Patexia is looking for descriptions of a physical device that connects to a data network and monitors the topology of the entire network, including all the network nodes and the communication links between that that can be used to transfer data within the network.

Submitted documents describing this system must be:

• filed or published before 09/27/1999
• not on the known references list

The entire submission must describe a physical device with 3 components:

1. a link state database (207) that records the state of every link within the network
2. a filtering database (208) that records distance vector information for each link within the network
3. a controller (206) connected to both databases (207 and 208) that dynamically monitors and updates the active topology of the entire network using both databases

Additionally, the link state database (207) should contain entries with at least 2 of the following 8 data types:

1. a receive link ID (identification of the port on which the LPSDU was received by the network device);
2. an advertising network device ID (identification of the network device that sent the LPSDU);
3. an issue link ID (identification of the port/link that sent the LPSDU);
4. a length field(denoting the length, e.g., in bits, of the LPSDU);
5. a metric field (information regarding the cost of utilizing the link between the receive link and the issue link);
6. an options field (what service options such as QoS are supported between the receive link and the issue link);
7. an age field (when the information expires);
8. or a sequence number field (identification of the LSPDU which contained the information)

Figure 2 showing a block diagram of the system

This contest is for a prior art search for US Patent 6,578,086, with a focus on independent claims 1, 13, and 16. 

Contest icon by Creative Stall of the Noun Project.