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Re: Insight Cloud Portal - GC110 - Connected Neighbors

Pristle
Aspirant

Insight Cloud Portal - GC110 - Connected Neighbors

Hi,

Re: Netgear Insight GC110 (Firmware 1.0.5.25)

 

Am a at a bit of a loss here. I picked up a pair of these switches for a small site, who are hoping to better manage their internet traffic. I have also signed onto the Premium subscription for "mobile app + cloud".

 

My question is: Where can I edit the name of the connected devices? Other than MAC addresses, the fields are blank under 'Summary'. Inutitively I headed for 'Settings', but that presents a blank screen (regardless of browser).

 

I then thought perhaps if I use the 'Direct Connect Web-browser', I may have better fortune. Nada, the interface must be among the worst I've seen in a long time.

 

Is there a CLI type interface on these devices? It seems counterintuitive when the hype for these is 'cloud'.

 

Any guidance would be appreciated.

 

 

 

Paul

Model: GC110|8-Port Gigabit Ethernet App Managed Smart Cloud Switch w/2 SFP Fiber Ports
Message 1 of 8
schumaku
Guru

Re: Insight Cloud Portal - GC110 - Connected Neighbors

There seems to be some confusion. The information under Device -> Switch -> [Click on the port] -> Connected Neighbors -> Status -> Neighbor Info  is dynamically updated according the device plugged, it's provided by LLDP-MD. None of these fields is intended to be edited for the obvious reason. When you go the Device -> Switch -> [Click on the port]  -> Settings  you find the Port Description field, which is editable. Unfortunately, this information (and some more ineresting one) is not used elsewhere (e.g. on Devices -> Switch on the Port mouse-over or the Port information below.


Message 2 of 8
Pristle
Aspirant

Re: Insight Cloud Portal - GC110 - Connected Neighbors

Hi,

 

Thank you for your response, not that it was particularly helpful.

 

Your comment "None of these fields is intended to be edited for the obvious reason" doesn't really elaborate on the 'obvious reason'.

 

 

It would seem my site is not populating properly, with only the Netgear and Ubiquiti devices showing up. Of the 15 other available ports, despite all clients being LLDP enable, only 4 are offering up their MAC addresses. None of the ports have 'Neighbor Name' nor 'Neighbor Description' populated.

 

Even the one port which I have configured with a 'Neighbor Description' via the mobile app, doesn't propogate to the PC based cloud portal.

 

 

A very clunky piece of work to say the least.

 

Paul

Message 3 of 8
schumaku
Guru

Re: Insight Cloud Portal - GC110 - Connected Neighbors


@Pristle wrote:

Your comment "None of these fields is intended to be edited for the obvious reason" doesn't really elaborate on the 'obvious reason'.


All the information shown under Neigbour Info, including the Neigbour Description (App says just Description) is coming from the connected device by LLDP - and can't be edited. That's why it's obvious.

 


@Pristle wrote:

It would seem my site is not populating properly, with only the Netgear and Ubiquiti devices showing up. Of the 15 other available ports, despite all clients being LLDP enable, only 4 are offering up their MAC addresses. None of the ports have 'Neighbor Name' nor 'Neighbor Description' populated.


What are these other clients, what kind of lldpd is in place there?

Please note that a common Windows 10 client - with the Microsoft-LLDP-Driver enabled on the interface - does only provide Chassis ID: [MAC], Chassis ID Subtype: MAC Address, Port ID: [MAC], Port ID Subtype: MAC Address - neither a neighbor name or description.

 


@Pristle wrote:

Even the one port which I have configured with a 'Neighbor Description' via the mobile app, doesn't propogate to the PC based cloud portal.


Provide more information - "Neighbor Description" isn't editable or configureable. You might talk of the confusing "Port Description" label for two purposes:

a) the Port Description, an editable string on on the switch port (which deploys nicely to both the App as well as the Web UI for me), and

b) the Port Description, in the Neigbor Information, LLDP based, showing the connected device port information, e.g. "Device Port 5" from the connected device.

