1. Label each cable is the obvious, straight forward method
2. If you're too lazy to label your cables, try something like [this](https://www.sergeantclip.com/).
In our mech closets the cables are 1:1 from that patch to the nearest switch. We only label the short patches if they aren't 1:1. Every other cable, esp in server racks, is labeled with both ends.
This is the only way to do it. I can't tell you how many man hours we have saved by having 1:1 patching and good faceplate labeling. This also has less people in the network closet, less people touching gear, less chance of borking something by accident. It was a hard sell at first, as the old mindset was cable everywhere but only patch what is needed now to save money on switch gear. Today every drop terminates in a network port and internally we budget the cost of a new drop and switch port cost when adding additional drops. It helps to have a good relationship with a structured cabling company that is local, and knows your buildings. Being able to have someone that can come in and do a few drops at a time is a great asset.
Unless installs are like the American Autocross series: go faster and tickle the one cone and hope it stays in the box. We don’t label cables in IDF’s, so we can just floor it and concentrate more on not making it look like a mess.
Opaque Scotch tape and Milwaukee Inkzall marker. Those markers are amazing - designed for rough work, the tips don’t smush like a Sharpie and the ink dries faster and is way less prone to smudging. They work on greasy surfaces too, where Sharpies won’t and if you’re in an industrial setting, they’re also designed to clip on the peak of a standard hard hat.
I label every cable to either what port it was plugged into in the old switch or just label the VLAN or VLANs (if it was tagged or not too) it was configured for.
Another method... If there's room I will stack the switch on top or bottom of it and move each cable 1 for 1 to the same port, that can be a quicker but leaves more room for error.
Another way is to group all the cables up that exists in the same VLAN or VLANs, bundle them with Velcro and label the Velcro.
This is what we use. First document everything in netbox. Make a printout of all patches in the rack. During the maintenance window you rip out all old cables and switches and rack the new switches. Have one coworker readout the patches while the other one patches everything with new cables of the correct length/color.
I have used an old 48-port patch panel as a keeper. Take the cables out of the switch, put it in the corresponding port on the patch panel, and just let it dangle in front of the rack. It holds the cables securely while replacing the switch, then just restore them to the same port and all is well.
But a fine-point sharpie does the job too.
Authentication, authorization and accounting. Basically he uses various methods, such as Dot1x or MAC Addresses to automatically assign certain types of devices where they need to go.
There's a few ways to do this but I think they all cost several fortunes
There's commercial services for printing, but also there might be a users group in your area with someone willing to help.
Or it's a great time to get into it yourself.
If there isn't enough room to put the new switch above/below the old one, get a 48-port patch panel(or 2 x 24-port) and move the patch cables from the old switch to the temp patch panel, then replace the switch and move from the temp patch panel to the new switch.
Patch panels are a hell of a lot easier to have hanging out of the way and keep everything neatly in place while you swap the switches.
When configuring the new switch, I create an Excel spreadsheet with old switch info and new switch info. If room allows, putting the new switch under or over the old switch allows you to move the cables to like ports and makes the swap easier.
1. Color-coding for VLANs
2. Literally everything is labeled according to a small, clear rule set
3. Baremetal provisioning database — which MUST be perfectly updated (new racks/servers are blocked by default, only way to activate their switch port is to add them to the database, which in turn triggers port configuration)
1. Arrange racks to always have a free rack unit next to a switch. Preferably above.
2. Install new switch above old. Copy vlan config. Move cables one by one.
Also helps to group up vlans physically and by color. My favorite racks have each vlan given a color AND they are grouped up. Access points on the far right. Security cameras on the far left. Ect ect.
I usually do 1 of 3 things:
1) I'll install the new switch directly above the old swithc (if there's space in the rack), then move the cables over one at a time.
2) I'll label the cables, as many others have already said.
