A Simple Tool for Tracking Switch Ports?

jeremy cobert asks: "I work for a large school district in the Computer Networking department. We have several network closets at each school and each switch is set for different equipment on different VLAN's. Sometimes a Tech at a school will call in and need a printer plugged into a switch, and we are currently using maps drawn with PhotoShop to keep track of which ports are set for different equipment. I can look at a map and tell them to use a port that is already setup for printers. I am the only person who knows how to use Photoshop in our department and it is becoming way too time consuming every time someone switches a port. Here is an example of how we currently track our ports. Is there any program that we can use to make changes and diagrams in some similar fashion?"

Comments

We're doing this right now

[grub]

We're doing something similar at work so it's still fresh in my mind. First off: lose the Photoshop crud. Assuming your switches are managed or have at least some smarts in them I'd suggest using SNMP, $LANGUAGE and PHP to track your port information. Then any of your admins can access it via a webpage on your intranet. ($LANGUAGE can be anything but we like python and perl)

Consider replacing the hubs in your diagram with switches that have some smarts and SNMP. Not a crap LinkSys thing for $19 at BestBuy or whatever. A real, managed switch with a serial console port would be best IMHO.

Consider an "out of band" private network too. Something you can use to connect to another machine in the closets with a serial link to the switch console ports. That way if a switch/firewall/router stops talking you can remotely get to it via the console. We just received a bunch of old fibercopper media converters for this purpose (some of the runs are long)

You're there to manage the network, not just pretty up diagram in Photoshop, right?

Re:We're doing this right now

[Blkdeath]

What I'm failing to understand is why diagram the switches to this fine detail in the first place? At the last network I administered we had our MDF, four IDFs and each lab had x number of drops run. Connect a printer? Find an available port on the wall. Any VLAN segregation was done with colour-coded boots. If the computers in the lab are connected to blue and you connect a printer to red, well, you're going to have a problem printing.

10/100 switches are extremely inexpensive nowadays; even managed switches with VLAN support. Buy some extra switches, run extra drops per VLAN, label the drops at each end and describe textually (in your *DF) which drop connects to which port. De-activate unused ports if you must and activate them on demand.

Simple solution really

[Daxster]

Masking tape and a sharpie =)

Photoshop is the *wrong* tool

[Quarters]

Photoshop is way to expensive and complicated for what you are doing. Something like Visio would be much better for drawing out simple port graphs.

For that matter graph paper, a ruler, and a pen would work equally well.

Spreadsheet?

[mivok]

Uhh.. why do you need diagrams? Just use a spreadsheet with the switch ID, port number and vlan. Much easier for others to use, and as far as I can see, you don't lose any ease of use/finding out which ports do what. Colour code the cells based on vlan number if the colours are important.

Visio and Racktools

[Meest]

If you want a visual i might reccomend using M$ Viso and Racktools my Middle Atlantic.... usualy has nice diagrams of what model switches look like, etc. I've looked at a few and the pics looked decent.

Be warry though as I mostly use it to design racks for Pro-Audio Instalations. so it might not work that well. but for my needs its awsome.

seconded, BUT

[RMH101]

...do NOT set this kind of autodiscovery stuff loose on a network that you don't admin, otherwise someone is going to come and ask you some pretty pointed questions right before they lay into you with a cat5-o-9-tails...