Ipswitch WhatsConnected

Overview:

WhatsConnected is a layer 2 and layer 3 network discovery and visualization plug-in for WhatsUp Gold that equips you with a comprehensive tool set to accurately depict and visualize device connectivity down to the individual port. Leveraging powerful discovery tools, WhatsConnected locates all devices on the network including critical device connectivity and interdependencies Its unique in-depth technology goes far beyond typical IP discovery and mapping solutions by providing detailed hardware inventory and configuration information.

If you are manually documenting connectivity between devices or systems you know how tedious, time consuming, resource intensive and prone to errors this process is. After all, you have to plow through router configurations, device logs, Access Points, etc, and conduct a tedious visual port-by-port connectivity verification and documentation process in your server room to try to map topology information. And how do you keep an update view of your topology information if your network grows, moves to a new location, gets virtualized or simply evolves? Your life is about to get easier!

Automatically discover, inventory and map your network and port-to-port connectivity

With WhatsConnected you can easily discover, map, search, inventory and document your entire infrastructure – network devices, servers, VMware virtual machines, VLANs and port to port connectivity – quickly and efficiently, in a matter of minutes. And since you can publish any WhatsConnected maps through Microsoft® Visio™ or export information on CSV or Excel formats with a couple of mouse clicks, your entire team will know exactly what resources are on your network, where they are and how they are connected at all times, even when your network grows, your office moves, or your datacenter resources get consolidated.

Discover
Using a number of innovative layer 2 and layer 3 network discovery technologies, WhatsConnected finds all the connected resources on your network and provides detailed physical connectivity, device type, and asset/inventory and configuration information. WhatsConnected leverages standards based technologies, including ARP, SNMP, IP addressing, ICMP, SSH, Virtual Infrastructure Management and LLDP in combination with vendor proprietary mechanisms to build a complete and accurate picture of all your network assets and their interconnections, including those without IP addresses. WhatsConnected supports both on-demand and scheduled discovery tasks. Each execution of discovery updates the existing file including changes to any device interdependencies.

Map
Gaining insight into and understanding how your network is put together has never been easier. WhatsConnected simplifies this tedious task with auto-generated topology maps with full visibility into both physical and IP connectivity, including VLAN-specific information and VMware . Maps are fully customizable and allow for any number of different views to be specified. Layer 2 maps generated by WhatsConnected can be directly imported into WhatsUp Gold with a single click.

Search
Quickly search and find out how devices are connected to the network. With detailed device views, you can quickly zero in to find out what’s connected to what. Additionally with built-in tools such as Layer 2 Trace and IP/MAC Finder, WhatsConnected offers a much quicker approach to finding the location and validating connectivity of devices on the network than any other solution.

Document
With highly detailed topology maps now available through WhatsConnected, you also have the option to publish any of these maps through Microsoft® Visio™ with a couple of mouse clicks. Any number of automatically generated maps or custom map views can be exported to provide you with the ability to understand how device additions and design changes have impacted your network over time. Inventory information on devices gathered during the discovery process can be exported in either CSV or Excel formats to external applications.

Understand What's Connected
Not only do you now know what’s connected to what, but also what type of devices they are. WhatsConnected’s inventory capability provides platform identification and classification for devices from all the most widely deployed network equipment manufacturers including:

Report
For organizations of all sizes accurate inventory and configuration information is required for compliance regulations or network auditing purposes. For example, PCI requires a high-level network diagram which includes: connections into and out of the network and critical components within the cardholder data environment. WhatsConnected automatically gathers comprehensive and up-to-date hardware inventory and configuration information, and offers the comprehensive reports that you need – Asset/Inventory, Device Connectivity or Bridge Port Utilization – to document your network evolution.

The Power of Layer 2 Topology Integrated with WhatsUp Gold Monitoring
WhatsConnected can be deployed anywhere in your infrastructure

• Together with WhatsUp Gold
• On a system with a Microsoft® Visio™ license
• On a laptop — for flexible discovery, mapping and documentation on the go
• On a central location
• On any server or workstation running in your network

WhatsUp Gold and WhatsConnected can work independently or together to combine the power of layer 2/3 discovery and intuitive topology maps with WhatsUp Gold's powerful management and monitoring capabilities. A simple right-click on any WhatsConnected topology map will export device and dependency information to WhatsUp Gold, so you can start monitoring performance right away. It's that simple!