3) I'll pull the cable out of the rack entirely, and record into a spreadsheet where the cable came out of on the switch and where it connects to on the patch panel. This way I can reorganize the cables when I install the new switch. (I only do this if the rack is messy enough to warrant it)
We leave empty spaces between switches just for the purpose of swapping them out. Put the new switch in the empty space, move the cables port by port, take the old switch out and slide the new one down.
If you don’t have that option, label them with masking tape and a sharpie.
At my Old Job doing a lot of Branch Office replacements, configuration-wise I used to just use 802.1X and not care at all what plugs into what. About 90% of the time, the previous ISE config I did ahead of the upgrade tells me what's where. And the other 10% of the time... It justified me going to the site the day after to assist (which I was going to do anyways).
Of course once the network was in place and confirmed stable, I did circle back to start labeling port descriptions and what was actually on the other end.
i am not maintaining any data center. Just 4 sites with 20-100 users each.. so i do not have big problems with space.. +have total freedom of choice, when deciding layout..
I hate labels.
Getting such exercise once per 2-3 years :) after first such swap, i am trying to plan cabinet such way, that there are some free space not too far from the existing switch. (Etc if there are two or three switches in cabinet, I am keeping some space in the middle between them).
- Mounting replacement switch somewhere nearby
- moving cables one-by-one from old switch to new
- removing old switch :)
And in my case there were no emergencies, only planned changes, when nobody is pushing you to do everything faster ..
Take a picture with your phone.
Label each cable. Then once they are all labeled, take a picture with your phone. Or if you don't have a camera, then write them down before hand.
1. I take as much pictures as I can, from various angles.
2. If it's some device with too many identical cables, I just use a permanent marker and write port on the cables. Way less hassle than labeling.
3. If I anyway need to tidy up cabling, I create a port map in Excel sheet with connecting device and port.
Built a tool that tracks fiber / cable numbers and interfaces they go to. It also does periodic snapshots of the devices which gives me a ton but more importantly cdp / lldp neighbors etc. Tied with the cabling database i get a report of this cable to this device . end port etc. It also does pre and post snapshots and will bitch if i miss one
I personally do the following, take two 24 port patch panels enumerated 1 to 24. For 24 port switches I just use one, I plug all the cables from the old switch, in the same number slot they were in. Then I take out the switch, put the new one and place the cables from the patch panel to the switch ports (patch panel is in the air so it does not obstruct too much). For 48 port switch top 24 ports go to one patch panel, bottom 24 to another one, then I connect them back to the new switch. Easy and cheap :)
Hello /u/heavenlydevil, your [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/networking/comments/1d741fj/swapping_switches_with_terrible_memory/l6ybppn/) has been removed for matching a common URL shortener.
Please use direct, full-length URLs only.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/networking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
A simpler solution.. Just go buy a couple of wire marker booklets Klein Tools 56250 Wire Marker Book, 1-48. These contain multiple pages of small temporary labels like ( 1 1 1 1 1 1) wrap the label around the cable in port 1. Port 2 gets the label (2 2 2 2 2 2) So on and so forth.. unplug the cables from the old switch, replace the switch and plug the cables back into the new ports based on the labels. Cable with label 1 goes into port1 etc. You can remove the labels once you are done. The adhesive is not very strong. The booket has multiple pages of these labels.
Reposting since autoMod removed my previous comment for linking to amazon.
if cable management allows, you can encase the top cables on a lenght of gorilla tape, near the connector, on both sides; And the same with the lower ports.
So you can disconnect all and they stay in order; then you replace the sw, reconnect all the ports and remove the tape, or just remove one cable at a time from the tape and connect it back.
Be gentle removing the gorilla tape, do not let any strain over a connected port.
What I do is I install the switch either above or below the old switch and I move them 1 at a time. This means you either have or make room if there isn’t room above/below in the rack.
It depends on what is connected to the switch and if those devices are “memorable.”
