Cheers guys...
Solarwinds still not responded about good it is with unmanaged switches....
I have a spreadsheet that I started 2 years ago, when I started looking at mapping, and I started in the control rooms, as they were easier (!), and the spreadsheet has built up to many pages as I map each switch, always hoping there would be a piece of software to help me....
Previous job, I found out about Belarc Advisor, (
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html) which I had used for checking software and licence numbers on SCADA PCs, but it also checks out the local network, giving device addresses and names, as well as links to webpages for the devices, and that has proved useful to determine some of the devices connected. It also helped me get access to the one gateway that we have (the password was well hidden in someone else's spreadsheet) - the gateway bridges two IP ranges on site.
Ethernet errors happen, and the techs change the Fibre to Ethernet Converters, and even over recent months they have changed a 24 port switch twice to "cure" comms problems.....
The previous issue that I mention with cable faults, was purely an IT network problem, just happens that they left the engineering side to us to tackle, as we were installing the machine as part of a project, but as it involves personnel logging in, it has to be on the IT network.
Aye, I love a challenge......TGIF.........!!!