WhatsConnected is a layer 2 and layer 3 network discovery and network mapping plug-in for WhatsUp Gold that equips you with a comprehensive tool set to accurately depict and visualize device connectivity down to the individual port. Leveraging powerful discovery tools, WhatsConnected locates all devices on the network including critical device connectivity and interdependencies. Its unique in-depth technology goes far beyond typical IP discovery and mapping solutions by providing detailed hardware inventory and configuration information.

Network Visualization - WhatsConnected

As networks become simpler to create, they have at the same time become significantly more complex to manage and monitor especially without the tools to document and understand the port-to-port connectivity between devices. Why is this important? If you can’t understand how devices in your network are connected, their interdependencies, and their locations; how simple can it be to locate problems and resolve them before the impact of a failure is realized? Establishing that device connectivity is not the source of problems is one of the first priorities when troubleshooting network issues.

WhatsConnected provides the key functions you need in order to discover, map, search and document your physical networks.

Devices List View - WhatsConnected

Discover:
WhatsConnected moves far beyond typical IP discovery tools by assembling information from every device in the network to provide detailed physical connectivity, device type, asset/inventory and configuration information and presenting it in an easy to understand format. In addition to using the standard layer 3 discovery mechanisms, WhatsConnected uses a number of additional technologies, including ARP, LLDP and manufacturer proprietary mechanisms to discover information about devices and their connectivity.

Map:
Gaining insight into and understanding of how your network is put together has never been easier. WhatsConnected simplifies this tedious task with auto-generated network maps, providing full visibility into both physical and IP connectivity – including VLAN-specific information. Network maps are fully customizable and allow for any number of different views to be specified. Layer 2 maps generated by WhatsConnected can be directly imported into WhatsUp Gold with a single click.

Layer 2 Trace - WhatsConnected

Search:
Quickly search and find out how devices are connected to the network. With detailed device views, you can quickly zero in to find out what’s connected to what. Additionally with built-in tools such as Layer2 Trace and IP/MAC Finder, WhatsConnected offers a much quicker approach to finding the location and validating connectivity of devices on the network than any other solution.

Document:
With highly detailed network maps now available through WhatsConnected, you also have the option to publish any of these maps as a network diagram in Microsoft® VisioTM with a couple of mouse clicks. Any number of automatically generated maps or custom map views can be exported to provide you with the ability to understand how device additions and design changes have impacted your network over time. Inventory information on devices gathered during the discovery process can be exported in either CSV or Excel formats to external applications.

Understand What’s Connected
Not only do you now know what’s connected to what, but also what type of devices they are. WhatsConnected’s inventory capability provides platform identification and classification for devices from all the most widely deployed network equipment manufacturers including:

Cisco/Linksys
Foundry
HP Procurve
Nortel/Bay Networks
3COM
Extreme
Netgear

Dell PowerConnect
DLink
SMC
Alcatel
Allied Telesyn
And others

The Power of Layer 2 Topology Integrated with WhatsUp Gold Monitoring
WhatsConnected combines the power of layer 2/3 discovery and intuitive network topology maps with WhatsUp Gold’s powerful management and monitoring capabilities. As a fully integrated plug-in for all editions of WhatsUp Gold v12.3 (Premium, Distributed, Standard and MSP Editions), WhatsConnected provides a simple approach for you to understand your network infrastructure, which will enable you to develop more effective network monitoring strategies.

A simple right-click on any network topology map will export device information from WhatsConnected to WhatsUp Gold and automate the creation of consolidated MapViews along with performance and active monitors for the connected interfaces.

After the network maps are imported to WhatsUp Gold, WhatsConnected automatically integrates data with WhatsUp Gold data to ensure that no duplicate devices exist. All layer 2 and layer 3 connectivity between devices is automatically validated and integrated into existing WhatsUp Gold map views and you can choose to create performance or active monitors automatically to immediately start monitoring devices or layer 2 connectivity. No manual intervention is required to establish physical connectivity or configuration of active or performance monitors for link or device monitoring.

WhatsConnected Key Benefits

WhatsConnected gives you power over your network infrastructure allowing you to:

Save Time:
Spend time effectively managing your network instead of wasting it on manual documentation of your network topology and networked devices.

Stay in Control:
Know exactly what devices are on your network, what they are and where they are. Understand device interdependencies and how they are affected by changes and failures.

Track Changes:
With up to date status information, you can know when changes have occurred on your network and track them. Understand and document the evolution of your network.

Keep the Network Available:
Rapidly pinpoint issues to minimize downtime and gain insight into how your network topology and infrastructure can be configured to minimize potential conflicts and optimize performance.

Be the Expert:
With an accurate network topology, including information on attached devices and their exact configuration, inventory and connectivity, you become the ultimate resource for network knowledge and status.