Topology discovery by partitioning multiple discovery techniques

A system for discovering a topology of a distributed processing network that includes a first topology discovery agent configured to contact a first set of routers to obtain a first type of information stored in each router in the first set of routers; a second topology discovery agent and/or configured to contact a second set of routers to obtain a second type of information stored in each router in the second set of routers, and a phase controller configured to select between the first and second topology discovery agents. The first and second sets of routers are different, and the first and second types of information are different. In one configuration, the first type of information is defined by a network management protocol, and the second type of information is defined by a routing protocol.