Link Report

With the Link Report page, you can:

• Generate link reports.
• Refresh link report information.

Note: You must enable SNMP and set the community string set to "public" to generate reports.

Generating Link Reports

When generating link reports, it is important to understand which device is reporting information to the application. If the link is between two switches in the stack, both ends of the link provide information for the report. In this case, the secondary switch is the controlling switch. If the link is between a stack device and an edge device, only the stack device provides information for the report and is the controlling switch. The controlling switch processes the information and reports it to the user interface.

The link report provides port group (and redundant link), VLAN, and network port information. To generate a link report, click Link Report.

The link report displays the following information:

• The IP address and host name of the device at each end of the link.
  The IP address and of the controlling device is displayed in the browser title bar.
• The speed of the link from the perspective of the controlling switch.
  For port groups, the aggregate speed is displayed.
• The duplex setting for each end of the link.
• The port name for each end of the link.
  The list box for each end of the link displays connection information that differentiates a single connection, port group connections, and redundant link connections. In each of these situations, when you select (highlight) a port name in one list box, the port to which it is connected is highlighted in the other list box.
  If the connected port is part of a port group, other port numbers for the group are listed in a shortened form under the Other Ports in Group heading. For example, FastEthernet0/15 is shortened to 0/15.
  If redundant links are present, the STP State message area shows one link in the forwarding state and one link in a blocking state.
• The VLAN IDs.
  A VLAN ID of "Unknown" means that the connected device was not able to supply the information.
• Whether a port has been configured as a network port (unknown unicast packets received on other ports of the VLAN are forwarded only to the network port).
• The linkbeat status.
  The linkbeat determines whether the physical link between two ports is properly connected. A green light means a linkbeat is present. A gray light means no linkbeat is present, a recent problem with the link has occurred, and the presence of that link has been detected through cached CDP information.

Refreshing Link Report Information

To refresh link report information, click Link Report.

Note: You can also refresh the link report information from the network view. Click the right mouse button on a link and select Link Report from the pop-up menu.