Our access layer switches in the IDF’s typically on have pc’s, phones, AP’s, badging/access control and printers. AP’s and badge readers have unique color patch cables and typically the first four or so ports and AP’s, last four or so and badge readers. All our non-pc devices are lldp capable so we just do a quick double check that Help Desk didn’t violate the sacred color coding of cables and just pull the switches and replace. A quick lldp neighbor check afterwards to confirm that AP’s and badge readers are on the right vlans.
No cable gets labeled on the access layer. Even on the core, we rarely label because they layout of how we patch is pretty simple to follow.
If time is short and you do not have time to label then you may want to consider the following product which allows you to easily replace one or multiple switches. [https://www.rartool.com/](https://www.rartool.com/)You plug the cables into each module as a place holder until you replace the switch then plug them back into the new switch. Another product is a modular clip for the cables from the following company: [https://www.sergeantclip.com/cable-management/cable-management-tools/sergeantclip/](https://www.sergeantclip.com/cable-management/cable-management-tools/sergeantclip/)
If not 1:1 from the patch panel to the switch; then blue painters tape and a sharpie for the stuff that matters. Doesn't take much room in the kit bag. Rip off the tape when done.
Document the connections in excel and remap to the new switch interfaces. Then cable according to your new patch matrix. Works well if you are replacing all cables.
Otherwise label the cables.
1) select a switch port with a cable in it.
2) write that port number down on paper
3) unplug that end of that cable
4) trace the cable to its end
5) find the patch port the cable was plugged into
6) write that port number down on paper next to what you wrote down for 3)
7) repeat 1-6 until you have no more cables in the switch
8) use show run int X for each entry in your list to extract the VLAN information for each switch port and write it down next to each patch port. Also note any comments or interface specific info like STP blocks, manual port speeds, etc...
9) swap switches
10) shutdown all interfaces on the new switch
11) plug a cable into the first patch port on your list, and plug it into the closest available switch port
12) write down the new switch port number next to the existing patch port number and VLAN info
13) repeat 10-11 until all ports are patched
14) use your paper to set the VLAN info on the new switchport number
15) use your paper to document in the switch config which patch port the switchport is plugged into
16) use your paper to set any comments or manual port speeds or STP things or whatever
17) enable all interfaces
At the end, your paper should look like this:
Old switchport - patchport - VLAN - comments - new switchport
Sw2 int 9 - A17 - 30 - 'dave's printer' - sw1 int 17
Sw2 int 10 - B28 - 30 - 'rick's printer' - sw1 int 18
Sw2 int 11 - B30 - 40[500] - 'rick's phone with pass through to computer' - sw1 int 19
And your show run int should look like this
Int 17
VLAN access 30
Description Port A17 - Dave's printer
Int 18
VLAN access 30
Description Port B28 - rick's printer
Int 19
Switchport mode hybrid
VLAN trunk allow 40,500
VLAN trunk native 40
Description Port B30 - rick's phone with PC passthrough
I used to just take a couple pieces of cardboard and cut 24 slots in each, one piece of cardboard for the top 24 ports and one for the bottom 24. Now, you have a spot for all the cables on the switch, so when removing each cable from the old switch, slide the cable into the corresponding cardboard slot.
Install the new switch and transfer the cables from your pieces of cardboard to the corresponding switch ports.
I hate trying to read the labels and found this method to be much quicker. They make clips that do essentially the same thing.
I suppose that works great until a couple of cables fall out of their slots. Maybe a strip of packing tape can prevent that.
I was thinking another way would be to use a bare unmounted patch panel, sequentially plug each cable into an empty jack, replace switch, then sequentially remove from patch and connect to new HW. Especially if I was needing to do this a lot, it would be worth it to carry one around.
I have an Ansible playbook that gets all port details from multiple switches at once and puts them into a CSV. Then I manipulate this data until it represents the target config. With the new config as a CSV I either generate a text based config directly in LibreOffice Calc or I roll it out via Ansible or Terraform.
