Discover Your Full Network Inventory

Sep 20, 2023

When it comes to network management, knowledge is power. Knowing the exact state of your network can save your company time and reduce security risks. Usually, businesses spend a fortune hiring consultancy firms to conduct an in-depth network scan.

In this blog, you’ll learn how to get this valuable service.

1 . Hardware Info

Understanding your network typically starts with the hardware components of your network. First off, Slurp’it starts discovering all your network devices. For each you’ll get data points like slot, device name, serial number, MAC address, and even the manufacturing date. This information is crucial for asset management, maintenance, and lifecycle planning.

2. Software Versions & Flash Files

Slurp’it fetches a comprehensive list of all the software versions installed on your devices, helping you to plan timely updates and maintain a secure environment. Slurp’it also identifies all the files that are stored in the flash memory of your network devices. This can help you manage software updates, backup files, and troubleshoot issues more effectively. 

3. Interfaces: Stay connected

An interface that is down can lead to network outages, affecting business continuity. With Slurp’it, you can view the status of all your interfaces including link status, protocol, speed, duplex, and type. Knowing this can help you proactively manage your network and ensure optimal performance.

4. ARP Entries

An ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) table gives you a snapshot of what’s happening at the moment in your network. It’s used to determine the destination MAC addresses of the network nodes, as well as the VLANs and ports from where the nodes are reached. Slurp’it will give you detailed information like hostname, VRF name, IP address, FQDN, MAC address, associated vendor, VLANs, interface, and when the data was last updated (“last_seen”). This gives you an extremely detailed view of each device’s connectivity profile. 

5. MAC Addresses: Connectivity Mapped

MAC addresses are essential for local network processes. Slurp’it provides an overview of all connected MAC addresses, sorted by hostname and port. This information is invaluable for security audits and for tracking the connectivity of devices on your network.

6. VLAN Information

VLANs are vital for network segmentation and efficient traffic management. Slurp’it offers detailed VLAN information that can help you in capacity planning and ensuring the security of data as it moves through your network.

7. Who’s Connected

Out-of-the-box CDP and LLDP templates let you find up- and downlinks throughout your network. Just turn it on and find out what’s connected to what. 

And more…

In addition to the pre-configured show command templates (TextFSM) that come out-of-the-box, you can select as many as you want from the hundreds of available OpenSource templates. If a template is missing for something you specifically want, Slurp’it lets you also build, test and share TextFSM templates. 

Ultimately, the scan is so comprehensive that it captures many other data points and metrics, further adding value to your network management capabilities. 

Slurp’it release updates

The following features & updates have been released over the last months. See our change log for more details:

  • Nautobot plugin support

  • Async implementation for the device finder and data collector for extra speed

  • Corrected multiple Device Type names (thanks to the community)

  • The SNMP tester is now using defined & enabled Transform Rules

  • API pagination is aligned for all Get calls

  • Ruijie & Nokia templates are added

  • Multiple small bugs and improvements

  • Automated disable/delete of unused discovered devices in Netbox

  • Slurp’it SDK.

Weekly Online Workshops

Curious about Slurp’it and how it integrates with your tools? Join us for our weekly online workshops, where we’ll walk you through everything Slurp’it has to offer. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to dive deeper, you can see Slurp’it in action and ask us anything.

Workshops are held every Tuesday at 10 AM CET and Thursday at 4 PM CET.

Autocon2 & Workshop with NetBox Labs & Netpicker

Heading to Autocon2 in Denver in November? Be sure to swing by our booth to say hello! We’re also hosting a special workshop with Mark Coleman from NetBox Labs and Otto Coster from Netpicker on Tuesday morning. It’s a great chance to get hands-on experience with Slurp’it and learn from the experts.

More info: https://networkautomation.forum/autocon2

 

Take care and as usual… Happy discovery!

Most Read

Would you like a hands-on session?

A couple times a week our in-house trainer is available for a private or group session. In this session we can cover our Slurp'it or Mock'it solution but also integrations with Netpicker, NetBox, Nautobot & Infrahub.

Yes, keep me informed

Connect with us on LinkedIn to stay updated on the latest happenings, news, and exciting developments at Slurp’it. Just click the button below to follow us and be a part of our professional network.

Newsletter