BHOLMES@WAYNEST1.BITNET (Brian Holmes) (12/06/89)
I was just curious about how other sites are keeping track of
all your IP, Ethernet, Token Ring etc. addresses. Are you
using a spreadsheet, database, flat file or simply memory?
I'm using Excel right now and I'm thinking of moving it to
Dbase or Focus. What's everyone else doing?
Brian Holmes
UCC Operating Systems & Communications
PHONE: (313) 577-3750 FAX=577-5626 Wayne State University
BITNET: BHOLMES@WAYNEST1 5925 Woodward
INTERNET: Brian_Holmes@UM.CC.UMICH.EDU Detroit, MI 48202 U.S.ABHOLMES@WAYNEST1.BITNET (Brian Holmes) (12/07/89)
I've only received 2 replys and both have only been for
IP addresses and names, which of course is done with
the domain names file. No responses on how people are
handleing ethernet and token ring addresses.
Brian Holmes
UCC Operating Systems & Communications
PHONE: (313) 577-3750 FAX=577-5626 Wayne State University
BITNET: BHOLMES@WAYNEST1 5925 Woodward
INTERNET: Brian_Holmes@UM.CC.UMICH.EDU Detroit, MI 48202 U.S.AMAP@LCS.MIT.EDU (Michael A. Patton) (12/07/89)
Date: Wed, 06 Dec 89 16:58:58 EST From: Brian Holmes <BHOLMES%WAYNEST1.BITNET@cornellc.cit.cornell.edu> I've only received 2 replys and both have only been for IP addresses and names, which of course is done with the domain names file. No responses on how people are handleing ethernet and token ring addresses. Just to get this straight. Ethernet and Token Ring addresses are managed by: (choose one depending on your view) Xerox / IEEE / Manufacturer / Hardware / ARP You don't manage them yourself, in fact you can't (*) assign them, they are fixed. I manage a network of around 500 hosts and don't know or have record (+) of any of the EtherNet addresses. I've never found this to be much of a problem. I have no desire to try and track this, I'd need to be informed and spend time rechecking any time any one of those 500 machines was serviced, and that includes every time a random undergrad (or worse, the technically inclined administrator) turns 2 PCs off and swaps boards to see if he can figure out why his program isn't working. __ /| /| /| \ Michael A. Patton, Network Manager / | / | /_|__/ Laboratory for Computer Science / |/ |/ |atton Massachusetts Institute of Technology Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are a figment of the phosphor on your screen and do not represent the views of MIT, LCS, or MAP. :-) (*) Well, I'll admit there is some hardware that lets you and DEC used to do it, but that is the exception and can cause more problems than you could imagine if you haven't experienced it. (+) Unless of course one of those 2 inch square yellow sticky papers is left from configuring BootP when a gateway is first installed. I do occasionally have to write them down, for reasons like BootP. But I deal with them and promptly toss the paper. It would be easier to determine it from first principles than to look it up, if I ever need it again. BTW, We don't maintain our Name/Address mapping in the DNS file. It's a generated file from a nightly update run, as it says at the top "Editing it is futile".
jpeck@hpspdra.HP.COM (Joe Peck) (12/09/89)
Many of the protocol analyzers (HP4972, Network General Sniffer, Excelan, Spider Systems, etc.) will compile a list of all ethernet source addresses seen and even keep track of which nodes generate the most traffic. The HP LanProbe keeps a database of ethernet addresses and also learns the IP addresses of nodes. The database can also age (remove or show as inactive) nodes that haven't transmitted in a given time interval, e.g. the past 10 days. When used in conjunction with a little extra hardware, called the Node Locator, the LanProbe can also determine a node's cable, position. This can be quite useful for mapping your net, figuring out what nodes are behind bridges/repeaters, and for finding cable fault locations without having to walk the cable. I believe Hughes Lan Systems (formerly Sytek) has something similar, although I don't know if it includes node distance information. The LanProbe/ProbeView system and the HLS product differ from traditional protocol analyzers in that the information is collected from distributed sites and then communicated over the net to a central information manager/database, which in turn presents the information graphically, usually in a windowed application. Send me mail if you'd like some LanProbe product literature. Joe Peck HP Design Engineer (on the LanProbe product) Disclaimer: I currently work on the LanProbe product, and before that I worked on the HP4972 Lan protocol analyzer.
barmar@Think.COM (12/09/89)
In article <8912071252.AA22638@gaak.LCS.MIT.EDU> MAP@LCS.MIT.EDU (Michael A. Patton) writes: >I manage a network of around 500 hosts and don't know >or have record (+) of any of the EtherNet addresses. If you make use of Reverse ARP on your network, then the RARP daemon needs a database of Ethernet addresses. Such a database is also useful for network debugging tools and devices. Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar