Cisco Discovery Protocol Last modified: Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) was developed by Cisco Systems. It's primarily used to obtain the protocol addresses of neighboring devices and also to discover the platform of those devices.  It can also be used to show information about the interfaces your router uses. CDP is media and protocol-independent, and runs on all Cisco-manufactured equipment including routers, bridges, access servers, and switches. CDP runs only over the data link layer enabling two systems that support different network-layer protocols to learn about each other. CDP Version-2 (CDPv2) is the most recent release of the protocol and provides more intelligent device tracking features.
•E-mail this definition to a colleague• For internet.com pages about Cisco Discovery Protocol . Also check out the following links! Cisco Systems  Cisco Systems, Inc. is a worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create Internet solutions that allow individuals, companies, and countries to increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction and strengthen competitive advantage. Configuring Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP)  This chapter describes how the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) works with SNMP to identify other devices in your network. Webopedia's Did You Know...The Differences Between Hubs, Switches and Routers"  Some technicians have a tendency to use the terms routers, hubs and switches interchangeably. One minute they're talking about a switch. Two minutes later they're discussing router settings. Throughout all of this, though, they're still looking at only the one box. Ever wonder what the difference is among these boxes? Webopedia's Quick Reference Section  Use this Webopedia reference section for information on common Internet and computer facts and occurrences.	Network Management Network Protocols Cisco Cisco Network Admission Control Cisco Systems device network PIX Firewall router routing Give Us Your Feedback Networking Hubs and Switches Cisco Discovery Protocol Products Shop by Top Models: Cisco WS-C2960-24-S 24-Port Ethernet Switch 19 store offers from $445 - $775 Cisco Catalyst 2960 48-Port Ethernet Switch (WS-C2960-48TC-L-RF) 16 store offers from $1664 - $2697 Cisco Catalyst 2960PD-8TT-L 8-Port Ethernet Switch (WS-C2960PD-8TT-L) 17 store offers from $437 - $772 Cisco Catalyst 2960-24PC-L 24-Port Ethernet Switch (WS-C2960-24PC-L) 14 store offers from $1647 - $1956 Cisco Nexus 5020 40-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (N5K-C5020P-BF) 8 store offers from $20645 - $24110