Geolocation of a Node on a Local Area Network

Geolocation is the process of identifying a node using only its Internet Protocol (IP) address. Locating a node on a LAN poses particular challenges due to the small scale of the problem and the increased significance of queuing delay. This study builds upon existing research in the area of geolocation and develops a heuristic tailored to the difficulties inherent in LANs called the LAN Time to Location Heuristic (LTTLH). LTTLH uses several polling nodes to measure latencies to end nodes, known locations within the LAN. The Euclidean distance algorithm is used to compare the results with the latency of a target in order to determine the target’s approximate location. Using only these latency measurements, LTTLH is able to determine which switch a target is connected to 95% of the time. Within certain constraints, this method is able to identify the target location 78% of the time. However, LANs are not always configured within the constraints necessary to geolocate a node. In order for LTTLH to be effective, a network must be configured consistently, with similar length cable runs available to nodes located in the same area. For best results, the network should also be partitioned, grouping nodes of similar proximity behind one switch