porttracker

porttracker has been designed to address every day issues that organisations encounter when managing their IP Switch and router environment whether a few thousand or hundreds of thousands of ports are deployed.

There are 5 main benefits: porttracker Screenshot

Identifying Port Wastage
Accurate Utilisation Visibility
Reduced Troubleshooting Time
Enhancing Security
Integration with the Management Systems Cisco, Extreme Networks, HP, Procurve and 3Com
Audit history function (new in version 2.0)

Identifying Port Wastage

At any time porttracker can provide a snapshot of all 'currently active', 'previously active' and 'never been active' ports in the network, allowing network managers to ensure they have enough spare switch ports present in advance of say, an IP telephony rollout or other expansion program. With data centre switch ports costing in excess of $600 and access ports around $200; candidate ports for recovery are instantly identifiable by porttracker based on when a device was 'last seen'. porttracker shows where you have spare capacity by keeping track of last seen times as well as highlighting ports that have never been used.
This feature alone can easily pay for porttracker by accurately identifying the inherent waste that will develop in any dynamic network environment - reducing the potential to overbuy when the existing switch infrastructure still has remaining capacity - people are better at patching in new ports than reallocating old ones!

porttracker Screenshot

Accurate Utilisation Visibility

An ever increasing number of applications and end devices depend on IP networks for their functionality, porttracker eases the burden for network management by giving a clear picture of what is connected where. Cabinets full of switches with network cables connected say very little about how many switch ports are regularly in use, porttracker regularly inspects every switch port and displays its operational status and the time it was last used.
porttracker eliminates having to trace cables in order to see which port a network device is connected to, making porttracker an invaluable tool for network and IT administrators who would otherwise be faced with extensive cable tracing and guesswork.

Reduced Troubleshooting Time

Just being able to see 'what is connected where' makes troubleshooting problems, planning change or assessing risk more accurate and less time consuming. The ease of use makes it possible for more faults to be resolved by support staff avoiding escalations and freeing senior support staff to concentrate on more serious problems or planned project work.
The new Audit History function of porttracker v2.0 enables users not only to be able to track just the last device to use a port but all previous devices and settings that have been used since porttracker was installed. This functionality enables to determine issues which are relevant for troubleshooting and security.

Enhancing Security

Defence Systems can be quick to identify where a threat exists logically but do not have the capability to pinpoint where the rogue device actually connects to your network. Additionally, identifying 'at risk' ports - enabled but not in regular use - can play a major part in establishing and maintaining network security, making sure that access to your premises does not mean access to your network.

Integration with Existing Management Systems