Link Automatic Discovery (LAD) allows a device to issue link discovery requests as triggered by the NMS or command lines. After the device receives link discovery replies, the device generates neighbor information and saves it in the local MIB. The NMS can query neighbor information in the MIB and generate the topology of the entire network.
Link Automatic Discovery (LAD) is a Huawei proprietary protocol that discovers neighbors at the link layer. LAD allows a device to issue link discovery requests as triggered by the NMS or command lines. After the device receives link discovery replies, the device generates neighbor information and saves it in the local MIB. The NMS can then query neighbor information in the MIB and generate the topology of the entire network.
Large-scale networks demand increased NMS capabilities, such as obtaining the topology status of connected devices automatically and detecting configuration conflicts between devices. Currently, most NMSs use an automated discovery function to trace changes in the network topology but can only analyze the network-layer topology. Network-layer topology information notifies you of basic events like the addition or deletion of devices, but gives you no information about the interfaces used by one device to connect to other devices or the location or network operation mode of a device.
LAD is developed to resolve these problems. LAD can identify the interfaces on a network device and provide detailed information about connections between devices. LAD can also display paths between clients, switches, routers, application servers, and network servers. The detailed information provided by LAD can help efficiently locate network faults.
LAD helps network administrators promptly obtain detailed network topology and changes in the topology and monitor the network status in real time, improving security and stability for network communication.