ServiceNow, Inc.
System and method for identifying components of a computer network based on component connections

Abstract:

Identifying components of a computer network based on connections between the components includes performing a first discovery operation to identify respective attributes of a first set of components and performing a second discovery operation to infer respective components of the second set of components not identifiable by the first discovery operation. The second discovery operation is performed by sending probes for collecting network flow data indicative of network flows between components of the first set of components and other components of the computer network. The collected network flow data is used to identify connections between ones of the first set of components and ones of the other components, determining sequences of the identified connections, and infer respective attributes of at least some of the second set of components based on the determined sequences of the identified connections.