Tracemac

freshmeat.net: Project details for Tracemac
"Tracemac is a command-line C++ application that traces a MAC address through the bridging tables of Cisco switches. Unlike some other programs, it uses SNMP. It is not necessary to configure it with network structure information, and no switch passwords need be divulged."
Homepage:
http://www.thtech.net/products/6

There is no Windows version of tracemac, but if you've got access to a Linux box this is a truly awesome Layer 2 network diagnostic utility. I had trouble resolving all the dependencies so Brady Alleman (author) was kind enough to compile a static version that runs on Fedora (and probably others).
On a Cisco network, tracemac can be used to quickly locate a machine by MAC address which we find particularly useful for assigning the proper VLAN when a machine has been moved to a new, possibly undisclosed, location. It's also great for locating machines that may have 'gone missing' from their owners - imagine being the person who's using a stolen laptop when the police come knocking on their door.

CDP Reporter

www.monkeymental.com is CDPR's home, but you can also find it at Sourceforge.
"cdpr is used to decode a Cisco Disovery Protocol (CDP) packet, by default it will report the device ID, the IP Address (of the device), and the port number that the machine is connected to. Optionally it will decode the entire CDP packet."
This is the most awesome utility made for troubleshooting VLAN issues. It's also great for determining if a port is working as you can just plug in, run cdpr and wait for the results - if you get a port number, the connection is live!
Versions 2.0 and up include a server-side script that allows you to log the hostname and physical location that are connected to a given switch port.
By running "cdpr -s -p /scripts/cdprs.php -n -l " - after installing the script in the appropriate location with the appropriate permissions (744 should work) - you'll find an entry added to the file "/tmp/cdprs.txt" on the server. With a little more Perl and Expect education on my part, I'll be able to use this log to add descriptions to my switch ports or locate a switch port by grep'ing the room number.
Oh, and by the way CDPR's author - Lance - is great! He's answered all my questions and even compiled a Windows version for me back in the 1.x versions.
- SLW

WinDump: tcpdump for Windows

WinDump: tcpdump for Windows
"WinDump is the porting to the Windows platform of tcpdump, the most used network sniffer/analyzer for UNIX. WinDump is fully compatible with tcpdump and can be used to watch and diagnose network traffic according to various complex rules. It can run under Windows 95/98/ME, and under Windows NT/2000/XP."

Ethereal: A Network Protocol Analyzer

Ethereal: A Network Protocol Analyzer
"Ethereal is used by network professionals around the world for troubleshooting, analysis, software and protocol development, and education. It has all of the standard features you would expect in a protocol analyzer, and several features not seen in any other product. Its open source license allows talented experts in the networking community to add enhancements. It runs on all popular computing platforms, including Unix, Linux, and Windows."
Windows Installer
WinPcap is required for Ethereal to work.

allSnap: make all windows snap

allSnap: make all windows snap
allSnap is a small system tray app that makes all top level windows automatically align like they do in programs such as Winamp or Photoshop.
This works great for all the little video windows generated by an Access Grid Node!

ArsClip - Jackass JoeJoe's freeware utilities

www.joejoesoft.com - Jackass JoeJoe's freeware utilities
ArsClip: A FREE (freeware) utility for the windows clipboard. ArsClip monitors the clipboard and keeps track of the entries. Press a configurable hotkey and select an item (or items) to quickly paste into a program.
This is an awesome little utility that has earned its place on my USB drive. I never had much use for multi-clipboard tools until I found ArsClip, now I'm about lost without it - Thanks JJJ!
Oh, and I'm the reason behind this:

Changes in v2.6.7
New: Per-program pasting assignment option on system tray icon menu
(For Example, always use Mimic Typing for CMD.EXE)

bCheck's apps - Little tiny (but very useful) Windows Apps

bCheck's apps - It is your mama's software
Several small but very useful little utilites, I like to carry these on my USB drive just in case I need a screen capture or image viewer.
Purrint: Make your PrintScreen button work the way it ought. Save to file, print to printer, or copy to dumb ol' clipboard.
Bmap: Yet another damn image viewer. 200k, and it works the way I wanted it to.
ToPNG: Simple command line utility to convert between many image formats
IECrap: Some useful extensions to Internet Explorer. Resize window to other size, Zoom Frame to take entire window, etc...

Total Commander

For an old DOS geek like me, Total Commander is indispensable - this has to be my favorite utility ever. It resembles and mimics good ole' Norton Commander that made DOS so easy to use. TC is shareware and well worth the $32 investment.
For those looking for Open Source (a.k.a. freeware) Gnu Midnight Commander is the Linux answer for Norton Commander users. There are even a couple Midnight Commander variants that run in Windows (here and here) which work fine from a command prompt. Neither has been updated in a while...