Subject: RE: [Hubmib] FW: Ethernet switch forwarding table MIB? (fwd)

From: "Ayers, Mike" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 10:36:18 -0600

The problem of physically locating terminal devices is very complex
and it isn't.

	Huh?

	Okay, let me put it this way.

	Untangling the network to determine the path to the originating
device is a very complex problem, which is addressed in part by RFC2922.

	However, this does not tell you anything about where the terminal
device is in physical space, just logical space.  You may know which router
it's connected to, you may know where that router is, but how long is the
cable between the router and the terminal device?

	For the time being, only a simple solution is implementable.  The
upside is that you can do this with little or no technical change (I would
recommend using sysLocation for the information).  The downside is that you
need absolute discipline in order for such a system to work - any time a
machine is moved, the location information would need to be double checked,
or else you may have bad location information.

	What would be a long term solution?  I don't know.  Even embedded
GPS encoded into the VoIP stream would not be able to tell you which floor
the device is on, so I don't hold out much hope for a purely technical
solution. Maybe there's no time like the present to start practicing
discipline.

/|/|ike

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From: Henning Schulzrinne <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 09 Feb 2002 13:08:35 -0500

Do you happen to know if RFC 2922 is widely implemented in standard
switched Ethernet (say) LAN switches?

> cable between the router and the terminal device?

Fortunately, a large fraction of the cables are limited to 100' or so
and a single floor, so even without a good jack-to-room database, that
beats searching a whole building or, worse, a campus with dozens of
buildings.

> the device is on, so I don't hold out much hope for a purely technical

Plus, GPS tends not to work well indoors.

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From: Henning Schulzrinne <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 09 Feb 2002 13:08:35 -0500