manual · chapter: professional kit
Engineer's Toolset, sweep to switch-port sheet
For networks that must be documented, not just understood: ping sweep, MAC discovery and the Switch Port Mapper chained into a record you can hand to the next engineer.
revised 15 september 2026 · windows · licensed, trial available
§ 1Why a paid kit exists
Free tools answer "what is on the network". They are weaker at "which wall socket is this, on which switch, in which VLAN, and who else shares that port". Engineer's Toolset sells the second answer: SNMP discovery that correlates switch bridge tables with ARP data and produces artefacts — port maps, topology exports — that survive staff turnover.
§ 2The documentation pass
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Prepare SNMP first
Every switch you want mapped needs SNMP read access — a community string or an SNMPv3 account. Doing this before opening the tool saves a confusing hour of empty results.
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Ping sweep the subnets
The sweep builds the live-host baseline and populates the ARP side of the correlation. One subnet at a time keeps the later mapping readable.
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Run MAC Address Discovery
This reconciles addresses across routers and gives you vendor information per device — useful when a row resists identification.
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Map the switch ports
Point Switch Port Mapper at each switch. Out comes port, VLAN, MAC and — where DNS cooperates — a hostname per port. Screenshot or export; both beat memory.
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File the artefacts
Store the exports beside your IP plan and repeat after every hardware change. The census habit applies to switches as much as to hosts.
§ 3Reader questions
When does it pay for itself?
When port-level documentation is part of your job or your contracts. On a flat home network the same host list comes free from a sweeper, and the licence buys you nothing you would read.
What does Switch Port Mapper need?
SNMP read access on the target switch. Without a bridge table there is nothing to correlate with ARP, and the tool correctly shows very little.
Is the trial usable for a real project?
Yes — fully functional for a limited period, which is comfortably enough to map one network end to end and export the results before it expires.