- Link Layer Topology Discovery
Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) is a proprietary
Link Layer protocol fornetwork topology discovery andquality of service diagnostics. It was developed byMicrosoft as part of theWindows Rally set of technologies. The LLTD protocol operates over both wired (IEEE 802 .3 Ethernet) as well as wireless (IEEE 802 .11) networks.LLTD is included in
Windows Vista and is used by its "Network Map" feature to display a graphical representation of the LAN or WLAN, to which the computer is connected.Windows XP does not contain the LLTD protocol as a standard component and as a result, Windows XP computers do not appear on the "Network Map" unless the [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=4f01a31d-ee46-481e-ba11-37f485fa34ea LLTD responder] is installed on Windows XP computers. But ifWindows XP SP3 is installed the LLTD is already included in Windows XP.Being a Link Layer (or OSI Layer 2) implementation, LLTD operates strictly on a given local network segment. It cannot discover devices across
router s, an operation which would requireInternet Protocol level routing.Link Layer Topology Discovery in Windows Vista consists of two components. The LLTD Mapper I/O component is the master module which controls the discovery process and generates the Network Map. Appropriate permissions for this may be configured with
Group Policy settings. It can be allowed or disallowed for domains, and private and public networks. The Mapper sends discovery command packets onto the local network segment via a raw network interface socket. The second component of LLTD are the LLTD Responders which answer Mapper requests about their host and possibly other discovered network information.In addition to illustrating the layout of a network with representative icons for the hosts and interconnecting lines, each device icon may be explored to produce a popup information box summarizing important network and host parameters, such as
MAC address andIP address (bothIPv4 andIPv6 ). Icons are labeled with the hostnames (or first component of their fully qualified domain names), or a representative name of the function of the device, e.g., "gateway". If the device has reported the presence of a management Web interface, clicking on the icon will open a HTTP session to the host.The LLTD responder for Windows XP only supports reporting of IPv4 addresses, but not IPv6.
A non-free, but
royalty free Linux sample implementation of the LLTD responder is available from Microsoft as part of the Windows Rally Development Kit. Using LLTD specifications requires signing a Microsoft Windows Rally license agreement. [ [http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/f/7/af7777e5-7dcd-4800-8a0a-b18336565f5b/RallyLicense.doc] ]See also
*
Simple Network Management Protocol External links
* [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=4f01a31d-ee46-481e-ba11-37f485fa34ea Download LLTD Responder for Windows XP]
* [http://x3webworx3.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E40FC8E37C2475AE!234.entry Generic Fix for LLTD Availability in XP SP3]
* [http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/Rally/LLTD-spec.mspx Link Layer Topology Discovery Protocol Specification] and license
* [http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/rally/rallykit.mspx Windows Rally Development Kit]
* [http://www.darknet.org.uk/2007/04/lltd-link-layer-topology-discovery-protocol/ LLTD - Link Layer Topology Discovery Protocol]
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