Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool Technical Details

Overview
Data Retrieved
Results
Switch Compatibility
Benefits

Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool Overview

The Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool is an application designed to 'map' or discover the devices attached to a network switch's ports. It does this by accessing switch internal information using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) over the network. The end user must provide SNMP access credentials unique to each switch in order to access the switch. Device discovery depends on the extent of the SNMP implementation and permissions to access required MIBs in the switch.

Switches can be manually mapped one at a time or in groups using Switch Lists.

Switch mapping can be done from the GUI interface or through command line parameters on a scheduled basis using Windows Task Scheduler. The results of a switch mapping are automatically saved into an SQLite database for later retrieval or analysis. They can also be saved to XML text files for independent analysis through other programs like spreadsheets.

Many additional parameters are retrieved showing the current state of the switch and devices connected to it.

Application Software Requirements

The Managed Switch Port Mapping tool is designed for Windows XP or newer and will also operate in Virtual Machines like Parallels or Fusion on Apple OSX.

Full Application Software Requirements are here.

To see detailed information about the parameters or data retrieved from the switch, go to the next tab above.

Information or data retrieved from the switch

This is a list of default columns and the corresponding data you will typically see for each switch port. Not all switches will report everything shown in this list.

Interface description, 3 columns: ifDescr, ifAlias or custom
Interface name (ifName)
Interface type (ethernet, gigabit ethernet, tunnel, virtual, loopback etc.)
VLAN (depending on the switch we can even report multiple VLAN assignments per port)
Port Status (up, down or other)
Port Speed (10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps etc.)
Port Duplex mode (full, half, auto, FDx, HDx etc.)
MAC addresses of devices attached to ports
IPv4 addresses and hostnames of those devices if available**
Attached device interface manufacturer - helps identify devices.
LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol) - shows connection information between devices attached to the port like switches and routers.
CDP (Cisco Discovery Protocol) - shows connection information between devices attached to the port like switches and routers.
Last Change Time column shows the elapsed time since a port status was changed from up to down or from down to up. Useful in determining how long a device has been online or offline.

Addition optional switch data:

Port input and output byte counts
Port bandwidth utilization
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) information including port status and root information
From OLD-CISCO-MIB: CRC Errors, Framing Errors, Overrun Errors, Packet Ignored Errors, Packet Abort Errors, Output Collision Errors, Input Queue Full Dropped Packets
From RMON-MIB: Dropped Packets, CRC Errors, Undersized Packets, Oversized Packets, Fragmented Packets, Jabber Packets, Collision Errors

Basic switch properties:

Switch name
Description
Manufacturer
Switch uptime
Location field
Switch administrator contact name

Additional product specific switch information:

Switch model number
Switch serial number
Software version (ie. IOS x.x, JUNOS, NX-OS etc.)
Firmware version
Hardware revision
Asset number

The additional information retrieved varies significantly depending on manufacturer and model.

**Obtaining IPv4 addresses.
Managed switches usually operate at layer 2 which means they keep track of the MAC addresses attached to their ports and report the information in Bridge-Mib and/or qBridge-mib. The IP addresses are not kept in the switch's port forwarding tables. When we retrieve the data from the switch, we have to find the IP address that matches the list of device MAC addresses for each port. We do this by searching ARP tables from various devices. We provide two user defined methods of retrieving ARP tables from other SNMP enabled devices such as a server or router. Ping Sweep prefills your computer's local ARP table with local network segment IP/MAC addresses. You can also import a static list of MAC/IP address combinations in Database Manager.

How the Switch Mapping Results are presented

When a switch mapping is completed, you are presented with a Summary Report in your web browser. The slideshow on the Overview tab shows an example Summary Report. This report can be saved or printed as desired. It provides a high level analysis of what was retrieved from the switch.

The app shows the Switch Mapping results in a spreadsheet style grid (see the slideshow on the Overview tab). The columns of the grid can be reordered and made visible or invisible to suit the your needs. The results are searchable using one of the many selections available from the right-click popup menu.

You can export the results as either tab delimited text or XML suitable for opening directly by Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice. The imported spreadsheet retains the look and presentation of the results in the program.

Will it work with your switches?

Try it. That's the best way to find out. Download and install our free trial. You will need to know your switch IPv4 address and SNMP v1/v2c community name or SNMPv3 access credentials. You will also need to be sure SNMP is enabled on the switch and you have permissions to access the internal MIBs (your computer IP may need to be on an Access Control List (ACL) or part of a specific 'view').

Please review list long list of switches that we and others have tested with our software. This list includes compatibility of switches reported to us by users.

The list also shows switches that do not work with this software.

Benefits

Manufacturer Independent - capable of mapping many different brands and models of SNMP managed switches.
A Time Saver - saves technicians time mapping out the physical layout of your network by helping identify network devices attached to the physical switch ports.
Shows Downstream Devices - shows multiple downstream devices connected by hubs or other switches.
Shows Switch Parameters - device MAC Address, device IP address**, VLAN assignment, port status, speed, duplex, byte counts in/out, bandwidth usage, connected device interface manufacturer, Spanning Tree Protocol status with root information and more.
Identifies Virtual Operating Systems - reports switch ports with devices running virtual operating systems.
Easy-to-understand Results Presentation - spreadsheet format results can be printed in color and searched for text strings.
Export results to spreadsheet schema XML or tab delimited text files - the XML file can be directly opened by Microsoft Excel XP/2003/2007 or OpenOffice Calc.
Results can be saved in XML and reloaded for later review.
Work with Multiple Switches Easily - switch and device 'configurations' including IP addresses and community names are automatically saved in a database and can be loaded for rapid change between different switches. No need to re-enter switch information.
Integrates into NetScanTools Pro Optional Tools menu. Operates standalone or as a tool launched from within NetScanTools Pro.

**device IP addresses require retrieval of ARP tables from one or more devices with knowledge of the network. We cannot guarantee finding an IP address for every MAC address.

Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool > More Details