LLDP Neighbors Viewer

[Vincent_Bacher]

🔌 LLDP Neighbors Viewer

A SmartConsole Extension for Network Topology Discovery
Display LLDP neighbor information from Check Point Gateways directly in SmartConsole.

📥 Installation URL:
https://vbacher.de/extension-lldp.json

Use this URL in SmartConsole under Manage & Settings → Extensions → Install Extension

📋 Overview

This extension displays the output of the lldpneighbors command in a table format within SmartConsole. LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol) allows network devices to discover their neighbors. This extension provides that information without requiring CLI access to the gateway.

📊 What Information is Displayed

The extension shows the most relevant LLDP neighbor information in a clean table format:

Field	Description	Example
Interface	Local gateway interface name	eth1-01
System Name	Hostname of the neighbor device	CORE-SW-01
Port ID	Neighbor's port identifier (cleaned)	GigabitEthernet1/0/24
Port Description	Description of neighbor port (ACI-aware)	Uplink to FW-GW-01
Management Address	IPv4 management address of neighbor	192.168.10.5

🎯 Use Cases

Network Troubleshooting

• Verify physical connections without accessing CLI
• Quickly identify which switch and port a gateway is connected to
• Detect miscabling or unexpected neighbors

Documentation

• Document network topology from SmartConsole
• Verify compliance with cabling standards
• Create network diagrams with accurate port information

Data Center Operations

• Validate ACI fabric connectivity
• Verify vPC/LAG configurations
• Identify connected leaf switches in ACI environments

💻 Installation

Prerequisites

• Check Point SmartConsole with Extensions support (R80.40+)
• Gateway with LLDP enabled (see LLDP Configuration below)

LLDP Configuration on Gateway

LLDP must be enabled globally and on interfaces. Connect to the gateway via Gaia Clish and configure:

1. Enable LLDP globally:

set lldp state on

2. Enable on interfaces (example):

set lldp interface eth1-01 transmit-and-receive on
set lldp interface eth1-02 transmit-and-receive on
set lldp interface eth2-01 transmit-and-receive on

Note: Replace interface names (eth1-01, eth1-02, etc.) with your actual interface names.

Interface Modes:

• receive - Receive LLDP information only (minimum requirement for this extension)
• transmit - Send LLDP information only
• transmit-and-receive - Send and receive (recommended)

Important: At minimum, interfaces must be configured with receive mode for the extension to work. We recommend using transmit-and-receive for full bidirectional LLDP communication.

Verify configuration:

show configuration lldp

Installation Steps

The extension is hosted on a public server - no local installation required!

1. Open SmartConsole
2. Navigate to Manage & Settings → Extensions
3. Click Install Extension
4. Enter URL: https://vbacher.de/extension-lldp.json
5. Click OK to install
6. Extension will be installed and available immediately

✓ That's it! The extension is now ready to use.

🚀 Usage

1. Select a Gateway in SmartConsole (object tree or search)
2. Navigate to the "LLDP Neighbors" tab in the details pane
3. Click the "Load LLDP Neighbors" button
4. View the neighbor information in the table

Note: The extension runs the lldpneighbors command on the gateway via SmartConsole's run-script API. This requires appropriate permissions in your SmartConsole session.

⚙️ Compatibility

Supported Gateway Versions: R80.40+, R81.x (any version with lldpctl)
SmartConsole: R80.40+ with Extensions support
LLDP Daemon: OpenLLDP or lldpd

🔧 Troubleshooting

LLDP Service Not Running

If you see "LLDP daemon is not running on this gateway":

1. Connect to gateway via Gaia Clish
2. Check LLDP status: show configuration lldp
3. Enable LLDP globally: set lldp state on
4. Enable on interfaces: set lldp interface <name> transmit-and-receive on
5. Save configuration: save config

No Neighbors Detected

Possible reasons:

• LLDP not enabled on interface: Check show configuration lldp
• Interface mode is transmit only (needs receive or transmit-and-receive)
• Neighbor device doesn't support LLDP or has LLDP disabled
• Physical connection issue or interface is down

📝 Example Output

🔗 Useful Links

• LLDP Protocol (Wikipedia)
• Check Point SmartConsole Extensions SDK

Ready to use! This extension provides network topology information directly in SmartConsole.

Author: Vincent Bacher

Version: 1.0

License: MIT

For questions or improvements, please share on CheckMates!

[the_rock]

Let me give this one a try as well in the lab.

[the_rock]

Just tested it, works like a charm.