Automatic determination of location for ethernet devices

1. A method for automatically locating an Ethernet patient monitor in one or more buildings, the method comprising:

querying, by a computing device of a central monitoring system, a switch comprising a plurality of ports, the patient monitor being connected to one of the plurality of ports, a Media Access Control address of the patient monitor being included in the query;

receiving from the switch a port number of the switch to which the patient monitor is connected, the port number being associated with the Media Access Control address;

using first coordinates in a configuration file to determine a location of the patient monitor based on the port number;

displaying a representation of the location of the patient monitor on a user interface representing at least a portion of the one or more buildings;

using second coordinates in the configuration file to identify a route from the central monitoring system to the location of the patient monitor, the second coordinates being different from the first coordinates; and

displaying the route on the user interface.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a rendezvous request from the patient monitoring device; and

consulting the configuration file to determine whether or not the switch is handled by the central monitoring system.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising establishing communication with the patient monitor.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising consulting the configuration file to determine whether or not the port is handled by the central monitoring system.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein querying the switch further comprises sending a Simple Network Management Protocol Management Information Base using the Media Access Control address of the patient monitor.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising altering a state of the representation of the location of the patient monitor on the user interface based on the status of the patient monitor.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising periodically querying the switch to identify any ports of the switch having a new patient monitor with a new Media Access Control address associated therewith.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising identifying the new patient monitor based upon the new Media Access Control address returned by the switch.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

consulting the configuration file to determine a second location of the new patient monitor; and

displaying a second representation of the second location of the new patient monitor on the user interface.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising periodically querying the switch to identify when the patient monitor is disconnected from a port associated with the port number of the switch.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising updating the representation of the patient monitor on the user interface to indicate disconnection of the patient monitor.

12. A method for automatically locating an Ethernet patient monitor in one or more buildings, the method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device of a central monitoring system, a rendezvous request from a patient monitoring device;

consulting a configuration file to determine whether or not a switch is handled by the central monitoring system;

querying the switch by sending a Simple Network Management Protocol Management Information Base using a Media Access Control address of the patient monitor received in the rendezvous request;

receiving a port number to which the patient monitor is connected from the switch;

consulting the configuration file to determine whether or not the port is handled by the central monitoring system;

establishing communication with the patient monitor;

using first coordinates in a configuration file to determine a location of the patient monitor using coordinates in the configuration file;

displaying a representation of the location of the patient monitor on a user interface representing at least a portion of the one or more buildings;

using second coordinates in the configuration file to identify a route from the central monitoring system to the location of the patient monitor, the second coordinates being different from the first coordinates, and the second coordinates including a string of two or more numbers, with each of the numbers representing a position on the map and the numbers being used to plot a path from the central monitoring system to the patient monitor;

displaying the route on the user interface; and

altering a state of the representation of the location of the patient monitor on the user interface based on the status of the patient monitor.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising periodically querying the switch to identify any ports of the switch having a new patient monitor with a new Media Access Control address associated therewith.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising identifying the new patient monitor based upon the new Media Access Control address returned by the switch.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

consulting the configuration file to determine a second location of the new patient monitor; and

displaying a second representation of the second location of the new patient monitor on the user interface.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

periodically querying the switch to identify when the patient monitor is disconnected from a port associated with the port number of the switch; and

updating the representation of the patient monitor on the user interface to indicate disconnection of the patient monitor.