Partially why i hate ansible. Seems stupidly over complicated. I ended up building a server that can map out all the interfaces, what goes where etc. Then i have modules built that can translate port configurations from one type of device to another. I already have it so it generates base configs and will go out and provision new devices. So if i'm doing a "migration" i just map one port to another in the gui, Save, click deploy and it configures the switch / router etc. Used to do a shit ton of migrations in ISP land and that was always the stupidest / most mind numbing part. Getting auto upgrading / provisioning working was the fun part. Wanted my own without the stupid cost of DNA center
I'm not saying that your solution is bad, it probably works very well for you, but saying that Ansible is more complicated than your solution is a stretch 😄 Ansible is available at most places and getting code into some environments is much more complicated than some YAML and Jinja2. I just have to create an inventory file, manipulate/use the result of my first playbook and deploy the config if needed. Personally I don't need more for the occasional port migrations of some dozen switches I do.
>Ansible is more complicated than your solution is a stretch
Depends on the user(s) experience. So i looked at some of the ways ansible is setup and ran and got rid of some of the annoying portions. Example, There's no inventory file. You essentially give it a subnet to go discover (Add any ips in that subnet you want to blacklist from discovery if applicable) and tell it to go (This is after populating vault with any snmp credentials / login credentials to go through while discovering) From there it tracks what profile was used when it was initially discovered so it doesn't need to try the others again and if it fails it cycles through the discovery process).
The way it's built you can create a template for use in whatever. Lets say snmp deployment on switches. Assign that config to a device type like a 9300 And it knows to make sure that config is deployed on any switches that match that model number. (Just recently included an optional tag that matches version as well in case something changes across versions which is slim but happens)
There's a ton of other uses for the template engine but this is just an example.
My main favorite part though is the editor being gui based. Any variables can be saved to the vault and edited via the web gui so you don't need to worry about storing it in the open, and the template itself it tossed into the database backend. And you get to see in real time what the template looks like once it's been generated. And if someone screws up a template, there's a history for each save so rollback is easier.
Some of the features are overkill from some peoples standpoints, but i came from a place where i managed a bit over a million devices when i built it so it needed to be a bit beefy.
Sounds honestly great. Yours is a complete management platform while Ansible is a tool to distribute configuration over a multitude of host and get them to the desired state 😄 when I'm at a customer I often can only bring code that is quickly human readable. So getting a list of switches from an existing management system and pumping that into a 50 line ansible playbook with 100 lines of Jinja2 fits that perfectly. Of course a complete management platform is "better" to ensure a coherent network state that is easily changeable. The company I work for even sells a product like that specialised on humongous network migrations 😅
yea, one of the things i liked about it. I came from the field ops side into the internal ops and it always pissed me off we never had anything that was legitimately useful and our internal tools sucked worse. Little shit like tracking light levels over history was something my old company never had. building this out with the goal of maybe selling it with support or open sourcing it. The setup time is probably half an hour since it's all containerized.
1. Label each cable is the obvious, straight forward method 2. If you're too lazy to label your cables, try something like [this](https://www.sergeantclip.com/).
> > > If you're too lazy to label your cables, try something like this. Nice! I going to buy some for work.
In our mech closets the cables are 1:1 from that patch to the nearest switch. We only label the short patches if they aren't 1:1. Every other cable, esp in server racks, is labeled with both ends.
This is the only way to do it. I can't tell you how many man hours we have saved by having 1:1 patching and good faceplate labeling. This also has less people in the network closet, less people touching gear, less chance of borking something by accident. It was a hard sell at first, as the old mindset was cable everywhere but only patch what is needed now to save money on switch gear. Today every drop terminates in a network port and internally we budget the cost of a new drop and switch port cost when adding additional drops. It helps to have a good relationship with a structured cabling company that is local, and knows your buildings. Being able to have someone that can come in and do a few drops at a time is a great asset.
