In Configuration Manager 2007, the degree to which a large network is mapped at one time by Network Discovery is determined by the number of router hops that a Network Discovery run is set for. Each router hop made during the network discovery can significantly increase the amount discovered if a network is broken into multiple nodes.
To get a better idea of how router hops can affect the amount of network resources discovered, consider the following network:
A Network Discovery, running from Server 1, finds the following routers (and their attached subnets), depending on how many router hops are specified:
- Zero router hops: Router B
- One router hop: Routers A, B, C, and E
- Two router hops: All routers
More detailed examples can be seen for router hops ranging from zero to four hops by clicking the following links:
- Zero router hop: Example of Initial
Network Discovery, Hop Count 0
- One router hops: see Example of Initial
Network Discovery, Hop Count 1
- Two router hops: Example of Initial
Network Discovery, Hop Count 2
- Three router hops: Example of Initial
Network Discovery, Hop Count 3
- Four router hops: Example of Initial
Network Discovery, Hop Count 4