First off, there's a great thread with XML language that creates a new Report for this that can be imported into your SW here: How to find ports which have not been used for a long time ?
Also, check this search out for other threads containing "Last & Transmitted": https://thwack.solarwinds.com/search.jspa?q=last+transmitted
I built this process my team's use, since the above XML report provided information for too many kinds of ports and systems. The method I use allows you to focus on a specific switch, and it filters out ports that I know will always be out of scope for discovering patched copper ports for reuse (like fiber uplink ports and port-channels or local Fa0 ports).
Start off in Settings, Admin > Alerts & Reports, Create New Report
Click the small blue "Edit" just to the right of Datasource 1 and make it look like this:
Adjust the items above to match your specific needs and then click Add to Layout.
What the filtered options mean:
- The first entry (Caption contains "Insert Switch Name") lets you focus solely on a specific switch. You don't have to include this if you don't want, and you could change it to identify a switch by whatever method you prefer--or drop it entirely.
- Solarwinds NPM may discover Cisco interfaces that are "Controlled" and "Uncontrolled" for security options (depending on IOS release and hardware platform); since these interfaces are duplicates to the physical interfaces, I don't want them included in the report, so I had it filter any interface with "ontrol" in its name.
- I'm not interested in Port-channels, therefore they're filtered out.
- I don't want any port whose status is "Up" since I'm only looking for ports not in use.
- It must be a Physical Interface, not a virtual or logical one.
- Don't report on Ten Gig interfaces ("Interface Name does not start with Te") because we don't let users plug into those sports.
- Don't report on interfaces ending in 49-52--those are uplink fiber links on my switches, and I'm not looking for information about those in this report. I only want to know about copper ports that can be unpatched & reused.
- Don't report on the Fa0 port if one is present
Click Edit Table
Adjust these items per your specific needs and click Submit
I put a note it to remind my Team to change the switch name inside the report:
Click Next
Put helpful information in the Report Description, Click Next.
Schedule if it needed. We run this report on demand instead of at regular intervals.
Click Next
Review the setup and make any changes required:
Click Submit.
Now select the report, edit it to report on the specific switch, save it and run it. You'll get a report that sorts from the ports longest down to those most recently down, looking like this:
I export this to .PDF and send it to my Network Technicians for unpatching of ports on switches they're concerned with.
Enjoy!
(Reviewed and updated 20200207. This process still works in Platform 2019.4 HF3 Rick Schroeder)