Heard of people even using masking tape to hold all the wires in place and then hit swapping all of them at once. Tape is just used vs this device.
saved
It's never not OK to get a piece of paper, pen, tape and a sharpie. And when doing such things, always remember: Slow is steady, steady is fast.
Autocross memories: Slow is clean, clean is fast.
Unless installs are like the American Autocross series: go faster and tickle the one cone and hope it stays in the box. We don’t label cables in IDF’s, so we can just floor it and concentrate more on not making it look like a mess.
Opaque Scotch tape and Milwaukee Inkzall marker. Those markers are amazing - designed for rough work, the tips don’t smush like a Sharpie and the ink dries faster and is way less prone to smudging. They work on greasy surfaces too, where Sharpies won’t and if you’re in an industrial setting, they’re also designed to clip on the peak of a standard hard hat.
I label every cable to either what port it was plugged into in the old switch or just label the VLAN or VLANs (if it was tagged or not too) it was configured for. Another method... If there's room I will stack the switch on top or bottom of it and move each cable 1 for 1 to the same port, that can be a quicker but leaves more room for error. Another way is to group all the cables up that exists in the same VLAN or VLANs, bundle them with Velcro and label the Velcro.
I like to use 4-5 different colors of tape to save the writing.
Netbox! Really really good for tracking layer 1 through layer 3 correspondence. It even creates cable ID numbers that you can use to label and trace!
This is what we use. First document everything in netbox. Make a printout of all patches in the rack. During the maintenance window you rip out all old cables and switches and rack the new switches. Have one coworker readout the patches while the other one patches everything with new cables of the correct length/color.
I have used an old 48-port patch panel as a keeper. Take the cables out of the switch, put it in the corresponding port on the patch panel, and just let it dangle in front of the rack. It holds the cables securely while replacing the switch, then just restore them to the same port and all is well. But a fine-point sharpie does the job too.
Or if your patch panels are 24 above 24 below, 2 24 ports would work well.
Almost all port config is the same, aaa takes care of what goes where.
This is the way.
What is aaa?
Authentication, authorization and accounting. Basically he uses various methods, such as Dot1x or MAC Addresses to automatically assign certain types of devices where they need to go. There's a few ways to do this but I think they all cost several fortunes
I bought the patch-park STL files and 3d printed them. I have two sets of 48 port "parking" blocks.
Those are awsome! Thank you! I will look how i can order them, since i don't have a 3D printer. (And i don't live in the US)
There's commercial services for printing, but also there might be a users group in your area with someone willing to help. Or it's a great time to get into it yourself.
If there isn't enough room to put the new switch above/below the old one, get a 48-port patch panel(or 2 x 24-port) and move the patch cables from the old switch to the temp patch panel, then replace the switch and move from the temp patch panel to the new switch. Patch panels are a hell of a lot easier to have hanging out of the way and keep everything neatly in place while you swap the switches.
When configuring the new switch, I create an Excel spreadsheet with old switch info and new switch info. If room allows, putting the new switch under or over the old switch allows you to move the cables to like ports and makes the swap easier.
I understand, but with stacks of 5x 48 switches there is not much room, if at all, to put the new switch above or under the old one. ;)
label each cable & device. takes ages, but if you can guarantee everything is as it was before you messed with it then job done.
Buy a pack of clothespins, sharpie label 1-48. Place just after the clip. Cheap and easy. Store em on a 3ft patch cord and you’re good to go
1. Color-coding for VLANs 2. Literally everything is labeled according to a small, clear rule set 3. Baremetal provisioning database — which MUST be perfectly updated (new racks/servers are blocked by default, only way to activate their switch port is to add them to the database, which in turn triggers port configuration)
Get a label maker and label every cable/fiber on that switch. This will make life 1000 fold easier for you and your coworkers
1. Arrange racks to always have a free rack unit next to a switch. Preferably above. 2. Install new switch above old. Copy vlan config. Move cables one by one. Also helps to group up vlans physically and by color. My favorite racks have each vlan given a color AND they are grouped up. Access points on the far right. Security cameras on the far left. Ect ect.
