US Patent 10020990 Network stability reconnaisance tool

Apparatus and methods for monitoring a remote network segment. The apparatus may perform, and the methods (apparatus and methods, collectively, “the methods”) may include installing, on a remote segment of a packet switched network, a network component. The methods may include transmitting to the remote segment, from a transmitter on a local segment of the network a probe packet. The methods may include receiving from a receiver on the local segment a responsive packet that is responsive to the probe packet. The methods may include reconfiguring, in response to the responsive packet and diagnostic rules, a network-monitoring machine to recognize the network component. The reconfiguring may be a reconfiguring that is not responsive to a discovery signal that is (a) triggered by a process internal to the network component; and (b) transmitted by the network component.