 

 

Message 4 of 8
Pristle
Aspirant

Re: Insight Cloud Portal - GC110 - Connected Neighbors

Schumaku, you response this time has been a lot more concise. Thank you.

 

Point to note, I can only set and view 'Port Description' via the mobile app. This does not propogate to the Insight Portal. 'Neighbor Name', 'Neighbor Desc.' and 'Port Desc.' remain blank on the Insight Portal. If I select a port, I see a 'Summary' tab and a 'Settings' tab on the left. Under 'Summary' I see the Overview of the port, however 'Settings' is blank. It's in here that I expected to have the ability to assign things like 'Port Desc.'.

 

The other clients you queried are Hyper-V Servers, print servers and Windows 10 based PCs. The Hyper-V configuration poses it's own unique set of issues, but I can monitor throughput and traffic pattern with other tools there. As for the Windows 10 machines, not all present their MAC to the switch. But then neither do the print servers.

 

Interestingly, using the tool LDWin on the client machine, the 'Neighbor Desc.' appears in the app on the client PC.

 

These issues of non-propogation are why I began this quest for answers in the first place. Why, if these entries do not automatically propogate, for whatever reason, why is there no mechanism to make manual entries somewhere?

 

Paul

 

 

Message 5 of 8
schumaku
Guru

Re: Insight Cloud Portal - GC110 - Connected Neighbors


@Pristle wrote:

I can only set and view 'Port Description' via the mobile app.
...
If I select a port, I see a 'Summary' tab and a 'Settings' tab on the left. Under 'Summary' I see the Overview of the port, however 'Settings' is blank. It's in here that I expected to have the ability to assign things like 'Port Desc.'.


Some peek-and-poke in my own and customer environments appears like the Settings are shown on PoE switch models (GC110P, GC510PP), but remains empty on non-PoE switches (GS110, GS728X) - must be a bug in the Web portal. @YeZ 

 


@Pristle wrote:

This does not propogate to the Insight Portal. 'Neighbor Name', 'Neighbor Desc.' and 'Port Desc.' remain blank on the Insight Portal.


This is only LLDP data (inlcuding the LLDP Port Name data) and has no relation to switch port configured Port Name. 

There is no propagation issue: The Port Description from the other side can only show up if there is LLCP workable - as it is remote data.

 


@Pristle wrote:

The other clients you queried are Hyper-V Servers, .... The Hyper-V configuration poses it's own unique set of issues, but I can monitor throughput and traffic pattern with other tools there.


That's unrelated to LLDP, isn't it?

 


@Pristle wrote:

As for the Windows 10 machines, not all present their MAC to the switch.


Hm, the Win 10 systems with the Microsoft-LLDP-Driver in place on each interface stack seem to preset the MAC address information to all Insight managed switches for us. (And hey, I'm not Netgear!).

 


@Pristle wrote:

But then neither do the print servers.


What print servers are these? Make, model, firmware, ...? 

 


@Pristle wrote:

Interestingly, using the tool LDWin on the client machine, the 'Neighbor Desc.' appears in the app on the client PC.


LDWin does make use of both the standardized LLDP _and_ the proprietary CDP - where the later is not supported on the Netgear switches.

Regards
-Kurt

Message 6 of 8
Pristle
Aspirant

Re: Insight Cloud Portal - GC110 - Connected Neighbors


@schumaku wrote:

@Pristle wrote:

I can only set and view 'Port Description' via the mobile app.
...
If I select a port, I see a 'Summary' tab and a 'Settings' tab on the left. Under 'Summary' I see the Overview of the port, however 'Settings' is blank. It's in here that I expected to have the ability to assign things like 'Port Desc.'.


Some peek-and-poke in my own and customer environments appears like the Settings are shown on PoE switch models (GC110P, GC510PP), but remains empty on non-PoE switches (GS110, GS728X) - must be a bug in the Web portal. @YeZ 

That then makes sense.

