How to Use Compass

Compass is a powerful search tool that provides information about the status, configuration, and activities at the ingress points of your network. It provides an easy way to search for end stations, or users on end stations. You can use Compass to search one or more devices or device groups selected in the Console left panel. (If you do a search on a user-created group that contains interfaces, the whole device on which the interface is located will be searched.) The search is based on the following:

The Search Log tab displays a log of the progress of the search and notifies you of unsupported devices. The Results tab displays the results of the Compass search. You can customize table settings and find, filter, sort, print, and export the information in the Search Log and Results tabs. Access these Table Tools through a right-click on a column heading or anywhere in the table body. For more information, see the Table Tools Help topic. (If the bottom section of the Compass tab containing the Results and Search Log tabs is not visible, click the panel control up button   at the foot of the tab.)

Instructions on:

Accessing Compass

To access the Compass tab:

  1. Open the My Networks folder in the left panel and select the device group(s) or device(s) that you want to search.
  2. Select the Compass tab in the right panel.
  3. Select a Search Type from the drop-down list.

Searching

Compass enables you to search selected devices using several different search types.

Auto Searching

The Auto Search auto-detects the address format you enter in the Search Parameters Address field, and performs the appropriate search.

  1. In the left panel, select the device group(s) or device(s) that you want to search.
  2. Select the Compass tab in the right panel.
  3. Select Auto from the Search Type drop-down list.
  4. In the Address text field, enter an address or hostname, using any of the allowed formats.
  5. Select any desired Results Filters (you can also do this after the search is completed).
  6. Click Search.
  7. To view a log of the search progress, select the Search Log tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.
  8. View the results of the search in the Results tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.

Searching All

The All Search finds any network element which is aware of the devices within the selected scope, and lists the addresses associated with them.

  1. In the left panel, select the device group(s) or device(s) that you want to search.
  2. Select the Compass tab in the right panel.
  3. Select All from the Search Type drop-down list.
  4. Select any desired Results Filters (you can also do this after the search is completed).
  5. Click Search.
  6. To view a log of the search progress, select the Search Log tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.
  7. View the results of the search in the Results tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.

Searching IP Addresses

The IP Address Search finds any device which is aware of the specified IP address/hostname within the selected scope, and lists the addresses associated with it.

  1. In the left panel, select the device group(s) or device(s) that you want to search.
  2. Select the Compass tab in the right panel.
  3. Select IP Address from the Search Type drop-down list.
  4. To search for all IP address information within the selected scope, leave the "IP Address or Hostname" text field blank. To search for information on a specific IP address or hostname, enter it in the IP Address or Hostname text field.
  5. Select any desired Results Filters (you can also do this after the search is completed).
  6. Click Search.
  7. To view a log of the search progress, select the Search Log tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.
  8. View the results of the search in the Results tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.

Searching IP Subnets

The IP Subnet Search finds any device which is aware of the specified IP subnet within the selected scope, and lists the end stations in the IP subnet.

  1. In the left panel, select the device group(s) or device(s) that you want to search.
  2. Select the Compass tab in the right panel.
  3. Select IP Subnet from the Search Type drop-down list.
  4. In the IP Address or Hostname text field, enter an IP address from the subnet whose members you want to find.
  5. Select the Subnet Mask text field. This causes the text field to display the natural network mask. You can leave this, or enter a different network mask. The format of this text box depends on the format selected for the Suite-Wide Data Display Network Mask option in the Tools > Options window: either CIDR or dot-delimited. An example of the selected format is provided below the text box.
  6. Select any desired Results Filters (you can also do this after the search is completed).
  7. Click Search.
  8. To view a log of the search progress, select the Search Log tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.
  9. View the results of the search in the Results tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.

Searching MAC Addresses

The MAC Address Search finds any device which is aware of the specified MAC address within the selected scope, and lists the addresses associated with it.

  1. In the left panel, select the device group(s) or device(s) that you want to search.
  2. Select the Compass tab in the right panel.
  3. Select MAC Address from the Search Type drop-down list.
  4. Choose one of the following:
    • To search for all MAC addresses within the selected scope, leave the "MAC Address" field blank.
    • To search for information on a specific MAC address within the selected scope, enter the specific MAC address on which you wish to search. You can also enter a partial address, to search for a specific vendor's equipment (e.g. 0.0.1d). (See http://standards.ieee.org/regauth/oui/oui.txt for vendor MAC address prefixes.) Formats allowed are dot, colon, space, dash, and no delimiter:
      • 0.0.1d.1.2.3
      • 00:00:1D:01:02:03
      • 00 00 1D 01 02 03
      • 00-00-1D-01-02-03
      • 00001D010203
      The vendor for the hardware associated with the MAC address you are entering appears here as soon as you type enough of the MAC address for Compass to recognize it.
  5. Select any desired Results Filters (you can also do this after the search is completed).
  6. Click Search. To view a log of the search progress, select the Search Log tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.
  7. View the results of the search in the Results tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.

Searching Multicast Addresses

The Multicast Address Search finds any device which is aware of the specified multicast address within the selected scope, and lists the addresses associated with it.

  1. In the left panel, select the device group(s) or device(s) that you want to search.
  2. Select the Compass tab in the right panel.
  3. Select Multicast Address from the Search Type drop-down list.
  4. Choose one of the following:
    • To search for all multicast addresses within the selected scope, leave the Multicast Address text field blank.
    • To search for information on a specific multicast address within the selected scope, enter the multicast address in the Multicast Address text field. See http://www.iana.org/assignments/multicast-addresses for a list of common multicast address groups. The description of the multicast address you are entering appears in the Description as soon as you type enough of the address for Compass to recognize it.
  5. Select any desired Results Filters (you can also do this after the search is completed).
  6. Click Search. To view a log of the search progress, select the Search Log tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.
  7. View the results of the search in the Results tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.

Searching User Names

The User Name Search finds any device which is aware of the specified user name within the selected scope, and lists the addresses associated with it.

  1. In the left panel, select the device group(s) or device(s) that you want to search.
  2. Select the Compass tab in the right panel.
  3. Select User Name from the Search Type drop-down list.
  4. To search for all user names within the scope, leave the User Name field blank. To search for information on a specific user name within the selected scope, enter the user name. You can also enter a partial user name; for example, if you entered "tom" as your search criteria, "tommy" and "atom" would be found.
  5. Select any desired Results Filters (you can also do this after the search is completed).
  6. Click Search.
  7. To view a log of the search progress, select the Search Log tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.
  8. View the results of the search in the Results tab in the bottom section of the Compass tab.

Pinging

Use the following steps to ping an IP address to determine if the network element is contactable.

  NOTE: On a Windows platform, ping will not work unless you are logged on and running Console as a user with Administrative privileges.
  1. Select the Compass tab.
  2. Select IP Address from the Search Type drop-down list.
  3. In the "IP Address or Host Name" field, enter the IP address or host name for the network element you want to ping.
  4. Click Ping Address. The Ping window opens and the IP address is automatically pinged.
  5. View the results of the ping in the log.
  6. Click Close to leave the Ping window, or Clear to clear the data from the window and ping another network element. To ping another network element, enter its IP address or host name and click Ping.

Related Information

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