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Spanning Tree analytics with the IP Fabric platform v2.0

Spanning Tree analytics with the IP Fabric platform v2.0

2 minute read
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Spanning Tree analytics with the IP Fabric platform v2.0
Updated: October 27, 2023
October 23, 2017
Updated: October 27, 2023
2 mins

The IP Fabric platform is a network engineer's best friend when performing deep network audits. For example, to verify root placement for overlapping VLANs in a LAN, I would normally need to look through the STP roots, and painstakingly trace L2 links, reconstructing the topology of each instance.

image 19
Manual topology reconstruction requires tracing L2 links

For example, to verify root placement for overlapping VLANs in a LAN, I would normally need to look through the STP roots, and painstakingly trace L2 links, reconstructing the topology of each instance.

With the IP Fabric platform, I can just grab the hostname of the device, and look it up in the device inventory to find the corresponding switching domain the device belongs to.

image 20
Switching domain visualization

Click on the switching domain visualizes all overlapping spanning-tree instances. We can check the topology of a specific VLAN by adding the instance to the graph.

image 21
Filtering specific spanning tree instance and searching for root

We can then search for root, and filter excess information to get a better understanding of the VLAN topology, including blocked links.

image 22
Adding wired users to the diagram

Thanks to graph math, we can instantly perform what-if scenarios, such as finding non-redundant links, displaying the location of the users, or adding a corresponding routing domain, to better understand communication needs, and see where the optimal root placement would be considering site’s edge.

image 23
Adding routing domain to the switching domain diagram
image 24
Visually inspecting root efficiency

We can also drill down into further details all the way to the virtual port level, to make a sound engineering decision and understand any potential risks.

image 25
Inspecting virtual ports of an instance

If you have found this article resourceful, please follow our company’s LinkedIn or Blog. There will be more content emerging. Furthermore, if you would like to test our platform to observe how it can assist you in more efficiently managing your network, please write us through our web page www.ipfabric.io

Spanning Tree analytics with the IP Fabric platform v2.0

The IP Fabric platform is a network engineer's best friend when performing deep network audits. For example, to verify root placement for overlapping VLANs in a LAN, I would normally need to look through the STP roots, and painstakingly trace L2 links, reconstructing the topology of each instance.

image 19
Manual topology reconstruction requires tracing L2 links

For example, to verify root placement for overlapping VLANs in a LAN, I would normally need to look through the STP roots, and painstakingly trace L2 links, reconstructing the topology of each instance.

With the IP Fabric platform, I can just grab the hostname of the device, and look it up in the device inventory to find the corresponding switching domain the device belongs to.

image 20
Switching domain visualization

Click on the switching domain visualizes all overlapping spanning-tree instances. We can check the topology of a specific VLAN by adding the instance to the graph.

image 21
Filtering specific spanning tree instance and searching for root

We can then search for root, and filter excess information to get a better understanding of the VLAN topology, including blocked links.

image 22
Adding wired users to the diagram

Thanks to graph math, we can instantly perform what-if scenarios, such as finding non-redundant links, displaying the location of the users, or adding a corresponding routing domain, to better understand communication needs, and see where the optimal root placement would be considering site’s edge.

image 23
Adding routing domain to the switching domain diagram
image 24
Visually inspecting root efficiency

We can also drill down into further details all the way to the virtual port level, to make a sound engineering decision and understand any potential risks.

image 25
Inspecting virtual ports of an instance

If you have found this article resourceful, please follow our company’s LinkedIn or Blog. There will be more content emerging. Furthermore, if you would like to test our platform to observe how it can assist you in more efficiently managing your network, please write us through our web page www.ipfabric.io

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