RIV::Record module overview

The RIV::Record module provides a data structure to store network entity data records.

Network entities

The RIV::Record module is used in conjunction with the RIV::Agent module to write discovery agents. The RIV::Record data structure stores records associated with the network entities sent by DISCO to the Perl Discovery Agent. You can then add local neighbors and remote neighbors to this record by calling the appropriate local and remote neighbor operation methods.

RIV::Record constructor

Before accessing the methods that the RIV::Record module provides, you must call the RIV::Record constructor to create and initialize a new RIV::Record data structure. This data structure stores network entity records retrieved from DISCO.

RIV::Record data structure

The following respresents a RIV::Record data structure:

$refLocalNeighbours = $record->{m_LocalNbr};
@LocalNeighbours = @$refLocalNeighbours;
$refRemoteNeighbours = $LocalNeighbours[$i]->{m_RemoteNbr};
@RemoteNeighbours = @$refRemoteNeighbours;
$refRemoteNeighbour = $RemoteNeighbours[$j];
%remoteNeighbour = %$refRemoteNeighbour;

The value for the key m_LocalNbr is a pointer to an array, which is a list of hashes, where each hash represents a local neighbor. If there are any remote neighbors, the local neighbor has a key (m_RemoteNbr) whose value points to the reference of an array, which is a list of hashes, each representing a remote neighbor. You will need this data structure if you intend to manipulate it directly. In most cases, however, your task is limited to creating hash lists that define the local and remote neighbors.

The AddLocalNeighbour and AddRemoteNeighbour methods can be used to add neighbors, and the GetLocalNeighbours and GetRemoteNeighbours methods can be used to retrieve information about neighbors.

Local and remote neighbor operation methods

The RIV::Record module provides methods that discovery agents use to perform add and get operations on local and remote neighbors.

The following table identifies and briefly describes the local and remote operation methods that the RIV::Record module provides:

Local and remote neighbor method	Description
`AddLocalNeighbour`	Adds a local neighbor.
`AddLocalNeighbourTag`	Adds a tag to a local neighbor.
`AddRemoteNeighbour`	Adds a remote neighbor.
`AddRemoteNeighbourTag`	Adds a tag to a remote neighbor.
`GetLocalNeighbours`	Returns an array of local neighbors.
`GetRemoteNeighbours`	Returns an array of remote neighbors.
`Print`	Prints the current record.

See RIV::Record module reference for the reference (man) pages associated with these methods.