Switches are added to Highlight like normal devices, using the IP address and community string. For “interface” select the main Uplink port for the switch and this will be monitored as a normal interface, affecting heat tiles, alerting, etc. Once switch monitoring is enabled, critical ports can be selected which affect heat tiles and alerts.
Enabling switch monitoring
To set up the device to monitor all switch ports:
Edit the bearer watch and tech test again. If Highlight supports the switch manufacturer then the message "Identified Switch Device" will be found in the Device Technical Test Results windows.
On the Features tab set Switch port monitoring to Enabled.
and wait up to 30 minutes for Highlight to discover the port layout on the device and collect detailed switch information. Toggling Switch port monitoring to Enabled also makes Set Critical Port active which you can use to denote specific ports as critical.
Enabling flexible switch monitoring
Refer to our list of supported, recognised switch manufacturers. It may be possible to add switches from other manufacturers (or any device with 2 or more network interfaces) using our flexible switch feature. Follow the steps here or contact us for assistance.
Note: Testing has shown that not all devices correctly implement the SNMP standard or provide very limited information. Flexible switch may not work on such devices.
Add the parent watch as normal - using the IP address and community string. For "interface” select the main Uplink port for the switch and this will be monitored as a normal interface, affecting heat tiles, alerting, etc.
As a user with the permission Edit watches, edit the parent watch, go to the Features tab and select Discover Ports If you do not see the option to discover ports, then contact us to enable it. Clicking discover ports does a Tech Test to check if it’s a recognised switch. If not recognised, you then have the opportunity to set ports in the dialog that opens.
Only physical ethernet ports are shown in this dialog. Select ports in the order you'd like them to appear on the switch details page. Port numbering is used on the details page and in alerts for ports marked as critical. There's a minimum of 2 ports and a maximum of 72 ports. Click
From Edit Watch, and wait up to 30 minutes for Highlight to set the port layout on the device and collect initial switch information. After 30 minutes you can Set Critical Port - see next section for details.
Critical ports are defined by an admin user. These ports can change the colour of the switch watch and associated heat tiles. Alerts can be sent for critical ports which have issues. Find out more about how critical ports affect heat tiles and generate alerts.
Approximately 30 minutes after setting the device to enable switch port monitoring:
Select the Features tab and click Set Critical Port
Scroll down to the Switch Summary and check the left side box on any port which should be treated as critical
Scroll to the bottom and click Note that this greys out the button
Alerts can include the port interface name and description.
Enabling Critical Ports - Controller watch
Critical ports are defined by an admin user. These ports can change the colour of the switch watch and associated heat tiles. Alerts can be sent for critical ports which have issues. Find out more about how critical ports affect heat tiles and generate alerts.
Edit the watch and open the Critical Ports tab
Check the left side box on any port which should be treated as critical