Free Trial Guide

Get the truth about your network and cloud environment with IP Fabric’s automated network assurance platform.

IP Fabric automates the creation of a vendor-agnostic, end-to-end view of all devices, states, paths, and dependencies, which provides essential context and deep understanding to reveal unknown risks, opportunities, and efficiencies. Understand how this network intelligence can be easily shared with teams who need it, or seamlessly integrated into workflows, enriching existing tooling and platforms with essential details you can’t get anywhere else.

In this free trial instance (100 managed network devices, for 30 days), you’ll see how automated network assurance works to discover your entire network, analyze and normalize this data, and then visualize this as network intelligence for practical application and timely insights. Throughout, we’ll share examples of how this helps enterprises assure the security and stability of digital services, speed migrations and transformation, all while cutting IT costs.

We’ll guide you through fundamental use cases that bring massive value, and introduce you to some advanced topics that will spark some ideas around the art of the possible when you have your entire network at your fingertips.

We hope you enjoy this opportunity to explore IP Fabric at your own pace!

You can follow the guide through written chapters, or <5 minute videos, which will show examples of how to deploy, set up , and use IP Fabric. 

“IP Fabric pulls the data that you need from every device in your network for quick analysis; it doesn’t stop at letting you analyze the data easily, but allows you to plug it into your processes and workflow. That can be applied to anything – automation, troubleshooting, hardware refresh planning – and it gives you that contextualized insight into your network, both from a high level and down to the details.

It also gives teams without deep network knowledge the tools to understand how traffic flows through the network, and what may hinder that flow. For new engineers, their understanding of the network is massively accelerated, and they can get started with troubleshooting almost immediately.”

– Martin Moucka, Senior Network Engineer, Red Hat

IP Fabric is a lightweight deployment, requiring a single Virtual Machine. IP Fabric is, in most cases, deployed as an on-premises solution, but we provide the flexibility to use some public cloud platforms too.

This free trial allows for a fully functional IP Fabric deployment that can interact with 100 network devices and is time-limited to 30 days. You can watch this 3 minute video to see the deployment and configuration process or use the written guide below.

1. Pre-installation Checklist

• Lab license: This can be found in the email you received upon request. 
• Host: A host satisfying the minimum requirements necessary (or higher) to run the IP Fabric Virtual Machine (VM) image (i.e. x64 arch 4 CPU, 16GB RAM, 90GB).
• Browser: A recent browser running full-HD resolution or higher (1920 x 1080)
• Reachability: 
  • The intended IP Fabric host will require outbound reachability (inc. SSH, telnet, HTTPS, ICMP) to any intended managed devices and/or networks for interaction and discovery.
  • You will require inbound admin access to the IP Fabric host via HTTP(s) – TCP 443, 8443

2. Download and run the Virtual Machine (VM) Image

You can get the current VMDK, OVA, or QCOW2 release at https://releases.ipfabric.io/current/. The credentials to access the images are in the email you received. 

Note: VMware ESXi and vSphere are the recommended (and fully supported) hypervisors; however, IP Fabric can be deployed on other hypervisors (with limited support).

• Once booted, the IPF CLI Config will run, which will allow you to set the VMs network and main admin settings. This can be run again when needed, but note that any user “osadmin” password changes will affect the accessibility of backups (due to the encryption of any previous backups based on “osadmin”).

3. Basic Set-Up Configuration

• As noted, on the first boot, the “ipf-cli-config” will automatically run and provide a simple GUI dialog to configure the following:
• Enter the short hostname.
• Enter the DNS domain name.
• Use DHCP or Static IP address.
  • (If static) configure an IP, gateway, and DNS resolvers.
• Set how the VM can connect to the Internet (direct/proxy)
• Please set your user “osadmin” password (inc. adhering to the complexity requirements and noting the effect on any previous backups when changing!).
• Configure SSL certificate parameters (if desired/required)
• Then reboot.

4. Main Interface (Add Lab License)

• Connect to the IP Fabric interface (on regular TCP 443 i.e https://<shortname>.<yourdomain>.<tld>) and enter your free trial supplied license file.
• You will be prompted to add your license file key (you can either drag and drop your file or click to upload it from a specific location).