Features:

Network Discovery

Using a number of innovative layer 2 and layer 3 network discovery technologies, WhatsConnected finds all the connected resources on your network including those without IP addresses. WhatsConnected leverages standards based technologies, including ARP, SNMP, IP addressing, ICMP, SSH, Virtual Infrastructure Management and LLDP in combination with vendor proprietary mechanisms to build a complete and accurate picture of your network assets and their interconnections.

You can now fully understand which routers are attached to which switches and how switches are connected to one another and any other device in your network. In addition, you can schedule discoveries to keep your layer 2 connectivity information up-to-date at all times. This saves precious time and resources versus conducting a tedious visual port-by-port connectivity verification and documentation process.

Visual Network Mapping

Based upon discovery, WhatsConnected automatically generates integrated network topology maps showing both layer 3 addressing and layer 2 connectivity. Unlike manual documentation processes, you can be assured that the connectivity and topology information that is generated is complete and accurate, as it is based upon actual device information gathered.

Additionally you have complete flexibility to display topology information in radial and hierarchical formats. Maps can be customized to show any aspect of the topology and individual links can be hidden or shown. Custom topology maps can also be generated using manual mapping mode. Any map generated or customized can be saved, printed and shared.

Inventory and Configuration

As part of the discovery process, WhatsConnected automatically collects comprehensive hardware inventory and configuration information including:

Asset Information

• Manufacturer / Model
• Serial Number
• Hardware / Software / Firmware Versions
• Chassis / Module Inventory
• Power Supplies / Fans

Configuration Information

• Interfaces
• Bridge Ports
• Switch Ports
• VLANs

Inventory and configuration information is essential for understanding the actual OS and firmware versions that are currently running on discovered devices. This is particularly important as some issues might be resolved by simply updating to a more recent OS or firmware version. With WhatsConnected, asset inventories can be printed to provide inventory and configuration reporting.

WhatsConnected Console

The versatile WhatsConnected console is the main interface to manage network discovery, create and administer maps and access detailed device inventory and configuration information. Several views of the network are presented including:

• Device Categories View – explorer type view of devices (Routers, Switches, Wireless Access Points, Printers, Windows, Unix, Linux, Macintosh, Firewalls, Hubs, IP Phones, and more)
• Device View – spreadsheet type view of all devices
• Topology Maps View – layer 2 physical topology view
• Subnets View – spreadsheet type view of devices grouped by their respective subnets
• Links View – spreadsheet type view of all known connectivity

All discovered devices are sorted automatically by type and presented in Device Categories. Simply clicking on a specific device from within the explorer type view provides you with a wealth of additional information about the device.

• System information – IP/MAC address, MIB II
• IP Address information – IP address configuration data
• Interface information – IF entries with status
• Bridge Port information – Bridge Port information and VLAN configuration data
• VLAN information – VLAN configuration data
• Asset information – inventory data for chassis and modules
• IP Routing information – IP routing configuration data
• Spanning Tree information – Spanning-Tree configuration and status data
• ARP Cache information – ARP table data
• Forwarding information – Layer 2 forwarding data
• Protocol Profile information – configured protocols on the device
• Virtual Host information – configuration of physical hardware hosting for VMware
• Forwarding information – Layer 2 forwarding data
• Virtual Machines information – VMware virtual machines running on physical hardware
• Virtual Machine information – specific details on each virtual machine

All device data can be searched using wild cards to sort and drill down to obtain the specific device details required. Fields that can be searched on include: Hostname, IP Address, MAC Address, NetBios Domain, NetBios Name, System Name, System Description, System OID, Vendor and Model.

From within the WhatsConnected console, you have the power to access all relevant information about the network and view and sort network information to best suit your needs. Any information on any device or group of devices can be accessed and printed for reporting or archiving purposes.

Document and Archive

To support the reporting/documentation requirements of your internal business process (e.g. ITIL) and compliance regulations like SOX, FISMA, PCI DSS and HIPAA, WhatsConnected provides comprehensive network inventory and configuration information that can be easily exported in either CSV or Excel formats. That way you can track and document the evolution of your network and share it with the entire team. WhatsConnected also includes three out-of-the box reports for comprehensive insight into network assets and their interdependencies —

• The Asset/Inventory report provides a view of the assets (Routers, Switches, Wireless Access Points, Printers, Windows, Unix, Linux, Macintosh, Firewalls, Hubs, IP Phones, etc) discovered by WhatsConnected as well as tools to sort and filter the assets that appear in the view.
• The Device Connectivity report provides a list of the devices connected to a network device as well as tools to sort and filter the assets that appear in the view.
• The Bridge Port Utilization report provides a view of port usage (total available and used) on networking equipment.

