AUTOLINX · FEATURES · DISCOVERY Network discovery that builds a live graph — not a stale spreadsheet See pricing →
AutoLinx / Features / Discovery
AUTOLINX FEATURE · 01 DISCOVERY

A live graph of your network —
not a stale spreadsheet.

AutoLinx Discovery continuously builds and maintains a live graph of every device, interface, neighbor relationship, and topology change in your network. Multi-vendor by design. Updates within seconds of a change. Replaces inventory documents that go stale the moment they're saved.

See pricing → How it works
LIVE TOPOLOGY · UPDATING IN REAL TIME
CORE D1 D2 D3 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 +NEW DISCOVERED 9 devices · 11 edges 10 devices · 12 edges · new neighbor
Live graph · LLDP + CDP + BGP + SNMP + gNMI change → seconds, not hours
WHAT IT DOES

Three capabilities at production scale.

Discovery isn't just "ping and scan". It's continuous graph construction — what changed, when, and how it connects.

Multi-protocol mapping

LLDP · CDP · BGP · SNMP · gNMI · NETCONF

Probes every neighbor protocol concurrently — and reconciles them into a single graph. A Cisco-Juniper edge shows up regardless of which vendor advertises it. ARP cache, MAC tables, and route tables all roll up into the same model.

Change detection within seconds

delta · who · when · why

New device shows up. Old one disappears. Link flaps. Neighbor count drops. The graph updates within seconds, the change is logged with timestamp, source, and confidence — and downstream agents (Triage, Compliance) react immediately.

Role & type inference

core · distribution · access · edge · spine · leaf

Doesn't just see that a device exists — infers what role it plays. By neighbor count, BGP signature, link types, and configuration patterns. New devices land in the graph with role pre-classified — basis for downstream provisioning and compliance.

HOW IT WORKS

Continuous, not periodic.

Discovery runs as a continuous loop, not a nightly cron job. Four stages, sub-second hand-off between them.
01 · PROBE Neighbor query LLDP · CDP · BGP SNMP walk · gNMI ARP · MAC tables 02 · RECONCILE Cross-source check resolve conflicts dedupe entities confidence score 03 · CLASSIFY Role inference topology pattern config signature neighbor profile 04 · EMIT Graph update delta to consumers audit ledger entry webhook to NetBox CONTINUOUS LOOP · SUB-SECOND HAND-OFF LIVE GRAPH · CONSUMERS NOTIFIED ON DELTA
WHERE IT SHIPS

Production proof.

Not a roadmap promise. Discovery has run in production across all three anchor accounts — for years.
ANCHOR 01 · TIER-1 THAI TELCO
AutoProvision Phase #1 → #3
since 2019 · 3 phases, 7 years continuous

Discovery underpinned AutoProvision's three phases. By Phase #3 (2026, with our AI reasoning layer), the graph supports thousands of devices across the carrier's footprint with continuous reconciliation.

ANCHOR 02 · LAOS NATIONAL TELCO
CCMSS & MAMS + ONT Management
since 2018 · expanded through 2024

Centralized Configuration Management + MAC Authentication Management — both depend on accurate, continuous discovery. ONT Management System (2024) extends discovery to subscriber-edge devices.

ANCHOR 03 · LAOS GOVERNMENT MINISTRY
216-branch deployment
2023 · single rollout

Discovery handled the cold start: 216 new branch routers, multi-ISP load balancing, all coming online over weeks. The graph built itself as devices appeared — no inventory spreadsheet maintained by humans.

ANCHOR 02 · LAOS NATIONAL TELCO
Network & Service Inventory System
2020 · still running

Discovery as the foundation for a network-wide inventory system. Six years later: still the source of truth for service planning, capacity decisions, and audit response.

VENDOR COVERAGE

10+ vendors discovered the same way.

Same protocol stack works across all of them. Same graph regardless of who made the hardware.
Cisco IOS-XE
✓ GA
Cisco NX-OS
✓ GA
Juniper Junos
✓ GA
Arista EOS
✓ GA
Nokia SR Linux
✓ GA
Huawei VRP
✓ GA
MikroTik
✓ GA
SONiC
✓ GA
Aruba CX
✓ GA
FRR / VyOS
✓ GA
HUMAN-IN-THE-LOOP

What discovery decides on its own — and what asks for review.

Discovery is largely auto. New observations don't need approval. But role classification of strategically-important devices, and decisions that affect downstream agents, surface to operators.
L1 · OBSERVE New device appears · neighbor link found · MAC table read auto
L2 · CLASSIFY Infer role · type · function from topology and config auto
L3 · FLAG Strategic device class · unusual pattern · low confidence inference review
L4 · REMOVE Delete device entity · prune entire branch from graph approval
QUESTIONS

What people ask first.

How does this differ from SNMP polling or LLDP-only tools?
Most NMS tools pick one protocol and stick with it. We probe all of them concurrently — LLDP, CDP, BGP, SNMP, gNMI, NETCONF — and reconcile the answers. When LLDP says one thing and BGP says another, the reconciler decides who's right, with a confidence score. That's the difference between a snapshot and a live graph.
Does it integrate with NetBox / Infoblox / our CMDB?
Yes. Bi-directional: Discovery reads from your CMDB (so your existing "source of truth" stays central), and writes deltas back. Webhook integration for NetBox, REST sync for Infoblox, custom adapters for in-house CMDB. We never duplicate what your CMDB already knows — we keep it current.
How does Discovery handle scale — say, 50,000+ devices?
Discovery is parallel by design — each region/POP runs its own probe loop, results consolidate centrally. At carrier scale (our largest anchor account), discovery handles 50,000+ devices with sub-minute full-graph refresh. For environments above 25 Gbps aggregate traffic, pair with FabricLinx for wire-rate visibility.
Can we exclude sensitive segments from discovery?
Yes. Discovery scope is defined per agent — by site, VRF, VLAN, IP range, or device class. Air-gapped or sensitive segments can be excluded entirely, or scanned with read-only credentials. Common pattern: full discovery on enterprise side, hands-off on OT/IoT segments.
What credentials does Discovery need?
Read-only is enough for discovery itself — SNMP v3, SSH read-only, or gNMI subscriber. We recommend creating a dedicated service account scoped to read-only. Vault integration (HashiCorp, CyberArk) for credential rotation. We never store device passwords in cleartext.
Does Discovery work without the AutoLinx agents?
No — Discovery is part of the AutoLinx platform, not standalone. The graph is consumed by every other AutoLinx capability (Triage, Provisioning, Compliance, IPAM). If you need standalone topology only, that's a different product category.
SISTER FEATURES

Discovery is the foundation. Here's what it feeds.

Every other AutoLinx feature consumes the discovery graph. Continuous, multi-vendor, role-aware — and ready to act on.

Try discovery on your network in week one.

A 4-week pilot starts with discovery — full graph of your network within days. Then the other agents come online against that graph.