Switch Port Management

The Switch Port Management (SPM) features in NetMRI allow at-a-glance management of all switched access interfaces in the network. IT departments routinely underestimate (and overestimate) port utilization and capacity requirements. In a large, switched spanning-tree network, some switches can go under-utilized while other switches in the network absorb unacceptably high loads. Switch port utilization trends are difficult to identify. Is switch port utilization static, increasing, or decreasing? Where are usage trends increasing? Decreasing? If certain switches support hosts that frequently leave their network segment (on business trips, for example) only to return within a week or two, how does the network manager control those temporarily vacated ports so that they remain available for their returning hosts?

Users often confront issues such as rogue/unknown devices on their switched networks, devices that frequently shift between switch segments, and a general lack of ability to track who connects when and where. Lacking adequate capacity planning, users sometimes resort to investing in expensive switch capacity "just to be safe."

NetMRI's Switch Port Management (SPM) page (Network Explorer > Switch Port Management) solves all of these issues. SPM enables both big-picture and highly focused views of an entire switched Ethernet network, from the overall network layer to individual devices and interfaces. Extending throughout the entire switched network, all endpoints are detected, tabulated and monitored by NetMRI.

NetMRI can perform near-real-time polling of any part of the switched Ethernet network from the distribution level to any LAN switch. Network polling settings can be customized for any device group and administrators can execute a poll of a device group or the entire switched network at any time.

In a large-scale switched network, it can also be difficult to perform basic troubleshooting–locating the affected devices and analyzing their switch-port configuration. Through specialized reports, Switch Port Management gives administrators an integrated tool by which they can quickly learn the switch port settings of the interface to which any given device connects, including line speed, duplex, link status, VLAN ID, and other information.