Switch Port Mapper

Introduction

The SolarWinds Switch Port Mapper remotely discovers the devices connected to each port on a switch or hub. Additionally, Switch Port Mapper discovers the MAC address, IP address, and hostname of connected devices, as well as details about each port.

One of the most common tasks performed by network engineers is identifying the port on which a specific device is connected on a switch. For example, a policy has been enacted that consolidates physical servers to virtual servers. A Windows server has just been transferred to a virtual location and the remaining physical server needs to be disconnected from the switch, and then the port needs to be disabled to be compliant with the new policy. Assuming the cables connected to the switch are not labeled, Switch Port Mapper is an easy way to identify the port.

Table of Contents

Requirements

Installing SolarWinds Switch Port Mapper

Install the SolarWinds Switch Port Mapper application by running the SwitchPortMapper.msi program.

Notes:

• The Windows user account used to install SolarWinds Switch Port Mapper must have administrator rights.
• SolarWinds Switch Port Mapper is not compatible with Toolset version 10.0 on the same computer and will not install. Please upgrade your SolarWinds Toolset to version 10.1 or later.

To install SolarWinds Switch Port Mapper:

1. Run the setup program (SwitchPortMapper.msi).
2. Complete the setup wizard, providing the appropriate information as necessary.

Software License Key

You will be prompted to license the product the first time you run Switch Port Mapper. Complete the following procedure to enable your software license key.

To enable the software license key:

1. Start Switch Port Mapper from the SolarWinds folder.
2. Click Enter Licensing Information.
3. If the computer on which you installed Switch Port Mapper is connected to the Internet, complete the following procedure:
1. Click I want to activate my license over the Internet.
2. Browse to http://support.solarwinds.com.
3. Login to the customer portal using your Customer ID and password.
4. Click License Management.
5. Browse to Switch Port Mapper, and then locate the unregistered licenses list.
6. Copy your unregistered Switch Port Mapper activation key to the clipboard, and then paste it into the Activation Key field on the Activate Switch Port Mapper window.
7. If you use a proxy server to access the Internet, check the Proxy Server checkbox, and then type the proxy address and port number.
8. Click Next.
4. If the computer on which you are installing Switch Port Mapper is not connected to the Internet, complete the following procedure:
1. Click I want to activate my license through the Customer Portal.
2. Complete the procedure described on the Activate Switch Port Mapper window to complete the registration.

Configuring Settings

Complete the following procedure to customize how Switch Port Mapper works and displays results.

To configure Switch Port Mapper settings:

1. Click View > Application Settings.
2. Add or remove columns you want to display or hide using the Display Columns tab. This tab allows you to select the fields you want to show in the results table as well as adjusting the order in which the columns appear. Columns can be moved one at a time or select a group to move together.
   Note: The Make Global Default button will apply the current settings as the default for all other instances of Switch Port Mapper when you choose to have multiple instances running.
3. Configure settings on the Port Map Settings tab using the following information:

   Setting	Description
   Use GetBulk	This is a feature of SNMPv2 that allows a faster/better way of getting large amounts of data at one time from the target device's SNMP agent. SolarWinds recommends keeping this turned on unless your device's SNMP agent only supports SNMPv1 or does not fully support SNMPv2.
   Get Extended VLANs	Allows Switch Port Mapper to get information for VLANs outside the default VLAN ranges. It is best to leave this setting enabled.
   Layer 3 Use GetBulk	When using a separate device to provide the Layer 3 information you can control the GetBulk setting independently.
   Combine rows with identical values	Rows with identical values are collapsed together.
   Only Show interfaces with MACs on them	This option limits the results to interfaces with discovered MAC addresses.
   Hide Cisco Trunk Ports	Enabling this option removes Cisco trunk ports from the results table.
   MAC Address Display Settings	Select to display MAC addresses in uppercase or lowercase.

4. Configure the SNMP Settings tab using the following information:

   Setting	Description
   SNMP Timeout	The amount of time Switch Port Mapper waits for an SNMP query to return. If you are getting some data but are failing to get VLAN information try raising the timeout value significantly and then map the ports again. If it succeeds in getting all the information you may then reduce the timeout until you find a value that works in your environment.
   SNMP Retry	The number of times Switch Port Mapper will retry an SNMP request if it fails.

5. Click OK.

Mapping Switch Ports

Port mapping is done by discovering and correlating port information to MAC address and IP address information. The MAC and IP address information is discovered through a layer 3 device such as a router or server directly connected to the same subnet as the switch or hub.

Switches and hubs that support the BRIDGE-MIB can be mapped. If you are not sure if your device supports the BRIDGE-MIB, try to use the tool. Many devices support this MIB. Device details for Switches and Hubs that do not support BRIDGE-MIB cannot be discovered.

Note: If you have SolarWinds Toolset you can use the Ping Sweep tool to sweep the subnet before running Switch Port Mapper to improve the details of the mapping by pre-loading the ARP table of the router. For more information, see �Using Ping Sweep� in the SolarWinds Toolset Administrator Guide.

