Network administrators spend more time than necessary mapping out the connections to switches and tracing cables to track down users and devices. SolarWinds Port Mapper is designed to untangle the Gordian knot of network cables.
SolarWinds
announced the Switch Port Mapper on Feb. 16 for IT professionals to obtain
detailed connected device information for each port. With the Switch Port Mapper, IT teams can also
identify port speed and any erroneous port connections, Josh Stephens,
SolarWinds vice president of technology told eWEEK.
IT
teams spend a significant amount of time tracing cables to figure out what is
connected, identifying duplex mismatches and investigating spanning tree
issues, Stephens said. When there is a networking issue, administrators have to
know which port to investigate, rule out a bad cable and ensure the network
interface is working properly. Not being able to identify the port and cable in
the switch "lengthens mean time to resolution," Stephens said.
It's
not unusual for the IT staff to launch an IT project in order to document the
ports, and it is usually a very manually intensive task, he said.
"Switch
Port Mapper dramatically simplifies what's historically been a manual and
time-consuming procedure, saving network engineers countless hours in the
wiring closet," Stephens said.
With
the Switch Port Mapper, IT professionals can remotely discover which users and
devices are connected to each port on the Ethernet switch. The mapping tool
also provides detailed device and port information such as the device's MAC
address, assigned IP address, the hostname, port speed, and duplex information,
Stephens said.
It's
not just information, as there tool gives administrators some control over the
switch, as well. The interface allows IT staff to enable or disable ports with
a single click.
SolarWinds
also built in multi-vendor support for manageable switch to ensure the tool
would work with any Ethernet switch in the customer's data center, Stephens
said.
The
Switch Port Mapper is one of the most popular tools in the company's
Engineer's
Toolset, Stephens said. By making the Switch Port Mapper a stand-alone tool,
customers who were deterred from downloading the full set of tools can now get
the port mapper for "less than $200," he said.
"Every
network engineer or system administrator needs a number of affordable, go-to
tools in their daily arsenal to help troubleshoot and repair network
problems," said Stephens.
It's
a very individual tool, Stephens said, noting that IT administrators can
download and install the port mapper on their laptops and have a view of the
network. With the lower price tag, it fits the budget-conscious customer, he
said.
Switch
Port Mapper is available for $195 and is generally available.
To
support the release, SolarWinds is holding a contest to find the most "clean,
catastrophic and creative"
cabling
closet, Stephens said. IT teams are encouraged to submit photos and videos of
their wiring closet using the
official contest form
as well as to share it on social networking sites. Submissions will be accepted
until Mar. 9 and the winners will be selected by Stephens and announced on Mar.
16, he said. The prizes will be an assortment of SolarWind gear.
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