Swithport Connection Report

Owned by Brad Wilson
Last updated: Aug 14, 2024
2 min read

bitB SwitchPort Report Logic

Goal of the Report: The bitB SwitchPort Report is designed to offer a comprehensive view of the status and configuration of switch interfaces, along with dynamic information about connected devices. By extending the data available from the standard show interface status command, this report integrates additional details such as CDP/LLDP information, MAC addresses, IP addresses, and LACP details. The goal is to provide network administrators with a holistic view of each switch port, encompassing both configured settings and dynamically detected parameters.

Core Components:

  1. Interface Status Overview:

The report begins by displaying the output of the show interface status command. This section includes essential interface details such as speed, duplex, VLAN/trunk configuration, and connection type. Any manual descriptions provided by the user are also presented here.

  1. Dynamic Information Addition:

  • CDP/LLDP Information: The report automatically populates details such as the device model, NIC manufacturer, and MAC address using CDP and LLDP data when available. It also attempts to identify and display the type of the connected equipment.

  • MAC Address Detection: The report uses MAC table lookups to detect and display the MAC address associated with each interface of the connected equipment.

  • IP Address Detection: IP addresses are dynamically retrieved through ARP table and MAC table lookups, ensuring accurate association between MAC addresses and the corresponding IP addresses of the connected equipment.

  1. LACP Details:

  • For trunk ports, the report provides detailed LACP information, showing IP addresses and logical interfaces for connected devices. A single line is shown for the neighbor device, and with the "Multiple MAC" option enabled, sub-interfaces are displayed for the attached device.

  • Port Channel Names: The report displays associated port channel names in parentheses for each physical member of a port channel on the local switch.

  • Host Name Resolution: The report resolves and displays hostnames for all detected IP addresses, offering a more human-readable and context-rich overview of the connected devices.

Future Enhancement:

LACP Dynamic MAC Comparison:

A dedicated button labeled "Show LACP Dynamic MAC" allows users to compare configured sub-interfaces with those dynamically detected by the local switch. A sub-interface is dynamically discovered when the MAC address of the attached sub-interface is identified.

  • Enabled: The report populates sub-interface rows only if the sub-interface MAC address of the neighbor device is seen in the local switch's MAC address table. This option reveals whether the switch detects the sub-interfaces of the attached device.

  • Disabled: The report uses LACP to identify the attached device and generates sub-interface entries based on the configured sub-interfaces of the attached device. The local switch's MAC table is not queried in this mode. This option shows only the sub-interfaces configured on the remote device.

As part of ongoing development, the report will eventually display the neighbor member interfaces of an aggregated interface when multiple MACs are detected, providing even deeper insights into the network topology.