Modern Network Management
Schaltwerk is a modern, extensible network management solution and open alternative to proprietary systems like UniFi. Its plugin architecture enables seamless integration of any network device — from switches and routers to community mesh nodes and virtualised environments.
Automatic Discovery · Real-Time Monitoring · Interactive Topology · Plugin-Extensible · IPv4 & IPv6 · Self-Hosted
Get in TouchFeatures
Implemented core features and planned additions for professional network management
Network Discovery
Automatic device detection with parallel ICMP ping, packet-based ARP scanning, ICMPv6 NDP scanning and SSH-based data collection. Dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 with automatic address family detection.
Plugin Architecture
Process-isolated plugins communicate via gRPC and Unix domain sockets. Hot-reload, health monitoring, automatic crash recovery and plugin auto-detection for known device types.
Real-Time Monitoring
Server-Sent Events for live browser updates. Device status, bandwidth metrics and topology changes are streamed in real time to all connected clients.
Topology Visualisation
Interactive network topology with D3.js. Hierarchical tree view and bandwidth graph with search, status filters and detail navigation. Automatic Proxmox VM/container detection and host assignment.
Credential Management
Secure management of SSH keys and credentials with AES-256-GCM encryption. Supports RSA, ECDSA and Ed25519 as well as legacy SSH ciphers for older hardware.
Responsive Frontend
SvelteKit-based dashboard with dark-mode design, device grid with filters and sorting, plugin management with log viewer and network configuration.
IPv6 Dual-Stack
Full IPv6 support with NDP scanner (ICMPv6 Neighbor Solicitation), automatic address family detection and a dedicated IPv6 topology view with gateway detection.
Security Hardening
Comprehensive security measures: security headers (CSP, X-Frame-Options), input validation, path traversal protection, injection prevention and error sanitisation.
Device Management
Multi-MAC support for devices with multiple network interfaces. Device merge to consolidate duplicate entries. Proxmox VM/container detection via MAC prefix.
Host Detection
Automatic detection of the host system at startup: operating system, kernel version, architecture, available network interfaces and system services (Docker, systemd).
REST API
Full REST API for devices, networks, topology, plugins and credentials. Versioned endpoints with JSON responses, CORS middleware and health check.
Add Device Manually
Add any device by entering its hostname or IP address. The system resolves the name, creates the device record automatically and scans it immediately — no need to wait for the next scheduled scan.
PlannedPersistent Device Data
Every scan merges new findings into the existing device record instead of overwriting it. Hostname, vendor and custom notes are preserved permanently. A full change history shows when each property was last updated.
GeplantTechnology Stack
A modern, production-ready stack with a clear separation between backend, frontend and plugin system
Backend
- Go with Gin HTTP framework
- SQLite WAL mode (pure Go, no CGO)
- 28+ database migrations
- gRPC over Unix sockets
- Server-Sent Events
- AES-256-GCM encryption
Frontend
- Svelte 5 with SvelteKit
- TypeScript 5
- Tailwind CSS 4
- D3.js visualisation
- Vite build system
Discovery
- ICMP parallel ping
- Packet-based ARP scanning
- ICMPv6 NDP scanning (dual-stack)
- SSH agent with key authentication
- MAC vendor lookup (OUI)
- Automatic topology
- External IP detection
Vendor-Agnostic
- Vendor-independent design
- Open plugin SDK
- Standard protocols (SSH, ICMP, ARP)
- No proprietary dependencies
- Custom plugins for any device
Deployment
- Multi-stage Dockerfile (Alpine)
- Multi-arch: amd64 + arm64 (Raspberry Pi)
- Docker Compose with health checks
- GitLab CI/CD with JUnit reports
- Non-root container
Plugin Ecosystem
Device-specific plugins with automatic detection and confidence scoring, process-isolated via gRPC
SSH Collector
Generic Linux/Unix collector: hostname, memory, load, disks, network statistics
AvailableFreifunk Node
Gluon firmware: port status, Wi-Fi clients, mesh statistics, bandwidth deltas
AvailableTP-Link Switch
Legacy SSH: port and bandwidth tracking, MAC-to-port mapping, counter rollover handling
AvailableDummy Device
Mock metrics for tests and demos: simulates switches, routers and access points with realistic values
AvailableCustom Plugins
Plugin SDK with BasePlugin, Collector interface and auto-detection enables development without touching the core
SDK readyEnterprise Roadmap
Planned additions for professional use — each available independently after the MVP release
🏛 Physical Infrastructure
Manage data centres, server rooms, racks and slots. Every network device gets a physical location — a single source of truth for both network topology and hardware.
Post-MVP📋 DHCP Management & Network Boot
Built-in IP address management and automatic first-time setup of new devices via network boot — no external DHCP server required.
Post-MVP👤 User Management & Single Sign-On
Local user accounts, roles and permissions as well as integration with existing identity providers — for teams and larger organisations.
Post-MVP🛡 Security Scanning
Automatic checking of all devices for open ports and outdated software. Known vulnerabilities are matched against up-to-date security databases and presented clearly.
Post-MVP🤖 AI Network Assistant
Ask your network direct questions: "Which device rebooted last week?", "Which systems use the most bandwidth?" or "Start a security scan for this device." Powered by a configurable AI model — can be run fully on-premises.
Post-MVP🌐 DNS Zone Management
A complete view of all DNS records in an organisation with responsible contacts, automatic verification and detection of stale or incorrect entries — cross-referenced with the device inventory.
Nach MVPSchaltwerk in Action
Dashboard with device overview, network topology and plugin management
Get in Touch
Interested in Schaltwerk? Drop us a message.