![]() ![]() If you have a more basic switch, then it could just be all fastethernet ports and you'll need to know which ones go between switches, but if you have gigabitethernet ports, then typically your interswitch links or trunks will go through those. The interconnecting ports, often linked via fiber these days, will typically be higher numbered ports. What you need to be aware of are what port numbers link switches together. This is normal, as other switches will learn and their CAM tables will add known MAC addresses as frames move through the network. Also, if you have a network larger than 200 nodes, this will definitely help if you have to do it the way I did, even if you do have physical access, because the legwork alone may take days. In doing so, knowing the location of system host names, I was able to more accurately map where each switchport went to without having to beg for authorization after hours to investigate this from each physical location. I used a combination of the command line (Windows 7) and telnet to access the main switches of our network to figure out what is on the end of each switchport. I was unable to perform this task with Spiceworks due to settings our manager imposed, so I had to find a workaround to get the job done. I could, however access all the switches, but not our router, and routing is not enabled on our switches anyway, though they are layer 3 capable (pretty much a flat network). NOTE: This how-to is based on the premise that you have switches with ports that you don't know where they are going, no inter-vlan routing, and do not have access (due to permission restrictions) to some of Spiceworks application features.Ī while back I was trying to figure out how to map our network, switchports in particular, but could not gain access to the whole building to test from the wall jacks and/or nodes on our network.
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