CDP stands for Cisco Discovery Protocol. It is a Layer 2 proprietary protocol that runs on Cisco devices including routers and switches. This protocol collects information about directly connected neighboring devices.
It discovers the nearby devices, identifies how they are configured, and enables the systems to learn about each other by using different network-layer protocols. CDP simplifies the process of keeping an up-to-date inventory of Cisco network devices.
The CDP finds out the following information :
* iOS version running on Cisco devices
* IP addresses
* The hardware platform of devices
* Interface details
* Hostname
* VTP domain
* Duplex setting
* Native VLAN