So, now that your IP Fabric instance is deployed and correctly configured, it’s time to discover your entire network automatically and create your first full network snapshot. 

Note: Don’t have a lab or network environment to discover, but still want to use this free trial? We’ve got some demo snapshots you can upload to the platform here, in place of discovery. 

5. Configuration Wizard

• You will be automatically forwarded to the four (4) step “Configuration Wizard” (also available at Settings/Administration/Configuration Wizard)
• Add Device Credentials (At least one stored/CLI credential is required to run a discovery).
• Note currently supported vendors/products.

Note: IP Fabric accesses network infrastructure devices via CLI (command-line interface) using SSH or Telnet. All device interactions are recorded on the platform, and only “read-only” or “operator” group privilege level 1 credentials are required.

• Discovery Seeds/IP Scope
  • (Optional) Starting points
  • (Optional) IP Scope explicit exclusion/inclusion
• Advanced CLI
  • CLI Settings for device login timeout, authentication timeout, retries etc
  • Custom SSH/telnet ports
• Start Discovery
  • You may provide Discovery Seeds (specific IPs/subnets) that IP Fabric can use as a starting point to auto-discover your network (otherwise it will start with its own default gateway).

Check out the blog link in the image below by Network Engineer and blogger Suresh Vina. He tried out our free lab license with slightly different parameters than we have today, but his experience and insights remain valid. 

6. Join our Community Slack

You can join our community slack here to chat with fellow trial users, ask questions, and get ad-hoc support.

Although you’ll use the Configuration Wizard to start your first network discovery, it’s prudent to point out information surrounding and management of the discovery process. 

You don’t have to use the wizard for subsequent discovery snapshots, and you can take some manual action adjust and validate network discovery. 

1. Use the Discovery Snapshot in IP Fabric

Go to Discovery Snapshot > New Snapshot > Start Discovery

Discovery will begin. You’ll be able to see the process of IP Fabric connecting to different devices in your environment. Key metrics shown in the Discovery Snapshot include

• time elapsed
• devices discovered, and
• tasks currently being run on devices

2. Validating Network Discovery

Accurate and complete discovery is central to network assurance, so we’ve included key information as guardrails against inaccuracy or incomplete discovery.

You’ll notice the Connectivity Report that details whether devices were successfully connected, and if not, it shows errors such as connectivity timeouts or authentication failures to help troubleshoot issues during discovery. The platform includes the CLI output for all errors, and you can easily filter your view on the Connectivity Report to see what’s important to you.

You can also find information about missing detail in IP Fabric in the Summary of Issues. You can then resolve these issues to ensure all devices, and all the information about the relevant devices, is properly discovered.

Discovery Snapshot > Summary of Issues:

More information on how to troubleshoot specific discovery issues can be found in our documentation here: Troubleshooting Discovery – IP Fabric Documentation Portal. 

Tip: Security Use Case – Spot Rogue or Unmanaged Devices

In the Connectivity Matrix, you’ll find the Unmanaged Neighbors Detail; these are devices that IP Fabric knows exist, but can’t log into, perhaps because of incorrectly configured devices or insufficient authorization privileges.

We’ve already applied an intent verification rule to this table, sorting unmanaged neighbors with BGP protocols in green, unmanaged neighbors with interior gateway protocols in yellow, and LLDP/CDP, direct but unmanaged neighbors, in red. 

This is crucial information for network and security teams; from first Discovery, IP Fabric reveals what you potentially don’t know about your network. 

3. Adding Devices to a Network Snapshot

If a snapshot has already been created, but some devices have been left out due to connectivity or authentication errors, for example, you can manually add them to the network snapshot, so that they’ll be included in future network discoveries.

A new device can be added to an existing snapshot by clicking Add Devices. This action allows you to input a list of IP addresses or subnets for discovery and inclusion in the chosen snapshot. This feature proves useful when conducting a comprehensive network snapshot, but some devices faced connectivity issues that have since been resolved (e.g., incorrect AAA configuration, firewall rules, omission of a network seed, etc.).