Any map generated by WhatsConnected can be exported to Visio 2003 & 2007 in a couple of mouse clicks. When importing maps into Visio you have the flexibility to represent devices in Visio, Cisco or WhatsUp template shapes. The Visio export feature is invaluable, as it allows you to establish a baseline so that you can understand how your network evolves over time, as well as capture and track changes to your physical topology and devices.

Layer 2 Trace

One of the most difficult jobs in network management is locating and eliminating connectivity issues on the network. Accessed from either the WhatsConnected (or the WhatsUp Gold management consoles when used as a WhatsUp Gold plug-in), Layer 2 Trace arms you with a powerful tool to rapidly pinpoint physical layer connectivity issues by validating that the end-to-end connectivity through designated devices over a defined path is working.

Once the origin and destination of the trace are defined, each device IP address and each in-bound and out-bound interface along the path is displayed in a table. Layer 2 trace can be configured to display path connectivity for both LANs and WANs.

IP/MAC Finder

The IP/MAC Finder tool is a fast and simple way to locate an IP or MAC address on a network from either the WhatsConnected or WhatsUp Gold consoles. Using discovery information, the IP/MAC Finder correlates an IP address to a physical MAC hardware address. The information the IP/MAC Finder tool displays includes the device or system associated with the IP or MAC address and to which network interface either the IP or MAC address is directly connected.

Benefits:

Are you still manually mapping and documenting your network and port-to-port connectivity and spending too much time in your wiring closet? Use instead WhatsConnected to automatically discover everything connected to your network -- devices, servers, VMware virtual machines, VLANs and port to port connectivity — quickly, easily and with just one mouse click.

With WhatsConnected you will:

Save Time:
Spend time effectively managing the network instead of wasting it on tedious, time consuming manual documentation tasks of network topology and port to port connectivity.

Lower Cost of Operations:
WhatsConnected best value combined with its ability to free up valuable IT personnel time and lower mean time to repair directly helps lower cost of operations.

Optimize your Hardware Investment:
WhatsConnected's Layer 2/3 discovery let's you find "forgotten" hardware or hardware without an IP address. These can then be decommissioned or reassigned to new tasks, or moved to an internal cloud. Stay in Control: Know exactly what inventory is deployed on your network, even hard to track associations between physical servers & virtual resources. Understand device interdependencies and how they are affected by changes and failures.

Track Changes:
With scheduled discoveries, and up-to-date maps, diagrams and topology views you can accurately understand, track and document the evolution of your network.

Simplify Troubleshooting tasks:
Rapidly pinpoint the root cause of connectivity issues to minimize downtime and gain insight into how your network topology and infrastructure can be configured to minimize potential conflicts and optimize performance.

Compliance Support:
Ensure an accurate discovery, audit, documentation and archiving of network assets, topology maps and configurations over time to support regulatory requirements like SOX, FISMA, PCI DSS and HIPAA.

FAQ:

What is WhatsConnected?

WhatsConnected is a layer 2/3 discovery tool that lets you easily discover, map, search, inventory and document your entire infrastructure — network devices, servers, VMware virtual machines, VLANs and port to port connectivity — quickly and efficiently, in a matter of minutes. And since you can publish any WhatsConnected maps through Microsoft® Visio™ or export information on CSV or Excel formats with a couple of mouse clicks, your entire team will know exactly what resources are on your network, where they are and how they are connected at all times, even when your network grows, your office moves, or your datacenter resources get consolidated.

What is the difference between a layer 2 and a layer 3 discovery?

A layer 3 discovery identifies systems or network devices deployed in your infrastructure using higher layer protocols such as ICMP (ping), SNMP, or IP addressing. The major limitation of layer 3 discovery is that the physical connectivity between devices in the network is not automatically established. A layer 2 discovery accesses the physical infrastructure information embedded in servers or devices to provide detailed topology information, including inter-component dependencies and port-to-port connectivity.

Why do I need an automated layer 2/3 discovery tool?

If you are manually documenting connectivity between devices and independencies (a layer 2 discovery) you know how tedious, time consuming, resource intensive and prone to errors this process is. After all, you have to manually plow through router configurations, device logs, Access Points, etc, and conduct a tedious visual port-by-port connectivity verification and documentation process in the server room to try to understand how everything is connected. And it gets more complicated if technologies such as virtualization or WLAN are used in your environment.