 


@Pristle wrote:

This does not propogate to the Insight Portal. 'Neighbor Name', 'Neighbor Desc.' and 'Port Desc.' remain blank on the Insight Portal.


This is only LLDP data (inlcuding the LLDP Port Name data) and has no relation to switch port configured Port Name. 

There is no propagation issue: The Port Description from the other side can only show up if there is LLCP workable - as it is remote data.

Perhaps I'm not explaining myself well here. By propogation I mean the name assigned in 'Port Desc.' in the mobile app, which while visible in the mobile app, isn't visible in the Cloud Portal (Port Number>Summary>Neighbor Info). Well in my case that's how things are. I refer to the attached image. The 'Port Desc.' can only be modified and seen in the mobile app.

This doesn't seem correct as I thought this was not reliant on LLDP and you suggested in previous advice: a) the Port Description, an editable string on on the switch port (which deploys nicely to both the App as well as the Web UI for me)

By Web UI, do you mean Cloud Portal or

 


@Pristle wrote:

The other clients you queried are Hyper-V Servers, .... The Hyper-V configuration poses it's own unique set of issues, but I can monitor throughput and traffic pattern with other tools there.


That's unrelated to LLDP, isn't it?

Correct. I included that purely for painting a picture of the site.

 


@Pristle wrote:

As for the Windows 10 machines, not all present their MAC to the switch.


Hm, the Win 10 systems with the Microsoft-LLDP-Driver in place on each interface stack seem to preset the MAC address information to all Insight managed switches for us. (And hey, I'm not Netgear!).

 

I've learned today that a team of auditors has been on site over the last few week or two. They brought with them and plugged in small 5-port unmanaged switches of their own. These have been plugged into wherever they've thought convenient, unplugged client machine from wall and into their switches.

The email I've sent the client this morning has not been subtle.

 


@Pristle wrote:

But then neither do the print servers.


What print servers are these? Make, model, firmware, ...? 

2 x TP-Link PS110U, which are due to be retired and then 2 x Ricoh Aficio devices.

 


@Pristle wrote:

Interestingly, using the tool LDWin on the client machine, the 'Neighbor Port Desc.' appears in the app on the client PC.


LDWin does make use of both the standardized LLDP _and_ the proprietary CDP - where the later is not supported on the Netgear switches.

I've made a correction. In this case I've set the 'Port Desc.' in the mobile app and it's appeared in LDWin. I implemented this tool in my bid to get my head around LLDP. Something I've never concerned myself with. But like so many 'standards' in our industry, seems it is paid lip service by the entities we'd expect more from.

 

 

 

As you can probably gather, I'm not Netgear either.

What I had been hoping to do, was provide the directors of this client with a pictorial view of who's doing what with their limited bandwidth. As things are, I have to provide a separate legend chart explaining who belongs to which port on which switch.

 

I'm content to leave this here, unless you could provide any further comment on any other obvious things I might be missing. You've provided some good insight (excuse the pun) thus far.  

 

Thanks,

Paul


 

Message 7 of 8
schumaku
Guru

Re: Insight Cloud Portal - GC110 - Connected Neighbors

Ahhhh, now I got it - the pic atached was very informative. Sorry for my misunderstanding. The (Switch Port Based) Port Description used to be pretty much unused on Insight, I had ranted a lot about this in the past. Rarely using the App on the bigger sites, I must hve missed that the App does now indeed show the swtch port based Port Description - while the App does not. Another bug, or a feture not made available to the Web UI (Insight portal). @YeZ thats another feature implementatio/bug to be followed up please. 

 

LDWin does show the configured Port Description of the switch port the computer is connected to because of the Port Description is also pushed to the LLDP data as expected.

Briefly looked for specs, description, or service controls of the two print servers and LLDP and/or CDP support, haven't spotted much on this subject. Newer Ricoh printers are nicely announcing the LLDP data.

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