Discovery Snapshot > Inventory > Add Devices:

• When incorporating a new device into an existing snapshot, the snapshot-specific settings will be applied. If adjustments are required (e.g., adding a new network seed, login credentials, etc.) before adding the new device, you must modify the settings for that specific snapshot before proceeding.
• Enabling Rediscover timed out devices prompts the discovery process to revisit devices that previously timed out. For a quicker device addition process, or if you simply prefer to add devices yourself, deselect this option.
• If you solely wish to rediscover devices, you can just click the Start Discovery button and not add any new device IP addresses manually.
• There are other modifications to snapshots that can be made, and you can find a detailed guide to this is our documentation here: Discovery Snapshot.

Tweaks at this stage, if required, mean that you’ll have the digital twin of your network environment, representing a particular point in time, and including all configuration and state data, with all future discoveries.

This guide will walk you through the site separation process in IP Fabric, including manual and automatic methods. 

When you first run a network discovery in IP Fabric, the platform gathers information about all connected devices. These devices will initially be marked as “unknown” in the Site column Inventory > Devices. 

Organizing devices into sites ensures that your network structure is more manageable and accurately reflects your real-world setup. 

Manual Site Separation

For your trial environment, manual separation is the recommended approach due to the smaller number of devices. Here’s how to do it:

Assigning Devices to a Site:

1. Go to the Sites tab.
2. Click on Manual Site Separation to access this feature.
3. Select a device or multiple devices you want to organize.
4. Click Change Site and choose a site from the list or adding a new site (simply type the Site name). 
5. Confirm the change by clicking Apply.

Note: You can apply changes for current snapshots only or for all future snapshots.

Automatic Site Separation 

While manual separation is recommended for this free trial, IP Fabric also offers automatic site separation using Regular Expressions (Regex). This method is ideal for larger networks with well-structured device naming conventions, or you can use parameters like SNMP location or routing and switching domain. 

Setting Up Automatic Site Separation:

1. Go to Discovery Settings in IP Fabric.
2. Click on Site Separation.
3. Use Regex to define site assignment rules based on:

• Hostname patterns
• SNMP location data
• Routing and switching domains

Settings > Discovery & Snapshots > Discovery Settings > Site Separation

Tip: Hostname Transformation

To avoid issues with case sensitivity, enable the Transform Hostname option in IP Fabric’s settings. This ensures that site separation rules apply uniformly, regardless of how hostnames are formatted.

By organizing your network into sites you’ll gain a clearer view of your infrastructure and make network management easier as your environment grows

Use these demo snapshots if you don’t have a lab or network environment you wish to use for this free trial.  Click to download and upload in the IP Fabric Discovery Snapshot as shown below. They represent day-by-day change in a hybrid cloud environment:

Day 0 – Pre-acquisition

Day 1 – Network Baseline

Day 2 – Azure

Day 3 – Azure Backup

Tables are a familiar and easily consumable way to understand the network data IP Fabric has discovered. Let’s review how to:

• Navigate the tables in IP Fabric to view and customize data.
• Search, filter, and refine the data to focus on the most relevant devices and configurations.
• Share views and export data as needed.
• Leverage the API for automated data retrieval and advanced querying.
• Dive deeper into technology-specific details

Viewing Discovered Data in Tables

Once a discovery is completed, data is displayed in tables. Each table contains columns showing device information, making it easy to see what has been discovered. You can start with Inventory tables to get an overview of your network. 

A simple and flexible tabular visualization of your network assets:

Customizing the Table View

Modify the table by enabling or disabling columns to suit your needs. This helps you focus on specific details that are most relevant to you.

Searching Table Data

Use the search function to find specific devices or data by typing keywords (e.g., sites).

For advanced searches, you can apply filters using logical conditions like “host name contains” or “site =.”

Exporting and Sharing Data

If you need to share the data with others, you can easily export the table to a CSV file.

Generate a shareable link (URL) for a specific view. Anyone with the link will see the exact table and data configuration you created, making collaboration smooth across platforms like Slack or Teams.