Automating your network discovery, map and documentation tasks with WhatsConnected will save precious time and resources, and since you can run ad-hoc or scheduled discoveries you can be assured that your topology maps, port-to-port connectivity and network diagrams are always up-to-date, even if your network changes, your office moves, or new resources are deployed. And this greatly aids in faster troubleshooting (easier to deduce network paths); ensure compliance with audits (accurate and up-to-date inventory or topology maps are required by most regulatory frameworks such as PCI) and helps you optimize monitoring workloads (for e.g. stop monitoring ports without connected end points).

What protocols does WhatsConnected uses?

WhatsConnected uses a number of innovative layer 2 and layer 3 discovery technologies, including ARP, SNMP,SSH, Virtual Infrastructure Management, IP addressing, ICMP and LLDP in combination with vendor proprietary mechanisms to build a complete and accurate picture of network devices and their interconnections including devices without IP addresses. That way you will always know what is connected in your network.

Is it a stand-alone solution or a plug-in for WhatsUp Gold?

In prior releases WhatsConnected was a plug-in for WhatsUp Gold. Now, WhatsConnected has become a stand-alone solution, so when you upgrade to our latest WhatsConnected release, you can install it wherever you need it:

• Together with WhatsUp Gold
• On a system with a Microsoft® Visio™ license
• On a laptop - for flexible discovery, mapping and documentation on the go
• On a central location
• On any server or workstation running in your network

And since you can seamless export your WhatsConnected information to WhatsUp Gold with one mouse click, just like you are doing today, it is a perfect combination. You gain complete WhatsConnected deployment flexibility combined with powerful out-of-the box monitoring from WhatsUp Gold.

What types of reports are available?

WhatsConnected offers three out-of-the box reports for comprehensive insight into network assets and their dependencies

• The Asset/Inventory report provides a view of the assets ((Routers, Switches, Wireless Access Points, Printers, Windows, Unix, Linux, Macintosh, Firewalls, Hubs, IP Phones, etc) discovered by WhatsConnected as well as tools to sort and filter the assets that appear in the view.
• The Device Connectivity report provides a list of the devices connected to a network device as well as tools to sort and filter the assets that appear in the view.
• The Bridge Port Utilization report provides a view of port usage (total available and used) on networking equipment

How is it licensed?

WhatsConfigured licenses can be purchased for a tiered number of network devices. Currently available tiers are as follows – 25, 100, 300, 500, 1000, 2500, unrestricted network devices. When used in combination with WhatsUp Gold your WhatsUp Gold and WhatsConnected device counts no longer must match – for example, you can purchase a WhatsConnected-300 devices and a WhatsUp Gold-100 devices. In this scenario you can discover, map and document up to 300 devices with WhatsConnected, but you can only export 100 of those 300 devices to WhatsUp Gold.

System Requirements:

When used together with WhatsUp Gold, WhatsConnected has the following system requirements:

• WhatsUp Gold v14 Premium Edition, Distributed Edition, Standard Edition or MSP
• WhatsConnected supports exporting to Microsoft Visio 2003 or 2007 English version only.

When used as a stand-alone solution, WhatsConnected has the following system requirements:

Software Requirement:

WhatsConnected runs on several 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems. The following is a list of the Windows operating system and release requirements for WhatsConnected.

• Windows 7
• Windows Vista Ultimate (SP2 recommended)
• Windows Vista Business (SP2 recommended)
• Windows XP Professional SP3 (32-bit only)
• Windows Server 2003 SP2
• Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2
• Windows Server 2008 SP2
• Windows Server 2008 R2 SP2

WhatsConnected can also run on 32-bit and 64-bit virtual server environments.

Important: If WhatsConnected is hosted on VMWare ESXi or Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008, to avoid licensing issues, make sure that you assign a static MAC address to the virtual machine that WhatsConnected is operating on.

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 is also required, Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is included in the install.

Important: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is not compatible with Windows SharePoint Services 2.0. If you are running SharePoint Services 2.0, you should not upgrade or install WhatsUp Gold. WhatsUp Gold requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and automatically installs this package if not present on the system. For more information about the issue, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article.

Hardware Requirements:

Note: The WhatsConnected, WhatsConfigured, and VoIP Monitor plug-in system requirements are the same as the WhatsUp Gold requirements. Additionally, the VoIP Monitor requires Cisco IP-SLA compatible devices.

Note: WhatsUp Gold can be installed and will operate on virtual machines powered by 32-bit or 64-bit VMware ESXi 3.0 or later and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008, as long as the virtual server's guest OS resources meet that of the WhatsUp Gold system requirements.

Screenshots:

Network Visualization	Task Script Library	Map VMware
Layer 2 Trace	Visio Export

Documentation:

Download the Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold WhatsConnected Datasheet (.PDF)