Systems and methods for bare-metal network topology discovery

1. An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the processor, cause the IHS to:

receive network topology information from a server, wherein the server is configured to collect at least one portion of the network topology information from one or more network devices via a baseboard management controller (BMC) circuit while the server operates in low-power mode; and

provide a graphical display representing the network topology information, the graphical display including a representation of the server, the one or more network devices, and one or more connections between the server and the one or more network devices, wherein the identification and port of the network device are received in a packet provided by the network device following the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP), and wherein the BMC is configured to construct each LLDP packet and send it via a sideband channel to the network interface using a Network Controller Sideband Interface (NC-SI) original equipment manufacturer (OEM) command including first information about the server and second information about the network interface port, the first information including a service tag and the second information including a media access control (MAC) address and a Fully Qualified Descriptor (FQDD).

2. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the network topology information includes an association between: (a) an identification and port of a network device, and (b) a corresponding identification and port of a network interface of the server; wherein the network device and the server are connected via a wire.

3. The IHS of claim 2 , wherein the packet has a Type-Length-Value (TLV) format.

4. The IHS of claim 2 , wherein the network interface includes at least one of: a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) card, a PCI Express (PCIe) card, or a Local Area Network (LAN) -on-motherboard (LOM) card.

5. The IHS of claim 4 , wherein the network interface is configured to receive the at least one portion of network topology information provided by the network device in response to the wire being physically connected between the server and the network device.

6. The IHS of claim 5 , wherein the network interface is configured to receive the network topology information provided by the network device in the absence of a query by the server.

7. The IHS of claim 6 , wherein the BMC is configured to collect the network topology information from the network interface by querying the network interface via the sideband channel.

8. The IHS of claim 7 , wherein the low-power mode includes a G0 or G1 mode under the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification.

9. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the processor, cause the IHS to receive network topology information from the server prior to the server booting an Operating System (OS).

10. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the one or more network devices include at least one of: a switch, a router, a repeater, a bridge, a hub, or an access point, and wherein the IHS includes a management console available to a network administrator.

11. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

performing, by a server, a bare-metal network topology discovery operation, wherein the operation includes collecting, by the server, at least one portion of network topology information from one or more network devices via a baseboard management controller (BMC) circuit while the server operates in low-power mode; and

providing, by the server, the network topology information to a management console, the management console configured to provide a graphical display representing the network topology information, the graphical display including a representation of the server, the one or more network devices, and one or more connections between the server and the one or more network devices, wherein the identification and port of the network device are received in a packet provided by the network device following the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP), and wherein the BMC is configured to construct each LLDP packet and send it via a sideband channel to the network interface using a Network Controller Sideband Interface (NC-SI) original equipment manufacturer (OEM) command including first information about the server and second information about the network interface port, the first information including a service tag and the second information including a media access control (MAC) address and a Fully Qualified Descriptor (FQDD).

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one portion of network topology information includes an association between an identification and a port of a network device, wherein the network device and the server are connected via the port.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the network interface is configured to receive the at least one portion of network topology information provided by the network device in response to a cable being physically connected between the server and the network device and in the absence of a query by the server.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the BMC is configured to collect the network topology information from the network interface by querying the network interface via the sideband channel.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14 , wherein the low-power mode includes a G0 or G1 mode under the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification mode.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the processor, cause the IHS to receive network topology information from the server prior to the server booting an Operating System (OS).

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by an Information Handling System (IHS), cause the IHS to:

collect at least one portion of network topology information from one or more network devices via a baseboard management controller (BMC) circuit while operating in a standby or sleep mode; and

provide the network topology information to a management console, the management console configured to provide a graphical display representing the network topology information, the graphical display including a representation of the IHS, the one or more network devices, and one or more connections between the IHS and the one or more network devices, wherein the identification and port of the network device are received in a packet provided by the network device following the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP), and wherein the BMC is configured to construct each LLDP packet and send it via a sideband channel to the network interface using a Network Controller Sideband Interface (NC-SI) original equipment manufacturer (OEM) command including first information about the server and second information about the network interface port, the first information including a service tag and the second information including a media access control (MAC) address and a Fully Qualified Descriptor (FQDD).

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the network interface is configured to receive the at least one portion of network topology information provided by the network device in response to the wire being physically connected between the IHS and the network device, in the absence of a query by the IHS, and prior to the IHS booting an Operating System (OS); and wherein the BMC is configured to collect the network topology information from the network interface by querying the network interface via the sideband channel.