Know what’s plugged into every port.

draw.io (diagrams.net) network diagram

Save as a .drawio file. The switches, routers and other devices use Cisco-style icons, access points are placed in a ring around the switch they connect to, and every link is a line you can move or relabel. From draw.io you can export the diagram to PNG, SVG, PDF or Visio.

Graphviz network diagram

Save as a .dot or .gv file and render it with Graphviz into an image, or feed it into your own scripts and documentation. Because it is plain text, you can keep it in version control and see how the topology changes.

Neighbors you did not scan are still shown

Devices that SwitchMiner saw as neighbors but did not scan are drawn with dashed outlines, so you can see what is missing from your list. To keep a large diagram readable, hide access points, phones or other device types.

From the Windows GUI or the console

In the Windows GUI, choose .drawio or .dot in Save As, or set it in Options. On the console, use --topology FILE, which works the same on Windows and Linux.

Compare two scans

SwitchMiner lists the devices that are new or missing, the endpoints (MAC addresses) that appeared, disappeared or moved, and the port values that changed, such as VLAN, speed, duplex or status. Error counters and last-change times are left out, because they change on a healthy network all the time.

Keep a scan history

Save each scan as a dated JSON file in a history folder, then compare with the newest one on the next run. In the Windows GUI, turn on Scan history in Options and use File > Compare with Earlier Scan. On the console, use --history DIR and --compare-last.

Run it every day

The console exits with code 4 when differences are found, so Task Scheduler or cron can alert you when a device moves or a port changes. The differences are printed as a report and added to the Excel file as a Changes sheet.

Rescan one switch

Rescan a single switch and compare it with a scan of the whole network. SwitchMiner compares only the switches you scanned and does not report the others as missing.

How do I find which switch port a device is plugged into?

Scan the switch with SwitchMiner. It reads the MAC addresses learned on every port over SNMP and matches them to IP addresses and computer names, so you can see what is on each port. To look up a single device, use the --search option with its MAC address.

How do I map all the ports on a Cisco switch?

Enter the switch address and your SNMP community or v3 credentials, then scan. SwitchMiner lists each port with its status, speed, duplex, VLAN and the devices behind it, and saves the result as an Excel or CSV file.

How do I create a network diagram from my switches?

Scan your switches with CDP and LLDP discovery turned on, then save the results as a .drawio file (opens in draw.io or diagrams.net) or a .dot file (for Graphviz). In the console, use --topology FILE. The diagram shows each switch, the links between them and the access points around them, and you can edit it afterwards.

How do I find unused ports on a switch?

Turn on the Unused Ports sheet in Options, or use --reports with --unused-days on the console. It lists ports that are down and have not changed for the number of days you choose, 90 by default.

How do I find a duplex or speed mismatch between switches?

The Link Mismatch sheet compares the two ends of every CDP or LLDP link and lists those where speed, duplex, trunk mode or allowed VLANs differ. The Port Hygiene sheet also lists ports running half duplex.

How can I tell what changed on my network between two scans?

Save each scan, then compare a new scan with an earlier one. SwitchMiner lists new and missing devices, endpoints that moved to another port or switch, and changed port values. In the GUI, use File > Compare with Earlier Scan. On the console, use --compare FILE, or --history DIR with --compare-last to run it every day.

Can it scan many switches at once?

Yes. Load a text file with a list of switches and choose how many threads to use. With CDP discovery turned on, SwitchMiner also finds neighboring switches and scans them.

Does it work with Arista or other switch brands?

Yes for Arista: ports, speed, VLANs, MAC addresses, LLDP neighbors and counters. Other vendors that follow the standard SNMP bridge MIBs are scanned with the standard data only, and that has not been tested on real hardware yet. SwitchMiner detects the vendor automatically.

Which SNMP versions does it support?

SNMP v1, v2c and v3, including MD5, SHA and SHA-2 (SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512) authentication and DES and AES (128, 192 and 256-bit) privacy. If you use v3, the switch needs a group with a “vlan-” context match prefix, or very few MAC addresses will come back.

SNMP v1 and v2c send the community string in clear text, so anyone who can capture traffic on the network can read it. Use v3 with authentication and privacy whenever your switches support it, and use a read-only community if you must use v1 or v2c.

What file formats can it export?

Excel (.xlsx), as one workbook with a sheet for each switch plus an Inventory sheet and the audit sheets you choose, and CSV. In Excel the header row is frozen, filters are on, and problem ports such as err-disabled or spanning tree blocked ones are colored. The Windows GUI can also save results as text, and the topology can be saved as a draw.io or Graphviz diagram. The console can also write a scan as JSON for scripts and for comparing scans.

Does SwitchMiner run on Linux?

Yes. Version 5 includes a single portable command-line program for Linux that needs no installation. It requires x86_64 and glibc 2.28 or newer.

Is it free?

Yes. SwitchMiner is open source under the GNU General Public License version 3, and the source code is available to download.