Network profiles

A network profile is a rundown of all important details of a particular network. Some of the information shown in a network profile is gathered automatically by OT-BASE, others is added manually.

A network profile can be opened either by selecting a network in the network list and then clicking on the Profile button (or just double clicking on an entry in the network list), or from anywhere else in OT-BASE where a network name appears with an underline, indicating a hyperlink.

A network profile can contain the following sections:

Header
A header that shows the network name, network group, network type, and address.

General
General section that shows the location of the network, its VLAN ID (if applicable), and a description of this network. If the location of the network has a super location (such as a site map in the example above) with a floor map, the position of the location in the super location is identified by a hotspot.

Topology
An automatically generated network topology diagram. The diagram is interactive and can be zoomed and panned. Hovering on a node will highlight the connections of that node with other nodes. Double-clicking on a node will launch the device profile of that node. Note that you will have to probe your switch management networks with OT-BASE Asset Discovery in order to see the links between the nodes.

Observed Data Flow
An automatically generated network diagram showing observed data flow, as collected using Netflow and SFlow. Also fully interactive. Click on the viewport to enable pan & zoom.

Address Space
A bar diagram that displays available address space. Below the diagram you can see spare addresses and address ranges by clicking on the "+" sign. DHCP scopes and free DHCP addresses are listed separately.

Comments and hints
Free text field that may contain helpful information.

Adress List
Sorted address list. Free addresses are highlighted in green, free DHCP addresses are highlighted in cyan. In the input field you can specify a date if you want to check which devices have been added at or after a particular date. Such devices will then be highlighted by an orange bar in their address field.

Files
Any files that may have been attached to the network.

Data Flow
The data flow for this network, if a Netflow or SFlow feed is available. Data flow will be displayed both as a Sankey diagram and as tables, showing data flow within the network, from the network to private networks, and from the network to public IP addresses.

Editing network metadata

You can edit metadata for a particular network by selecting the network in the network list and then click on Edit.

As an example, you can assign the network to a particular network group, such as "Office", "Safety", or "I/O". Network groups, as defined in INVENTORY/EXTENDED, also include a color code that allows for easy spotting of particular network types. These color codes are also used in topology diagrams.