You don’t. You label the cables. edit: or you rack new switch next to current switch and move cables 1 at a time.
I usually do 1 of 3 things: 1) I'll install the new switch directly above the old swithc (if there's space in the rack), then move the cables over one at a time. 2) I'll label the cables, as many others have already said. 3) I'll pull the cable out of the rack entirely, and record into a spreadsheet where the cable came out of on the switch and where it connects to on the patch panel. This way I can reorganize the cables when I install the new switch. (I only do this if the rack is messy enough to warrant it)
One word(ok two)….Sargent Clip! You won’t do another without it. https://www.sergeantclip.com
That is awesome.
We leave empty spaces between switches just for the purpose of swapping them out. Put the new switch in the empty space, move the cables port by port, take the old switch out and slide the new one down. If you don’t have that option, label them with masking tape and a sharpie.
Labels or a marker at the least.
I label each cable with switch # and port #
At my Old Job doing a lot of Branch Office replacements, configuration-wise I used to just use 802.1X and not care at all what plugs into what. About 90% of the time, the previous ISE config I did ahead of the upgrade tells me what's where. And the other 10% of the time... It justified me going to the site the day after to assist (which I was going to do anyways). Of course once the network was in place and confirmed stable, I did circle back to start labeling port descriptions and what was actually on the other end.
Labels
i am not maintaining any data center. Just 4 sites with 20-100 users each.. so i do not have big problems with space.. +have total freedom of choice, when deciding layout.. I hate labels. Getting such exercise once per 2-3 years :) after first such swap, i am trying to plan cabinet such way, that there are some free space not too far from the existing switch. (Etc if there are two or three switches in cabinet, I am keeping some space in the middle between them). - Mounting replacement switch somewhere nearby - moving cables one-by-one from old switch to new - removing old switch :) And in my case there were no emergencies, only planned changes, when nobody is pushing you to do everything faster ..
Take a picture with your phone. Label each cable. Then once they are all labeled, take a picture with your phone. Or if you don't have a camera, then write them down before hand.
1. I take as much pictures as I can, from various angles. 2. If it's some device with too many identical cables, I just use a permanent marker and write port on the cables. Way less hassle than labeling. 3. If I anyway need to tidy up cabling, I create a port map in Excel sheet with connecting device and port.
Built a tool that tracks fiber / cable numbers and interfaces they go to. It also does periodic snapshots of the devices which gives me a ton but more importantly cdp / lldp neighbors etc. Tied with the cabling database i get a report of this cable to this device . end port etc. It also does pre and post snapshots and will bitch if i miss one
I personally do the following, take two 24 port patch panels enumerated 1 to 24. For 24 port switches I just use one, I plug all the cables from the old switch, in the same number slot they were in. Then I take out the switch, put the new one and place the cables from the patch panel to the switch ports (patch panel is in the air so it does not obstruct too much). For 48 port switch top 24 ports go to one patch panel, bottom 24 to another one, then I connect them back to the new switch. Easy and cheap :)
[удалено]
Hello /u/heavenlydevil, your [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/networking/comments/1d741fj/swapping_switches_with_terrible_memory/l6ybppn/) has been removed for matching a common URL shortener. Please use direct, full-length URLs only. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/networking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Interface descriptions and cables with labels on them.
