to determine that the identified node shares a subnet address with the new communication node.
15. The system of claim 11, wherein a communication node is to maintain a network address for a parent node and any child nodes in the tree structure.
16. The system of claim 11, wherein a communication node is to maintain at least a portion of a network address for any descendant nodes in the tree structure.
17. The system of claim 11, wherein a communication node is to maintain a socket connection with a server node, a parent node, and any child nodes in the tree structure.
18. The system of claim 16, wherein a communication node is to maintain an indication of whether a high-speed connection exists between the communication node and each child node in the tree structure, and wherein the node selector is to identify one of the plurality of communication nodes that is likely to be in a same local area network as the new communication node and is connectable to the new communication node by a high-speed connection.
19. The system of claim 11, wherein a communication node is to determine its maximum number of child nodes based on an amount of available bandwidth.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the node linker is to rearrange at least a portion of the tree structure to accommodate the new communication node.
21. A computer program product comprising program code for performing a method for simulating multicast connections in a multi-endpoint communication system, the computer program product comprising:
program code for linking a plurality of communication nodes in a tree structure using unicast connections, wherein at least a portion of the communication nodes are to repeat data received from a parent node to one or more child nodes in the tree structure;
program code for receiving a request from a new communication node to join the tree structure;
program code for identifying one of the plurality of communication nodes that is likely to be in a same local area network as the new communication node; and
program code for connecting the new communication node to the identified communication node within the tree structure.
22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the program code for identifying comprises program code for determining that the identified node shares a portion of a network address with the new communication node.
23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the network address comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address.
24. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the program code for identifying comprises program code for determining that the identified node shares a subnet address with the new communication node.
25. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising program code for maintaining at a communication node a network address for a parent node and any child node in the tree structure.
26. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising program code for maintaining at a communication node at least a portion of a network address for any descendant nodes in the tree structure.
27. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising program code for maintaining at a communication node a socket connection with a server node, a parent node, and any child nodes in the tree structure.
28. The computer program product of claim 26, further comprising program code for maintaining at each communication node an indication of whether a high-speed connection exists between the communication node and each child node, if any, in the tree structure, and wherein the program code for identifying comprises program code for identifying one of the plurality of communication nodes that is likely to be in a same local area network as the new communication node and is connectable to the new communication node by a high-speed connection.
29 The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising program code for determining a maximum number of child nodes for a communication node based on an amount of bandwidth available to the communication node.
30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the program code for connecting comprises program code for rearranging at least a portion of the tree structure to accommodate the new communication node.
31. A system for simulating multicast connections comprising:
means for linking a plurality of communication nodes in a tree structure using unicast connections,
means for repeating data received from a parent node to one or more child nodes in the tree structure;
means for receiving a request from a new communication node to join the tree structure;
means for identifying one of the plurality of communication nodes that is likely to be in a same local area network as the new communication node; and
means for connecting the new communication node to the identified communication node within the tree structure.
32. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for identifying comprises means for determining that the identified node shares a portion of a network address with the new communication node.
33. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for identifying comprises means for determining that the identified node shares a subnet address with the new communication node.
34. A method for simulating multicast connections in a multi-endpoint communication system comprising a plurality of communication nodes linked in a tree structure by unicast connections, the method comprising:
receiving a request from a new communication node to join the tree structure;
in response to determining that an identified communication node has a same subnet address as the new communication node and that the identified communication node is connectable to the new communication node by a high-speed connection, connecting the new communication node to the identified communication node within the tree structure.