Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool Overview and Technical Details

Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool Overview

The Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool is a Windows application designed to 'map' or discover information about a network switch's ports and report on the attached devices. It does this by accessing switch internal information using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) over the network. SNMP access credentials must be provided in order to access the data in the switch. The amount of data retrieved depends on the extent of the switch manufacturer's SNMP implementation.

What information can we get from the switch?

The Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool can retrieve essential information needed by network administrators such as the port identification or naming, status, speed and VLAN assignments. See the MAC addresses of attached devices and optionally IP addresses and device hostnames. Need help with topology? we can display LLDP, CDP, Link Aggregation (LACP/LAG/IEEE802.3ad/PAGP) information recorded by the switch showing connectivity to devices, other switches or servers.

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

Switch mappings can be done manually from the GUI interface or through command line parameters on a scheduled basis using Windows Task Scheduler (the GUI will appear even if started from the command line). The results of every switch mapping are automatically saved into an SQLite database for later retrieval, searching or analysis. Results may be optionally saved to XML text files for independent analysis using spreadsheets.

Product Information

The Managed Switch Port Mapping tool communicates with managed Ethernet network switches using SNMPv1/v2c/v3 and discovers the MAC addresses and other information about devices attached to the physical port jacks on the front of the switches. The app requires Microsoft Windows® and can be also used on Apple MAC OSX if you use Windows inside a virtual machine like VMware Fusion or Parallels.
No switch is too big or too small, but it must be capable of being 'managed' using SNMP (simple network management protocol) and it must support certain MIBs. It's been used on switches as small as the Cisco SF 300-08 series all the way up to core switches like the Cisco 6500 series.
Simple to use: enter the switch IPv4 address and the SNMP v1/v2c/v3 read-only credentials. Then press Map Switch. We do the rest. Watch one of the videos to see it in action.
Results are presented in a spreadsheet-like grid. Print the results or export them to your favorite spreadsheet program as either tab-delimited text or as XML.
Available as an app installed on your hard drive or as a fully portable app that runs from a USB Flash Drive.

Features

Fast - supports SNMP v2c/v3 Bulk Transfer mode. This mode reduces required SNMP bandwidth.
Map Switches Manually one at a time or as a set of switches in a list.
Switch Lists - map a group or set of switches, record the mapping results in the History Database and optionally automatically export the XML results for each switch to files as the switch list is mapped.
History Database - all switch mappings are automatically saved here. Searchable. Review a switch mapping at a later time.
SNMPv1/v2c/v3 - supports USM access model SNMPv3 requests.
Command Line - run the app from the command line using various options. Use Windows Task Scheduler to map a switch or switch list when you need it mapped. (The GUI will appear if started from the command line)
Optional Columns - over 25 optional columns supporting RMON and Cisco packet related counters including overruns etc. Also columns reporting Voice VLAN, Trunking, Port Security (preceding are for Cisco switches only) and Assigned VLANs.
LLDP and CDP neighbor information are reported by the switch. See neighboring devices like other switches and routers connected to a switch port (if they have LLDP or CDP enabled).
Link Aggregation - LACP LAG (IEEE 802.3ad), PAGP and legacy HP Trunk links between switches or switches to servers are shown in the Type column and color coded for easy identification of the aggregation ports and their member ports.

The Details - what we get from the switch

Basic Information Retrieved from the Switch

The software uses SNMP to retrieve information (raw data) from the switch. The information, if available, is presented in a spreadsheet-like grid with each switch port represented as a row and the data type as a column.

Default Columns

Interface description, name, alias (ifDescr, ifName, ifAlias - 3 columns)
Interface type (ethernet, gigabit ethernet, tunnel, virtual, loopback etc. Shows Link Aggregation LACP/LAG/IEEE802.3ad/PAGP member ports and aggregator port.)
VLAN (default and multiple VLAN assignments per port or by device, Voice VLAN column is optional)
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 neighbor connection information between devices attached to the port like switches and routers.
CDP (Cisco Discovery Protocol) - shows neighbor connection information between devices attached to the port like switches and routers.
Connector Present - shows whether a physical connector is present.
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.
Interface Index (ifIndex)

**About IP Addresses

Managed switches usually operate at layer 2 which means they keep track of the MAC addresses attached to their ports not the IP addresses. 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.

Optional Information Retrieved from the Switch

More columns are available to show optional data - if supported by the switch. Use Settings and Tools/Column Order and Visibility Editor to add them in.

Optional Columns

Voice VLAN (currently Cisco only)
Assigned VLANs per port
Trunking - shows Cisco switch ports operating in VLAN trunking mode
Port Security - shows Cisco switch ports with port security enabled
Dot1x - shows 802.1x configuration data for each port
Partner Port Id - shows the Link Aggregation IEEE802.3ad or PAGP partner port remote ID
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) information including port status and root information
From RMON-MIB: Dropped Packets, CRC Errors, Undersized Packets, Oversized Packets, Fragmented Packets, Jabber Packets, Collision Errors
From OLD-CISCO-MIB: CRC Errors, Framing Errors, Overrun Errors, Packet Ignored Errors, Packet Abort Errors, Output Collision Errors, Input Queue Full Dropped Packets
Port input and output byte counts

Switch Properties

We also retrieve basic properties of the switch - they are not shown in the results grid. They are shown in the web browser report and by using a right-click menu Properties selection.

Switch Name
Description
Manufacturer
Contact and Location (you can change these if you have write privileges)

Manufacturer Specific Switch Properties

We also retrieve manufacturer specific properties of the switch - if available. They are also shown in the web browser report and by using a right-click menu Properties selection.

Model Number
Serial Number
Software Version (ie. IOS x.x, JUNOS, NX-OS etc.)
Firmware Version
Hardware Revision
Asset Number
Stack members are shown in the post-mapping web page report

How the Switch Mapping Results are presented

When a switch mapping is completed, you are presented with a Summary Report in your web browser. 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. 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.

Switch List results can be exported in XML and opened in Excel with each switch in the list appearing on a separate spreadsheet tab.

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 Upstream or Downstream Devices - shows multiple devices connected by other switches or hubs.
Shows Switch Parameters - device MAC Address, device IP address*, hostname**, VLAN assignment, port status, speed, duplex, connected device interface manufacturer and more.
Identifies Attached 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/2003/2007/2013/365 or OpenOffice Calc.
Results are automatically saved in a History Database and can be reloaded for later review.
Work with Multiple Switches Easily - switch and device 'groups' including IP addresses and access credentials 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 the app standalone or launch it from within NetScanTools Pro.

*We cannot guarantee finding an IP address for every MAC address.

**We cannot guarantee finding a hostname for every IP address - DNS access is required.

FAQ

How much does it cost?

How is it licensed?

Will it work with my switches? - Try it. That's the fastest way to find out. Download and install our free 30 day 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 our customers 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.

Videos

See the Switch Port Mapping Tool in action. Check out these videos before you decide to download and try it for yourself. Discover for yourself why our customers think this is the best Switch Port Mapper around!

Many more videos are found here.

YouTube Videos

These links open a new window to the older videos on our NetScanTools.com site - most are showing v1.x.

Mapping a 3Com 4800G 24 port switch.

Mapping a Cisco Catalyst 3550 switch.

Mapping a Nortel BES110 switch.

Mapping an HP ProCurve 1810G-8 switch.

Mapping a Cisco Small Business SF 300-08 switch.

Mapping an HP Procurve 2524 switch.

Mapping a Cisco Catalyst 2950 switch.

What exactly is the Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool?