Setup

From download to your first alert in 10 minutes

A single file on Windows or a service on Linux, SNMP on the switches and a subnet scan. No agents on your hardware and no data in the cloud.

What you need first
Prepare the switches
Run the app
First-time setup
Day-to-day use
Trial and payment
If something goes wrong

1. What you need first

A Windows 10/11 PC or a Linux server (Debian, Ubuntu) that stays on. An ordinary admin PC or a small server will do. It must be able to reach the switches over the network.
SNMP access to the switches. This is the only setting on the hardware itself, see step 2. It's enough for monitoring, the network map and the port panel.
Switch login and password (Telnet or SSH) — optional. Needed only for actions: port restart, cable test, backups, logs, CPU and optics.

2. Prepare the switches

Enable SNMP (version 2c, read access) on every switch. The app detects the vendor and model itself. Examples for different brands:

# SNR / Cisco-like CLI
config
snmp-server enable            # Cisco: not needed
snmp-server community ro public
end
write

# MikroTik (RouterOS)
/snmp set enabled=yes

# Huawei / H3C
snmp-agent community read public

# TP-Link / D-Link / Zyxel
web UI -> SNMP -> enable, community: public

The word public is the SNMP read password (community). Replace it with your own and enter it in the app. For fixes without a login you can add a write community (on SNR: snmp-server community rw <secret>).

3. Run the app

Download SwitchDoctor.exe

A single file, no installer. Run it and the app window opens. Download

Or SwitchDoctor-Web.exe

The same app in your browser: the black window is the server, and monitoring runs while it's open. Address: http://localhost:8799

Windows server (including a domain controller)

Run the installer as administrator and tick “Install as a service”: the app starts with Windows without anyone signing in, and the UI opens from any computer on the network at http://<server address>:8799 — no password from the server's own subnet. The firewall rule is added automatically.

Linux (Debian, Ubuntu)

One command on the server: downloads the app, asks for the language (Russian / English), installs a systemd service with autostart and prints the address:

curl -fsSL https://switchdoctor.app/downloads/install.sh | sudo bash

The UI opens at http://<server>:8799. No internet on the server? Download the archive from the site, unpack it and run sudo bash installer/install.sh.

Start with Windows

To monitor around the clock, put a shortcut to the app in the Windows Startup folder (Win+R → shell:startup).

Your data — switches, events, backups, history — stays on this PC in %APPDATA%\SwitchDoctor. Passwords are encrypted by Windows. Updates don't touch it.

4. First-time setup

Settings → switch access

Enter the SNMP read community and, if you have them, the Telnet/SSH login and password. These are defaults for all switches; you can override them per switch.

Devices → “Find switches on the network”

Enter a subnet or range, for example 192.168.1.0/24 or 10.0.0.1-50, and click “Find”. In a few seconds the app lists everything that answered over SNMP, with vendor and model (SNR, Cisco, MikroTik, TP-Link…). Click “Add” next to the ones you need — name and model are filled in automatically.

Click “Check” on any switch

In 10–20 seconds the app polls it and shows ports, errors, the MAC and IP addresses of connected devices and its first plain-language findings.

Turn on monitoring

Each switch in the device list has a monitoring toggle. From then on the app polls them itself and builds the network map from MAC tables. If the top of the map is wrong, set the gateway IP in Settings.

Settings → “Telegram notifications”

Create a bot with @BotFather, paste the token and Chat ID, click “Send test”. Outages will reach your phone.

5. Day-to-day use

Diagnostics

Click a port for counters, history, a plain-language explanation and a recommendation. Facts, hypotheses and advice are always labelled separately.

Actions with confirmation

The app shows the command and its impact and runs it only after you press “Confirm”. Everything is logged.

Access from your phone

Over a VPN such as Tailscale: Settings → “Network access”, set a password for outside connections. On your own network the app opens without a password.

Updates

Download the new version and run it over the old one. Your data is stored separately and is kept.

6. Trial and payment

The Free plan covers up to 3 devices with no sign-up. When you need more, the app shows the Upgrade window.

Create an account

Email and password, no card. You get 14 days of the Team plan with every feature right away.

In the app: account menu → “Sign in”

The app shows a code and you confirm it in your account. Your account password is never typed into the app.

Pay by card

In your account choose a plan and period and pay with Visa or Mastercard. The licence switches on in the app by itself within a minute.

Try 14 days free Pricing

7. If something goes wrong

The search finds nothing	Check that the PC is on the same network as the switches and that SNMP is enabled on them (step 2). The community in the search box must match the one on the switch.
A switch is found but “SNMP not responding”	Wrong community or SNMP is off. Check on the switch (SNR/Cisco: show snmp, MikroTik: /snmp print); UDP port 161 must be open between the computer and the switch.
No CPU, logs or optics, or actions don't work	These need a Telnet/SSH login: Devices → the pencil next to the switch → “CLI protocol”, “Login”, “Password”.
A device has a MAC but no IP	IPs come from ARP: the app reads the PC's and the switches' ARP tables, then pings the subnet. If the device is in another subnet this PC can't reach, the IP may stay unknown.
The network map looks wrong	Set the gateway IP in Settings: the switch it's seen behind goes to the top.
The page won't open	Start the app again and refresh the page. Address: http://localhost:8799

Didn't find an answer? Email us at support@switchdoctor.app.