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SwitchInspector 1.3.1 includes 1 year of free email support and free minor upgrades (1.X versions) from the date of purchase.
Before contacting support please
refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section below and/or the Help section included in
SwitchInspector 1.3.1.
You can send all your support requests to support@switchinspector.com
You can send all your support requests to support@switchinspector.com
1. What is SwitchInspector
SwitchInspector is an easy to use application that assists you with the design, validation and auditing
of your Local Area Network. SwitchInspector provides an easy and effective way to inspect a Cisco LAN
switch and report which network devices are connected to each switch port. Therefore it solves the
problem of having to trace cables in order to see which port is a network device connected to.
Furthermore it provides you detailed information of your Cisco LAN switches, making SwitchInspector a
very valuable tool for network and IT administrators.
2. What are the requirements to use SwitchInspector 1.3.1
To use the 'Switch Port Mapping' feature you also need:
3. Which Switches are supported by SwitchInspector 1.3.1?
SwitchInspector 1.3.1 only supports Cisco LAN switch models. We plan to support LAN switches
from other vendors in our upcoming releases. (e.g. Nortel, 3COM, Juniper, etc.)
4. What versions of SNMP are supported?
SwitchInspector 1.3.1 supports SNMP v1 and SNMP v2 only. We plan to support SNMP v3 in our
upcoming releases.
5. Why do I need a Router or Server to use the 'Switch Port Mapping' feature?
A LAN switch is a Layer 2 device, so it only knows about the MAC Addresses of the devices
connected to it. Therefore in order to discover the IP Address of all the connected devices,
we need a Layer 3 device with an ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) table to find out which
IP Address corresponds to a given Mac Address.
6. I have many Routers, so which one should I use for ARP resolutions?
Since a Router is used to find out which IP Address corresponds to a given Mac Address, it is
important that the Router used is in the same subnet as the network devices connected to the Switch.
This way the Router knows about those network devices connected to the Switch and should have
them listed in its ARP table.
7. Why is a 'Ping Sweep' recommended in the 'Switch Port Mapping' screen?
As a default both Switches and Routers 'forget' about a device if it hasn't seen traffic to/from the device in the last
5 minutes. Therefore to improve the accuracy of the reporting a 'Ping Sweep' is recommended.
A 'Ping Sweep' sends 'ping' requests to all the devices indicated in the 'Ping Sweep' configuration
window, generating traffic so both the Switch and the Router 'learn' about these devices for
a more accurate reporting.
8. I did a 'Switch Port Mapping' in SwitchInspector 1.3.1, and I see several devices
connected to one Switch port. How is this possible? Isn't it supposed to be only one device connected
to each Switch Port?
When another Switch or Hub is connected to a port of the Switch being analyzed, SwitchInspector 1.3.1
will discover and report all devices that are connected to that Switch or Hub. Therefore when more
than one device is reported to be connected to a port, this indicates that a LAN Switch or Hub
is actually connected to that port. This feature can be used to map the layout of your network, or to
discover if unauthorized or unknown switches or hubs are being utilized on your network.
9. I did a 'Switch Port Mapping' in SwitchInspector 1.3.1 and I see that
several devices have a Mac Address but no IP Address or hostname. What happened?
This can happen if the Router selected to do ARP resolutions is NOT on the same subnet as the network devices.
Another reason might be that the Router has 'forgotten' about them, if it hasn't seen traffic to/from the devices
in the last 5 minutes. As a recommendation, be sure to execute a 'Ping Sweep' as part or the 'Switch Port Mapping'
and to include all the subnets of the network devices connected to the Switch being analyzed.
Important Note: For security reasons some Routers are configured to deny ALL requests for its ARP table. Therefore SwitchInspector will NOT be able to map the connected devices correctly. If this is the case, make sure that at least the machine that is running SwitchInspector has permissions to request the ARP table from the Router.
Important Note: For security reasons some Routers are configured to deny ALL requests for its ARP table. Therefore SwitchInspector will NOT be able to map the connected devices correctly. If this is the case, make sure that at least the machine that is running SwitchInspector has permissions to request the ARP table from the Router.
10. I executed a 'Ping Sweep' as part of a 'Switch Port Mapping' in
SwitchInspector 1.3.1 and I still don't see the IP Address or hostname of a device. What's wrong?
A 'Ping Sweep' is recommended to generate network traffic and to ensure a more accurate reporting. Nevertheless, if the PC that runs the
SwitchInspector 1.3.1 application is in the same subnet as the device that does not have the
IP Address and hostname information, the 'Ping Sweep' will NOT make a difference. The reason
for this is that in order for the Router to see traffic to/from the device in question, the device has
to communicate with another device that is outside its own subnet. To correct this, execute a
Ping request to that device, or the whole subnet, from another network segment.
11. I did a 'Switch Port Mapping' in SwitchInspector 1.3.1 and I don't see
devices that I know are connected to the Switch being analyzed. What happened?
This can happen if the device is powered off or if the Switch has 'forgotten' about it. As a
default a Switch 'forgets' about a device if it hasn't seen traffic to/from the device in the
last 5 minutes. As a recommendation, be sure to execute a 'Ping Sweep' as part or the
'Switch Port Mapping' and to include all the subnets of the network devices connected to the Switch being analyzed.