IP Library Granted Patent US 12,609,883
Granted Patent B2
US 12,609,883 · App. 18/812,413 · Granted Apr 21, 2026

Layer-2 path discovery of active probe connection monitoring

Inventor: Filippo Ardito (Mont-sur-Rolle, CH)
Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
H04L43/50H04L43/065H04L43/12
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,609,883
App. No.
18/812,413
Granted
Apr 21, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

In one implementation, a device may obtain telemetry data from Layer-2 network devices on a test path trace of a computing network. The device may generate, based on the telemetry data, a correlation of the Layer-2 network devices with Layer-3 path trace data. The device may determine, based on the correlation, a Layer-2 path for the test path trace on the computing network. The device may integrate the Layer-2 path with the Layer-3 path trace data to generate an enriched path trace to identify a root cause of a performance degradation in the computing network.

Claims (52)

1 . A method, comprising:

obtaining, by a device, telemetry data from Layer-2 network devices on a test path trace of a computing network;

generating, by the device and based on the telemetry data, a correlation of the Layer-2 network devices with Layer-3 path trace data;

determining, by the device and based on the correlation, a Layer-2 path for the test path trace on the computing network;

integrating, by the device, the Layer-2 path with the Layer-3 path trace data to generate an enriched path trace to identify a root cause of a performance degradation in the computing network;

identifying, based on the enriched path trace, one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by an active probe test; and

suggesting a location for a subsequent active probe test to cover the one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by the active probe test.

2 . The method as in claim 1 , wherein the telemetry data includes a graph of topology neighbors in the computing network based on Layer-2 discovery protocols.

3 . The method as in claim 1 , wherein the telemetry data includes a set of media access control addresses authenticating on the Layer-2 network devices.

4 . The method as in claim 1 , wherein the telemetry data is learned by the Layer-2 network devices by monitoring address resolution protocol and dynamic host configuration protocol traffic.

5 . The method as in claim 4 , wherein the telemetry data includes media access control address and internet protocol address tuples for endpoints in the computing network.

6 . The method as in claim 1 , wherein generating the correlation includes:

identifying a set of Layer-2 hops in the Layer-2 path based on a media access control address of each of the Layer-2 network devices; and

identifying a particular Layer-2 network device with a dataplane internet protocol address equal to a first Layer-3 hop of the test path trace.

7 . The method as in claim 6 , wherein determining the Layer-2 path includes:

identifying, based on a topology dataset, Layer-2 neighbors of the particular Layer-2 network device that match Layer-2 hops in the set of Layer-2 hops; and

appending matching Layer-2 neighbors to a model of the Layer-2 path until all Layer-2 hops in the set of Layer-2 hops have been appended to the Layer-2 path or until no match is found.

8 . The method as in claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying the root cause of the performance degradation by detecting a pattern in a time series of performance metrics for the enriched path trace that correlate with an active network test failure.

9 . The method as in claim 1 , further comprising:

providing the enriched path trace to a user via a user interface to identify the root cause of the performance degradation in the computing network.

10 . An apparatus, comprising:

one or more network interfaces;

a processor coupled to the one or more network interfaces and configured to execute one or more processes; and

a memory configured to store a process that is executable by the processor, the process when executed configured to:

obtain telemetry data from Layer-2 network devices on a test path trace of a computing network;

generate, based on the telemetry data, a correlation of the Layer-2 network devices with Layer-3 path trace data;

determine, based on the correlation, a Layer-2 path for the test path trace on the computing network;

integrate the Layer-2 path with the Layer-3 path trace data to generate an enriched path trace to identify a root cause of a performance degradation in the computing network,

identify, based on the enriched path trace, one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by an active probe test; and

suggest a location for a subsequent active probe test to cover the one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by the active probe test.

11 . The apparatus as in claim 10 , wherein the telemetry data includes a graph of topology neighbors in the computing network based on Layer-2 discovery protocols.

12 . The apparatus as in claim 10 , wherein the telemetry data includes a set of media access control addresses authenticating on the Layer-2 network devices.

13 . The apparatus as in claim 10 , wherein the telemetry data is learned by the Layer-2 network devices by monitoring address resolution protocol and dynamic host configuration protocol traffic.

14 . The apparatus as in claim 13 , wherein the telemetry data includes media access control address and internet protocol address tuples for endpoints in the computing network.

15 . The apparatus as in claim 10 , wherein the process is further configured to:

identify a set of Layer-2 hops in the Layer-2 path based on a media access control address of each of the Layer-2 network devices; and

identify a particular Layer-2 network device with a dataplane internet protocol address equal to a first Layer-3 hop of the test path trace.

16 . The apparatus as in claim 15 , wherein the process is further configured to:

identify, based on a topology dataset, Layer-2 neighbors of the particular Layer-2 network device that match Layer-2 hops in the set of Layer-2 hops; and

append matching Layer-2 neighbors to a model of the Layer-2 path until all Layer-2 hops in the set of Layer-2 hops have been appended to the Layer-2 path or until no match is found.

17 . The apparatus as in claim 10 , wherein the process is further configured to:

identify the root cause of the performance degradation by detecting a pattern in a time series of performance metrics for the enriched path trace that correlate with an active network test failure.

18 . A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing program instructions that cause a device to execute a process comprising:

obtaining telemetry data from Layer-2 network devices on a test path trace of a computing network;

generating, based on the telemetry data, a correlation of the Layer-2 network devices with Layer-3 path trace data;

determining, based on the correlation, a Layer-2 path for the test path trace on the computing network;

integrating the Layer-2 path with the Layer-3 path trace data to generate an enriched path trace to identify a root cause of a performance degradation in the computing network,

identifying, based on the enriched path trace, one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by an active probe test; and

suggesting a location for a subsequent active probe test to cover the one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by the active probe test.

19 . The method as in claim 1 , wherein identifying, based on the enriched path trace, the one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by the active probe test and suggesting the location for the subsequent active probe test to cover the one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by the active probe test comprises using an observability intelligence platform for identifying the one or more Layer-2 devices and suggesting the location.

20 . The apparatus as in claim 10 , wherein to identify, based on the enriched path trace, the one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by the active probe test and suggest the location for the subsequent active probe test to cover the one or more Layer-2 devices that are not covered by the active probe test comprises to use an observability intelligence platform to identify the one or more Layer-2 devices and suggest the location.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 22, 2024
From: ARDITO, FILIPPO
To: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 068373/0590 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20260058896A1 · Feb 26, 2026
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