Graph-theory-based protocol to provide centralised management of an extended LAN topology

A new protocol is proposed for configuring the topology of a network comprising a number of LANs interconnected by MAC bridges. Unlike other solutions to this problem, this new protocol is based around a single management node which is able to determine the complete network topology map. By applying graph theory to this map, a number of possible configurations can be deduced from which the network manager is able to choose the optimum. In this respect, the management aspects of the new protocol offer many advantages over existing schemes