US Patent 9111466 Efficient access to connectivity information using cable identification

Communication apparatus includes a memory and a communication interface, configured to send and receive messages to and from respective management agents in multiple items of communication equipment having ports that are interconnected by cables in a network, each of the cables having a unique identifier. A processor is configured to communicate with the management agents via the communication interface so as to collect physical connectivity information with respect to the cables and the ports, to store the physical connectivity information in the memory, and to provide the physical connectivity information to a user of the apparatus.