Using APIs for Automated Queries

Each table comes with an API payload, enabling you to automate data queries directly from the platform. The API section shows you the correct URL, method, and payload required to run a query.

When you add or remove filters in the platform, the API payload updates accordingly, allowing you to customize and refine your data extraction.

Inventory> ⋯ > Table Description

Viewing Detailed Device Information

For deeper insights, such as specific technologies or configurations discovered on a device (e.g., VLANs or routing protocols), you can go beyond the summary tables to more advanced data views.

Navigate to technology-specific tables (e.g., routing, switching) to find configurations and details for various network components.

E.g. Technology > Routing > OSPF

Maximizing Usability with Search Tools

The platform’s menu system is extensive, but its search tool helps you quickly locate the right table or information. By typing a keyword, you can directly access detailed data about network devices.

Using technology tables, the IP Fabric platform makes analyzing network discovery data straightforward, efficient, and highly customizable.This structured format breaks down the guide into clear, easy-to-follow sections while emphasizing key functionalities and usability features of tables in IP Fabric.

IP Fabric automatically generates flexible, detailed network map topologies, or diagrams, with every point in time snapshot taken. Static diagrams require constant manual updates, and frankly, are usually out-of-date by the time they are complete, leading to an endless cycle of maintenance with gaps in visibility and potentially dangerous oversights. 

You may need multiple static diagrams to show the same part of the network for different layers, where IP Fabric offers all of your network in a single view. 

Let’s walk through how to access and use network diagrams in the IP Fabric platform to visualize your network and enhance your analysis of its topology.

We’ll understand how to:

• Navigate and access various network diagrams from different sections of the IP Fabric platform
• Maximize and clean up your diagram view for better visualization
• Control and customize the layers and protocols displayed within the diagram
• Interact with devices and links in the diagram to pull up detailed information without leaving the topology view
• Access diagrams through multiple paths, ensuring flexibility in how you view your network

Accessing Diagrams

• Navigating to Diagrams: In IP Fabric, network diagrams can be accessed from various parts of the platform. To start, go to the Diagrams tab in the menu. You can choose from different diagram types, such as Network Diagram or Site Diagram, depending on what you need to visualizes.
• Visualizing a Specific Site: To see a site-specific diagram, select Site Diagrams, and then choose the site (e.g., “Site 1 Users”) you want to view. The platform will generate a diagram showing how this site connects to others within your network.

Optimizing the Diagram View

Maximizing Real Estate: If you have a large topology, you can hide unnecessary parts of the interface. For example, use the Network Viewer option to hide the middle section and the menu bar to maximize your diagram view. This will help you better visualize complex topologies.

• Dynamic Topologies: The diagrams in IP Fabric are highly dynamic. Instead of having multiple separate diagrams for different network layers (e.g., Layer 2, Layer 3), IP Fabric allows you to visualize multiple layers in one place , but it’s up to you what you want to see and share.
• Layer Control: You can control what network layers you see. In the Visualization Setup, go to Protocols to highlight or hide specific layers like Layer 1, Layer 2, or Layer 3. For example, you can choose to only show Layer 3 information by hiding Layer 1 and Layer 2.

• Protocols and Links: The diagram will show protocol details such as OSPF running between core devices, as well as spanning tree instances and their configurations.

Visualizing Spanning Tree and VLANs

• Highlighting VLANs: You can visualize specific VLANs in your network by selecting a VLAN from the Spanning Tree Instances section. This will overlay the VLAN topology onto your site diagram.

• Root Bridge and Ports: The diagram will highlight the Root Bridge (represented by a square box around the device) and show Forwarding and Blocking Ports. For deeper analysis, you can right-click any link to see more details, such as whether the port is forwarding (green link) or discarding (red link).

Interacting with Diagram Elements

• Getting Device Information: Right-clicking on any device or link within the diagram allows you to pull up detailed information by clicking Explore. This includes device details such as vendor, routing table, interfaces, MAC address table, and other device-related data.

• Viewing Tabulated Details in Diagrams: You can interact with the diagram without needing to switch to separate tables. For example, right-click on a device to quickly view the device’s IP Address information table directly within the diagram, without leaving the topology view.