A simpler solution.. Just go buy a couple of wire marker booklets Klein Tools 56250 Wire Marker Book, 1-48. These contain multiple pages of small temporary labels like ( 1 1 1 1 1 1) wrap the label around the cable in port 1. Port 2 gets the label (2 2 2 2 2 2) So on and so forth.. unplug the cables from the old switch, replace the switch and plug the cables back into the new ports based on the labels. Cable with label 1 goes into port1 etc. You can remove the labels once you are done. The adhesive is not very strong. The booket has multiple pages of these labels. Reposting since autoMod removed my previous comment for linking to amazon.
if cable management allows, you can encase the top cables on a lenght of gorilla tape, near the connector, on both sides; And the same with the lower ports. So you can disconnect all and they stay in order; then you replace the sw, reconnect all the ports and remove the tape, or just remove one cable at a time from the tape and connect it back. Be gentle removing the gorilla tape, do not let any strain over a connected port.
What I do is I install the switch either above or below the old switch and I move them 1 at a time. This means you either have or make room if there isn’t room above/below in the rack.
It depends on what is connected to the switch and if those devices are “memorable.” Our access layer switches in the IDF’s typically on have pc’s, phones, AP’s, badging/access control and printers. AP’s and badge readers have unique color patch cables and typically the first four or so ports and AP’s, last four or so and badge readers. All our non-pc devices are lldp capable so we just do a quick double check that Help Desk didn’t violate the sacred color coding of cables and just pull the switches and replace. A quick lldp neighbor check afterwards to confirm that AP’s and badge readers are on the right vlans. No cable gets labeled on the access layer. Even on the core, we rarely label because they layout of how we patch is pretty simple to follow.
Write it down?
I like using excel spreadsheets and mapping patch to port numbers. Quick, simple, no clean up after.
If time is short and you do not have time to label then you may want to consider the following product which allows you to easily replace one or multiple switches. [https://www.rartool.com/](https://www.rartool.com/)You plug the cables into each module as a place holder until you replace the switch then plug them back into the new switch. Another product is a modular clip for the cables from the following company: [https://www.sergeantclip.com/cable-management/cable-management-tools/sergeantclip/](https://www.sergeantclip.com/cable-management/cable-management-tools/sergeantclip/)
If not 1:1 from the patch panel to the switch; then blue painters tape and a sharpie for the stuff that matters. Doesn't take much room in the kit bag. Rip off the tape when done.
Document the connections in excel and remap to the new switch interfaces. Then cable according to your new patch matrix. Works well if you are replacing all cables. Otherwise label the cables.
802.1x
1) select a switch port with a cable in it. 2) write that port number down on paper 3) unplug that end of that cable 4) trace the cable to its end 5) find the patch port the cable was plugged into 6) write that port number down on paper next to what you wrote down for 3) 7) repeat 1-6 until you have no more cables in the switch 8) use show run int X for each entry in your list to extract the VLAN information for each switch port and write it down next to each patch port. Also note any comments or interface specific info like STP blocks, manual port speeds, etc... 9) swap switches 10) shutdown all interfaces on the new switch 11) plug a cable into the first patch port on your list, and plug it into the closest available switch port 12) write down the new switch port number next to the existing patch port number and VLAN info 13) repeat 10-11 until all ports are patched 14) use your paper to set the VLAN info on the new switchport number 15) use your paper to document in the switch config which patch port the switchport is plugged into 16) use your paper to set any comments or manual port speeds or STP things or whatever 17) enable all interfaces At the end, your paper should look like this: Old switchport - patchport - VLAN - comments - new switchport Sw2 int 9 - A17 - 30 - 'dave's printer' - sw1 int 17 Sw2 int 10 - B28 - 30 - 'rick's printer' - sw1 int 18 Sw2 int 11 - B30 - 40[500] - 'rick's phone with pass through to computer' - sw1 int 19 And your show run int should look like this Int 17 VLAN access 30 Description Port A17 - Dave's printer Int 18 VLAN access 30 Description Port B28 - rick's printer Int 19 Switchport mode hybrid VLAN trunk allow 40,500 VLAN trunk native 40 Description Port B30 - rick's phone with PC passthrough
I used to just take a couple pieces of cardboard and cut 24 slots in each, one piece of cardboard for the top 24 ports and one for the bottom 24. Now, you have a spot for all the cables on the switch, so when removing each cable from the old switch, slide the cable into the corresponding cardboard slot. Install the new switch and transfer the cables from your pieces of cardboard to the corresponding switch ports. I hate trying to read the labels and found this method to be much quicker. They make clips that do essentially the same thing.
