04/29/2023
While you might like to think your networks are perfectly maintained and documented, the reality is sometimes you lose track. In some cases, your network can grow so quickly you may have trouble keeping up. The solution to this issue is using a network discovery tool to ensure your network structure is always documented.
This becomes increasingly important if you use combinations of virtual networks, cloud servers, and both wired and wireless networks, as **the hybrid network topology can become seriously complex**.
**What Is Network Discovery?**
The first aspect of network discovery is **finding all the IP addresses on the network**, including static, dynamic, reserved, and abandoned IP addresses capable of being reallocated. The importance of discovering this part of the network is twofold:
1. It helps you to ensure, first, every allocated IP address is valid and isn’t being used by a malicious or rogue device;
2. Your network is set up in the most efficient way, by not leaving abandoned IP addresses or subnets to be used for other purposes.
**Network discovery determines which ports are in use**, and which ports are open on each device. If a device has open ports that aren’t necessary for the device to be used, this could be a security issue. Using network discovery to map the ports on your network can help ensure unnecessary ports are kept closed to prevent access by an intruder.
The next part of the process is figuring out **how all the devices on the network are connected**, and in which topology. Understanding and mapping the network in this way can help you find bottlenecks and keep track of each device and how it’s performing.
Discovering and tracking network performance metrics is vital for ensuring the network is performing well and is free from faults or availability issues.
**Why Do You Need Network Discovery Tools?**
It’s possible to perform network discovery manually, though the risks are mistakes being made and parts of the network not being accurately mapped or monitored. And, without the assistance of network discovery tools, troubleshooting performance issues can be a long and tedious process.
Using software to take the pain out of this process will also free you and your team up to focus on other things or to work on improving your network.
**List of some Network Discovery Software**
1. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
2. Paessler PRTG Network Monitor
3. Nagios XI
4. Intermapper
5. Advanced IP Scanner
6. Spiceworks Network Mapping Tool (Free)
7. Nmap (Free)
8. Node-RED for IoT Devices (Free)
9. Free MyNet Toolset from Adremsoft (Free)
10. Zabbix.
11. SoftPerfect Network Scanner
Which tool(s) you use or prefer for network discovery?
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