Accessing Diagrams from Other Parts of the Platform

• Diagram Links in Tables: Many tables in IP Fabric have diagram links. For example, you can access diagrams for Routing or Switching Domains directly from their respective tables. Look for the diagram icon next to the table entries, which will take you to the corresponding network diagram.

IP Fabric makes network diagrams a powerful and dynamic way to visualize and manage your network infrastructure.

IP Fabric’s automatically generated reports translate complex network data into clear, consumable information, allowing non-engineering teams like business leaders, security, and operations to understand how the network impacts their work.

This time-saving automation eliminated engineer time spent manually collating data by creating instant reports with no manual input, improving efficiency and removing bottlenecks between teams.

These reports provide summarized information and perceived risks, helping organizations make informed decisions by keeping the network’s state up-to-date and compliant.

In dynamic, enterprise-scale networks, regular automated reports are crucial for maintaining operational awareness and avoiding outdated or incomplete network understanding.

We’ll understand how to:

• Access Network Analysis Reports & Low-level Design Documentation.
• Share these insights with whoever needs them.

Accessing and Sharing Reports

Click Reports under the navigation menu options; based on your needs, select either Network Analysis Reports or Low-level Design Documentation.

Click the Download button to access your report in .docx format.

Use various sharing options to send the URL, csv file, or API payload to the relevant recipient or adjacent tooling.

IP Fabric surfaces network intelligence that is vital for effective network planning and budgeting. By using IP Fabric, teams can efficiently manage device lifecycles, reduce security risks, and streamline audits.

Put into action:

• Automated Lifecycle Management:

IP Fabric automates device lifecycle management by gathering hardware and software data across the network, eliminating manual cross-checking with vendor portals. This data includes make, model, serial numbers, and vendor-suggested replacements.

• Proactive Maintenance:

Engineers can identify devices nearing End-of-Life (EoL) and schedule proactive replacements, reducing vulnerabilities caused by outdated devices.

• Security Assurance:

Security teams can automatically verify device OS versions and proactively address vulnerabilities.

• Streamlined Reporting:

Export lifecycle data for audits and planning, empowering cross-team collaboration and informed decision-making.

(1) Simply go the Inventory tab and click End of Life Milestones

(2) Share this information as you need it:

• Export via CSV
• Share the URL of the exact view you want to share
• Use the API payload to use this network intelligence in other dashboards, tools, or reports.

In IP Fabric, a snapshot captures the state of a network at a specific moment, offering a detailed view of its configuration and changes over time. Unlike continuous scanning, snapshots preserve historical states, enabling users to compare past and present network conditions for compliance, troubleshooting, and training purposes. 

This approach minimizes network load by storing data offline, allowing team members to explore network configurations without generating additional traffic. Snapshots also simplify change verification by providing a clear before-and-after comparison of network modifications, ensuring desired outcomes are met.

Let’s look at how to use snapshots:

1. Load and Unload Snapshots

Up to 5 snapshots – each which contains a model of your network at a specific point in time –  are loaded at a time. See them in your Discovery Snapshot tab:

You can switch between these 5 network snapshots at any time, to compare historical information, track state change, and perform analysis. 

Unloading a snapshot will move network state information from RAM to HDD, creating room for a new one. You can download any snapshot to store externally and re-upload later. You may want to load previous discovery snapshots to do a historical comparison of your network. 

2. Lock Snapshots

Often, users will lock a critical, comprehensive snapshot to be their network baseline. Locking a snapshot means it won’t be overwritten by scheduled or ad-hoc network discoveries. If no snapshots are locked, the oldest snapshot of the 5 will be automatically unloaded. Simply click as shown below to ensure the snapshot is preserved:

Locking a stable baseline, “known-good” model of your network is useful in an outage or emergency when you need to roll back changes fast. 

3. Cloning Snapshots

Click Clone Snapshot to create an exact copy of a discovered point in time network model:

You might clone a snapshot to rediscover or update a small number of devices or a partial section of the network within a snapshot, without losing the original settings and data. This avoids the need to do a full discovery, which depending on network size, could take time. 