To map your switch ports:

1. Start Switch Port Mapper from the SolarWinds folder.
2. Type the IP address or host name of the switch you want to map, and then select or type in the credentials or community string used to communicate with the switch. For more information, see Managing Credentials.
3. If your switch is a Layer 3 switch, check Get Layer 3 info from switch.
4. If your switch is not a Layer 3 switch, type the IP address or host name of the router the switch is connected to in the Layer 3 Device field. This is the router or server to which the hub or switch is connected. This device is used to gather MAC and IP address information to correlate with the hub or switch port information. Then select or type in the credentials or community string used to communicate with the router. For more information, see Managing Credentials.
5. Click Map Ports.
6. If you want to export the results, complete the following procedure.
   1. Click File > Export.
   2. Check the rows and columns you want to export.
   3. Select the format you want to export to from the Export Format options.
   4. Click OK.
   5. Type the file name you want to save the export as, and then click Save.
7. If you want to enable or disable an interface, right-click the interface in the results table, and then click Enable/Disable Interface.
8. To perform another scan or to scan additional devices, click Back to device entry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why don't I see IP addresses or host names for a device?
A. It is possible the device does not appear within the ARP table of the router or server you specified. When this occurs, Switch Port Mapper will be unable to correlate the MAC address to an IP address and host name. The ARP entry for this device may have expired or the device may be off or unreachable.

Q. Why do I see multiple devices connected to the same port?
A. A hub is most likely connected to the switch and multiple devices directly connected to the hub.

Q. Why don't I see the MAC addresses for non-default VLANs when using SNMPv3 on Cisco switches?
A. You must add the context for each VLAN to the snmp-server group on your device or Switch Port Mapper will not be able to read the Bridge-MIB for each VLAN. To add visibility to your VLAN bridging table, add similar statements from the following examples to your configuration:

snmp-server group MyGroup v3 priv context vlan-2 read myview
snmp-server group MyGroup v3 priv context vlan-3 read myview
snmp-server group MyGroup v3 priv context vlan-4 read myview

Managing Credentials

Credentials can be saved for later use enabling you easily access credentials for your network devices.

To manage credentials:

1. Click View > Credentials Management.
2. If you want to add a credential using SNMP version 1 or SNMP version 2, complete the following procedure:
   1. Click Start New.
   2. Select SNMPv1/2c from the Type list in the Credential Details section, and then type a name for your credential.
   3. Type the community string in the Community String field. If you want to display the actual text you type, the Show link above the Community String field. If you are currently showing the community string the link will change to Hide allowing you to hide the text.
      Note: If you want to map a device with VLANs configured, specify the community string in the following format: communityString@VLAN# where VLAN# is the number of the VLAN you want to connect to. For example, to scan VLAN 2 using the public community string, type public@2.
   4. If your community string includes read/write privileges, check Read/Write. At this time Switch Port Mapper only requires Read Only community strings.
   5. If you want to test your credential against one of your network devices, type the IP address or host name or select a previous device from the list, and then click Test Credential.
   6. Click Save Changes.
3. If you want to add a credential and the device supports SNMP version 3, complete the following procedure:
   1. Click Start New.
   2. Select SNMPv3 from the Type list, and then specify the appropriate information. You can reference your device's configuration setup for the appropriate SNMPv3 authorization settings:
      • Name - The name that represents the credentials you specify.
      • Username - The name of the user with access to the device.
      • Context - A named designation, similar to a group or domain name, to which the user name belongs. Context is mandatory if it has been defined for the object being managed.
      • Authentication - The authentication type you want to use when logging on to the device, for example, MD5.
      • Authentication Password - The password or key that corresponds to the authentication selected.
      • Encryption - The encryption used when communicating with the device, for example, DES (56bit) or AES (128bit) encryption.
      • Encryption Password - The password or key that corresponds to the encryption selected.
   3. If your credential includes read/write privileges, check Read/Write. At this time Switch Port Mapper only requires Read Only credentials.
   4. If you want to test your credential against one of your network devices, type the IP address or host name or select a previous device from the list, and then click Test Credential.
   5. Click Save Changes.
4. If you want to modify a credential, complete the following procedure:
   1. Select the credentials you want to modify.
   2. Edit the appropriate information, and then click Save Changes.
5. If you want to delete a credential, complete the following procedure:
   1. Select the credential you want to delete.
   2. Click Delete.
   3. Click Yes to confirm you want to delete the credentials.

Using the Command Line Interface

The following section describes how to run Switch Port Mapper using the command line interface.

To run Switch Port Mapper from the command line interface:

1. Open the command prompt by clicking Start > Run.
2. Navigate to the installation folder. This can usually be found at [Program Files]\SolarWinds\SwitchPortMapper.
3. Type SwSpmCmd.exe and use the following parameters to specify how the tool should be run:

   Parameter	Description
   /?	Displays all available parameters and syntax.
   /Switch IP	The name or the IP Address of the switch to map.
   /switch community	The community string or credential name to be used when communicating with the switch.
   /arp ip	Layer 3 device name or IP address when using a switch that does not support Layer 3.
   /arp community	Community string or credential name for the layer 3 device when present.
   /scommv=<1|2>	Specifies the SNMP version (1 or 2) used by the switch.
   /arpcommv=<1|2>	Specifies the SNMP version (1 or 2) used by the Layer 3 device when present.
   /showraw	Shows all data retrieved from the devices.
   /xml	Show output in XML format instead of fixed with. This is useful for scripting.
   /nostatus	Hides the status messages in the output.
   /nodns	Prevents a reverse DNS query on found IP addresses. This speeds up the process.
   /nologo	Hides the copyright information.
   /macaddrlowercase	Sets the MAC address output to lowercase.
   /log	Displays additional log information.
   /exvlan	Retrieves extended VLAN information.