Arrangement for discovering the topology of an HFC access network

The present invention relates to a hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) access communication network and, more particularly, to an arrangement for automatically discovering and constantly updating the network topology of an HFC access communication network. A hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) access network manager is formed to support a variety of functions related to the operation and management of an HCF access plant. The network manager includes a topology discovery module that can function either automatically, or under control of a command from the access network manager, to poll individual network elements to identify their type and location, thus creating a topological map of the network. The polling can be accomplished in either the analog or digital domain.