Switch Buddy for iPhone/iPad

Bug with SNMP Version 1 in Switch Buddy Version 1.0

littlejon — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:30:38 +0000

Whilst writing the article on picking which SNMP Version to use (Picking an SNMP Version – 1 or 2c), I found a bug in the code which relates to the use of SNMP version 1. This bug will stop the switch load from completing successfully (this will only occur if a packet is lost during the loading process).

This bug will be fixed in Switch Buddy Version 1.1, in the mean time please use SNMP version 2c as a workaround (if SNMP version 2c doesn’t work for your environment please let us know via the support page and we will release an interim fix for the problem).

If you use SNMP version 2c your exposure to this problem will be very limited.

Picking an SNMP Version – 1 or 2c

littlejon — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:40:28 +0000

As a system administrator I have always just used SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) version 1 to connect to everything (without really knowing why), I know there is the added security in version 3 but it isn’t something I need in my environment.

To me version 1 being the original would be the best supported version. Also having read some materials that say version 1 and version 2c are practically identical why not just pick version 1.

Well through-out the development of Switch Buddy I have come to know SNMP very well, kind of feels like I can look at a raw packet and see the data inside just like in The Matrix. The biggest addition to the SNMP functionality with version 2c is the Bulk Request PDU (Protocol Data Unit). With a Bulk Request you can ask your device for many values in just one request, without this Bulk Request every single value retrieved is another request.

To put this into perspective, using Switch Buddy to poll one of my 48 port Juniper switches with SNMP version 1 took a total of 563 individual requests and taking 2 minutes and 26 seconds. If I switch this to version 2c it takes just 22 requests and takes 16 seconds. These tests are run over a PPTP VPN connection, so each one of those packets that needs to be sent has a little extra overhead. Version 2c uses only 3.9% of the requests required for version 1 and a tenth of the time.

	Requests	Time
Version 1	563	2:26 (146 Seconds)
Version 2c	22	0:16 (16 Seconds)

As a developer utilising SNMP I found that my application would be woeful to use if it wasn’t for SNMP Version 2c, you can clearly see the difference it makes by being able to use those Bulk Requests.

So from now on as a system administrator I will be using SNMP version 2c, cause you never know when the developer of an application has been helpful enough to implement Bulk Requests if they are appropriate to improve performance.

App is now live in the App Store

littlejon — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:17:58 +0000

Switch Buddy for iOS is now live in the App Store. Released just in time for christmas!! Check it in the App Store here.

Screenshot 2 for iPhone/iPad

littlejon — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:41:12 +0000

The next screenshot shows the Switch Options screen, from here you can select Port Lists and VLAN Lists. In the coming days we will release screenshots for the option beyond here.

Switch Options Screen for iPhone

Switch Options Screen for iPad

Screenshot 1 for iPhone/iPad

littlejon — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:05:51 +0000

Todays post shows a first glimpse into Switch Buddy, it is the main home screen of the application. This is where you access & organise all the switches you would like to manage.

Main Switch Screen for iPhone

Main Switch Screen for iPad

Let us know what you think. Drop us a line on the Support Page.

Submission to Apple for Approval

littlejon — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:43:28 +0000

We have reached a very important milestone today. For today we uploaded our very first version of Switch Buddy to Apple for App Store approval. As you can imagine this is a very exciting time, more details will be posted … Continue reading →

Release Candidate 1

littlejon — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:41:55 +0000

Today we committed the release candidate version 1 code to our internal repositories. What this means is we are now in the final testing stages before uploading the release to Apple for approval.

We will be releasing screenshots of the app in the next few days to come so please check back for that.

And lastly, if you can help with testing please contact us via our Support Page.

SwitchBuddyApp.com is born

littlejon — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:08:42 +0000

Welcome to the new home for Switch Buddy for iOS. This website will contain all the lastest information about upcoming updates and most importantly compatibility information.

We are currently in the final stages of preparation for submission to Apple. If you are interested in beta testing please send us an email to support@switchbuddyapp.com or use the form on the Support page.

We look forward to launching the App soon and will keep you posted on any updates.