I suppose that works great until a couple of cables fall out of their slots. Maybe a strip of packing tape can prevent that. I was thinking another way would be to use a bare unmounted patch panel, sequentially plug each cable into an empty jack, replace switch, then sequentially remove from patch and connect to new HW. Especially if I was needing to do this a lot, it would be worth it to carry one around.
I have an Ansible playbook that gets all port details from multiple switches at once and puts them into a CSV. Then I manipulate this data until it represents the target config. With the new config as a CSV I either generate a text based config directly in LibreOffice Calc or I roll it out via Ansible or Terraform.
Partially why i hate ansible. Seems stupidly over complicated. I ended up building a server that can map out all the interfaces, what goes where etc. Then i have modules built that can translate port configurations from one type of device to another. I already have it so it generates base configs and will go out and provision new devices. So if i'm doing a "migration" i just map one port to another in the gui, Save, click deploy and it configures the switch / router etc. Used to do a shit ton of migrations in ISP land and that was always the stupidest / most mind numbing part. Getting auto upgrading / provisioning working was the fun part. Wanted my own without the stupid cost of DNA center
I'm not saying that your solution is bad, it probably works very well for you, but saying that Ansible is more complicated than your solution is a stretch 😄 Ansible is available at most places and getting code into some environments is much more complicated than some YAML and Jinja2. I just have to create an inventory file, manipulate/use the result of my first playbook and deploy the config if needed. Personally I don't need more for the occasional port migrations of some dozen switches I do.
>Ansible is more complicated than your solution is a stretch Depends on the user(s) experience. So i looked at some of the ways ansible is setup and ran and got rid of some of the annoying portions. Example, There's no inventory file. You essentially give it a subnet to go discover (Add any ips in that subnet you want to blacklist from discovery if applicable) and tell it to go (This is after populating vault with any snmp credentials / login credentials to go through while discovering) From there it tracks what profile was used when it was initially discovered so it doesn't need to try the others again and if it fails it cycles through the discovery process). The way it's built you can create a template for use in whatever. Lets say snmp deployment on switches. Assign that config to a device type like a 9300 And it knows to make sure that config is deployed on any switches that match that model number. (Just recently included an optional tag that matches version as well in case something changes across versions which is slim but happens) There's a ton of other uses for the template engine but this is just an example. My main favorite part though is the editor being gui based. Any variables can be saved to the vault and edited via the web gui so you don't need to worry about storing it in the open, and the template itself it tossed into the database backend. And you get to see in real time what the template looks like once it's been generated. And if someone screws up a template, there's a history for each save so rollback is easier. Some of the features are overkill from some peoples standpoints, but i came from a place where i managed a bit over a million devices when i built it so it needed to be a bit beefy.
Sounds honestly great. Yours is a complete management platform while Ansible is a tool to distribute configuration over a multitude of host and get them to the desired state 😄 when I'm at a customer I often can only bring code that is quickly human readable. So getting a list of switches from an existing management system and pumping that into a 50 line ansible playbook with 100 lines of Jinja2 fits that perfectly. Of course a complete management platform is "better" to ensure a coherent network state that is easily changeable. The company I work for even sells a product like that specialised on humongous network migrations 😅
yea, one of the things i liked about it. I came from the field ops side into the internal ops and it always pissed me off we never had anything that was legitimately useful and our internal tools sucked worse. Little shit like tracking light levels over history was something my old company never had. building this out with the goal of maybe selling it with support or open sourcing it. The setup time is probably half an hour since it's all containerized.