Solarwinds Topology Configuration [Solved]

ISSUE: Topology data is missing; whether IP, MAC, Hostname or VLAN data.

PURPOSE: Guide to walk through a methodical way of identifying the issue and resolving the problem

Products this Guide will address:

1. Network Topology Mapper
2. User Device Tracker
3. Engineer's Toolset tool Switch Port Mapper
4. Connect Now in Orion Products for creating maps.

Setup Phases:

1. Configure SNMPv2 or SNMPv3 on L2/L3 devices. Switches and Routers.
2. Scan the devices we setup to identify what information is present/missing from devices.
3. Troubleshoot and fix the issue via Toolset (preferred) or User Device Tracker.

Phase 1: Configuring Devices for SNMP

Determine the SNMP version configuration for devices

Vendor SNMP Configuration Examples (may vary by model series)

Note: <communitystring> use your own community string. Do not use @ # in the community string.

Cisco

• SNMPv2: rocommunity <communitystring>
• SNMPv3: Cisco SNMPv3 Configuration Example
  

Brocade:

• SNMPv2: snmp-server community <communitystring> groupname <newgroupname>

Note: It is required to set the community string with any nonexisting or existing group name to be able for SNMPv1/v2c to work

• SNMPv3: Brocade SNMPv3 Configuration Example

Juniper:

• SNMPv2: set snmp community <communitystring> authorization read-only
  • see : Configuring SNMP on Devices Running Junos OS - Technical Documentation - Support - Juniper Networks
• SNMPv3:Juniper SNMPv3 Configuration Example

Phase 2: Identify what information is present/missing from devices

Note: Regardless of the Solarwinds Products used for topology, they all reference the same data, so identifying what is missing vs present is key in resolving the issue quickly.

Order of Operations: Order of identifying the issue for devices. If anything is missing in the previous step, no data will be in the next.

1. Does the Device list any MAC Addresses on the Interfaces?
   1. The collection of the switch could be having issues, or are other VLANs than VLAN1. Please check configuration of the Switch.
2. Are devices connected only Limited to only VLAN 1
   1. If only VLAN 1 is shown, reconfigure SNMPv3 to allow all VLANs to be shown; See vendor snmpv3 document.
3. Are IP Addresses Present?
   1. If missing the ARP cached router with the associated IP Addresses is being monitored.
4. Are Hostnames Displaying?
   1. If missing the DNS Server the Solarwinds application is installed on does not contain DNS records for the IP Addresses
5. Is this happening to switches of the same vendor, same model, or is the issue spotty?
   1. If the issue is with all of the same vendor, please reconfigure SNMPv3.
   2. If issue is only with a specific model, check configuration first, but a bug or limitation may exist.
   3. If issue is spotty or happens to a few devices, reconfigure these devices to match the SNMP configuration of other devices on the network.

Phase 3: Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting with Solarwinds Engineer's Toolset

Note: When Troubleshooting via this tool, we focus on the Switch and the Router to make sure all data is available.

1. Go into the Switch Port Mapper Tool Directly, or in the Workspace Studio
   1. Tool: Go into Start> Programs> Solarwinds Engineer's Toolset> Classic Tools> Discovery> Switch Port Mapper
   2. WorkSpace Studio Start> Programs> Solarwinds Engineer's Toolset> Utilities> Workspace Studio
      1. Then under Gadgets> Tools> Discovery Tools> Switch Port Mapper
2. Enter in the Switch information
   1. Layer 2 Switch and the Layer 3 device that would have all IP information for the switch.
3. Select Map Ports
4. Look for the MAC Addresses, IP Addresses, and Hostnames.
5. This is an example of a working configuration. Notice MAC IP and DNS have entries:

• Switch showing only VLAN1 - Only occurs due to SNMPv3 mis-configuration; see vendor document above.

• Router with IP information missing - Add Router and rescan and this will be corrected. This router needs to be in the Product to show this information properly

• Hostname information missing - DNS Records missing on the DNS Server.

Troubleshooting with User Device Tracker

Note: This is a striped down guide from the following KB: http://knowledgebase.solarwinds.com/kb/questions/4753/User+Device+Tracker+Compatibility+Checker

This tester is more to see if the pollers can get the data. Switch Port Mapper Troubleshooting is more comprehensive and walks through re-configurations.

1. Open the UDT Compatibility Check (by default, "InstallDirectory\SolarWinds\Orion\UDT\").
2. Click New. This opens a wizard that guides you and where you configure what device to poll and what data to collect.
   • Select Orion Node. (preferred method)
     • Enter Website credentials.
     • Select the switch we are attempting to correct
     • Select a connection type (layer 2 and 3).
   • Select Manual
     • Enter the IP address of the device
     • the credential type (SNMPv1, SNMPv2c, SNMPv3, or REL)
     • The connection port
     • Device vendor.
     • For SNMPv1 and SNMPv2, enter the community string.
     • For SNMPv3, enter the user name and context.
     • For REL, enter the user name and password to access the remote event log.
3. Click Next
4. Select the test targets for this session and then click Finish.
5. Results display in the session data window.
   1. Once this completes, select the Report Button. This is a Pass/Fail for each Section.

Note: This is a successful scan of a working switch checking for Layer 2.

           Example of Correctly Configured Layer 3

     If you are see any Red Xs, please check the SNMP configuration, or go into the Toolset Troubleshooting area of this document.