Comparing Solarwinds & dopplerVUE Layer 2 Switch Port Mapping…

When a customer calls with a problem, I often start the troubleshooting process by validating the connection. I start at the switch port and cable level. This process can be time consuming and challenging because you have to find the specific port a user or server is connected to on the network by checking the cable or manually connecting to a switch. Who has time for that lengthy process?

Fortunately, several tools now have layer 2 switch port mapping capabilities. I recently watched a demonstration of Solarwinds and dopplerVUE’s layer 2 switch port mapping capabilities and found them to be quite different despite the same name. The Solarwinds toolset provides very basic functionality. It identifies the switch port a device is connected to and it’s up/down status.

In a nutshell, here are four reasons to consider dopplerVUE over Solarwinds.

dopplerVUE’s layer 2 switch port mapping delivers:

• the same and added functionality vs Solarwinds
• complete mapping in 4 steps vs the 7 steps required by Solarwinds. That’s half the work and time.
• a simpler process - there is no need to memorize the switch/router and community strings
• a view of what is connected with how it is performing in a single dashboard (screenshot below)

The dopplerVUE screenshot below displays a complete device view including the switch port it is connected to, it’s current up/down status, the amount of traffic over the interface and any alert conditions. If you want to view a switch and a list of every connected item, simply choose the switch name instead of the end target device name.

I’ve provided a comparison of the steps and process to use each product below. Feel free to check out the steps for yourself by downloading a free trial of dopplerVUE.