You can select specific devices to refresh  Discovery Snapshot > Devices Management:

4. Comparing Snapshots

A massive benefit of snapshots is the ability to quickly compare your network to a previous state and answer “what’s changed” in seconds. From the Diagrams view, simply click Compare Snapshots:

Select which snapshot to compare to your currently loaded snapshot:

See a clear comparison of prior and current network states (red represents what’s been removed, green what’s been added, and grey what stayed the same from snapshot to snapshot): 

If you’re troubleshooting connectivity issues in a complex network, such as after a migration or a change, IP Fabric’s end to end path lookup feature can help you verify connectivity (is it truly a network problem?) and identify and isolate potential network issues (i.e. a firewall is blocking traffic that it shouldn’t be, or a lack of redundancy that will become a business continuity).

IP Fabric’s end to end path lookup function lets you understand how data is traversing your network from one endpoint to another, giving you the tools for a quick analysis.

1. Understanding Your Troubleshooting Scenario

Imagine a scenario where a user reports that a certain application (for example, a warehouse telemetry app) is not working after a migration or network change. In such cases, you’ll need to verify the network connectivity and check how the path between source and destination behaves across your network.

Access the network map in IP Fabric to get a visual overview of the affected site:

• • This helps you understand the topology and where the relevant endpoints are located.
  • Look at the connections between the site and the transit group, including both Layer 3 and Layer 2 islands.
  • Identify the specific endpoints or devices involved in the flow.

2. Start End-to-End Path Lookup

Once you’ve identified the relevant endpoint (e.g., a switch connected to the sensor or server), use the End to End Path Lookup feature in IP Fabric.

• • Navigate to End to End Path Lookup.
  • Input the IP address or part of the DNS name for the source or destination endpoint (e.g., the server or sensor).
  • Look at the connections between the site and the transit group, including both Layer 3 and Layer 2 islands.
  • Identify the specific endpoints or devices involved in the flow.

3. Analyze Detail

See the path visualization in IP Fabric:

• • This will show the complete route between the source and destination endpoints, including details such as balancing decisions (e.g., load balancing) and filtering decisions at both Layer 2 and Layer 3.

For example, review the following in the path visualization:

• Layer 2 filters: Check for any VLAN or MAC filtering decisions.
• Edge filters: Analyze any access control lists (ACLs) or firewall filters.
• Firewall policies: If a zone-based firewall cluster is involved, review which firewall rules are applied and whether the traffic is allowed or blocked.

4. Test Different Parameters

Test different traffic parameters to verify connectivity under different conditions. You can change the port to understand how traffic behaves on different ports or see what happens if you set traffic continue despite a security rule (an example of a “what-if” scenario). 

5. Save and Share Results

• Once you’ve completed the path lookup:
  • Save the path lookup results for future reference or troubleshooting.
  • Export the path visualization as an image for reporting purposes.
  • Share the findings with your team, either by sending the saved results or by exporting the relevant data for review.

This quick and accurate verification of end-to-end connectivity ensures that application flows are correctly routed and allowed by the network and security policies. This method saves time, particularly in large, complex networks with multiple firewalls and filtering devices involved.

IP Fabric provides a powerful way to assess an entire network infrastructure for compliance and operational assurance through intent verification rules.

Multi-vendor, multi-site network discovery creates a comprehensive snapshot with normalized data, no matter how diverse your network. This normalization is key – it allows IP Fabric to apply intent verification rules on top of this data, so you can quickly evaluate network state, configuration consistency, and adherence to standards or internal policies. 

Use Built-In Intent Verification Rules

IP Fabric includes 150+ intent verification rules out of the box. These are based on decades of practical networking experience, and we’re always adding more. 

IP Fabric displays these intent verification checks on your Dashboard, categorized into areas such as security, inventory, and interfaces, giving you an overview of how well the network aligns with defined intent. From the Dashboard, you can see more detail by click through each alert color, which will take you through to the corresponding table data. 

