I've inherited a network spread out over a warehouse/front office consisting of approximately 50 desktop PCs, various servers, network printers, and routers/switches.
The "intelligent" routers live in the server room. As the company has grown, we've annexed additional space and not very elegantly run various lengths of CAT5 thru the ceilings etc. I've been finding various hubs and switches in the ceilings -- none of which is labeled or documented in any way.
Of course, das blinken-lights tell me that someone is connected to these devices, I just have no way of finding out who.
I can run traditional network map tools (there are tons of these things) and it shows me the IP-based things in the network. That's nice, but information I already have. What I need to know is the network topology -- how the switches (bridges) are interconnected etc.. And since they are off-the-shelf linksys unmanaged-types, they don't respond to SNMP so I can't use that...
What's the best/cheapest tool out there that I can use to analyze and detect things like hubs and switches in the network that don't respond to SNMP?
If there's no tool that you're aware of -- what generalized algorithm would you suggest to find this out? My guess would be that I could look at the MAC forward tables for the devices (switches, desktops, etc.) and build a chain that way, but I don't know if it's possible to get that from an unmanaged switch (let alone a hub).
(This patent has some neat ideas but I can't find any software built with it: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6628623.html)
Thanks!!