In the below example, you can quickly identify devices with high memory utilization:

Using intent verification checks, organizations can ensure network consistency, address compliance gaps, and monitor both configurational and operational states effectively. You can use intent checks to create your own network audit, which is run every time a snapshot is created. 

Users can create their own intent verification rules for any aspect of the network, including routing protocols, switching domains, or management protocols.

Custom verifications help ensure compliance with internal security best practices or fill any gaps in the existing set of intent verification rules. The process for this is really simple, requires no specific scripting or product-specific skill, and it takes just minutes to add new rules. 

Let’s walk through an example – we’ll create a rule to highlight SNMP communities with Access-Lists (ACL) applied.

Find Relevant Data

• Search for the information needed within IP Fabric using the search box or from the technology  table menu. 
• For this example, type “SNMP” to locate data sources.
• Select “SNMP Communities” for a detailed overview, including Hostname, Site, Authorization, Group, applied View, and the ACL field.

Create a New Verification Rule

• In the Intent Verification Rules header, click Add to open Intent Rule Detail.

Fill in the required fields:

• Rule Name: Provide a descriptive name. 

Example: SNMP Community ACL.

• Colorized Column: Select the relevant column that you want to apply the rule to. Example: ACL.
• Dashboard Widget: Choose to include the rule in a widget to display it on the main Dashboard. 

Example: Management Consistency.

• Descriptions

Descriptions are important as they also appear in the Network Summary Document. So, you’d probably want to choose something that will be clear to teams that aren’t necessarily as hands-on with the network. 

Example Description: Verifies if the Access-List is applied to the SNMP community.

Create Your Rule Specifications

Define default and conditional filtering rules. There is an option for a configurable default color. For this example, we just want SNMP Communities that do have ACL lists applied to show up green, and those without to show up blue or this example, so we can simply focus on Success (green) and Info (blue), with no default option needed. 

With green selected, add your description for devices to be highlighted or categorized green/Success.

Example: SNMP communities with ACL applied.

Then specify the rule, i.e. Show up green when ACL is not empty. 

Next, create a condition to apply to SNMP Communities without an ACl. Let’s use blue to indicate that. Set the rule to check for records where the ACL field is empty and add your description. Example: Communities without any ACL applied.

Test and Save the Rule

• Use the preview option to test the rule.
• Save the rule once verified.

Check out your new rule on the Dashboard

• After saving, the new verification rule is integrated into the Dashboard.

IP Fabric’s Automated Infrastructure Assurance Platform addresses critical information gaps in existing network management tools, enhancing security and stability. Traditional tools often lack comprehensive data, leading to unmonitored devices and potential vulnerabilities. This comprehensive visibility replaces blind spots with certainty, enabling proactive management of network performance and security.

By integrating with existing tools, IP Fabric enriches their functionality with detailed network context. For instance…

• It enriches IT Service Management tools by adding visualizations and contextual details to trouble tickets.
• It enhances monitoring tools by automatically populating them with deeper context attached to alerts.
• It answers questions that Network Security Policy Management tools cannot

IP Fabric’s vendor-neutral approach overcomes the limitations of siloed tools, providing a unified view of complex, multi-vendor networks. 

It discovers all network, cloud, and security devices, along with their relationships and traffic paths, offering an interconnected understanding of the entire topology. This holistic perspective is crucial for maintaining network stability and security.

Our team works to build seamless technology integrations with tools we’ve seen become productivity accelerators for our customers. You can request an integration here: Integrations

Get more information:

• NetBox
• Nautobot
• Splunk
• Grafana
• Excel & PowerBI
• Ansible

These integrations allow for automatic population and validation of sources of truth, enriched monitoring dashboards, and precise network information in incident tickets, ensuring all tools operate with complete and accurate data.

Everything available in IP Fabric, is available via the API. You can easily access the table description to use for API calls from different platforms or technologies. 

For a deeper, and more technical look and API Programmability, take a look at Solution Architect Justin Jeffery’s blog series:

/blog/api-programmability-part-1/

/blog/api-programmability-python/

/blog/api-programmability-part-3-webhooks/

/blog/api-programmability-part-4-diagramming/