With networks continually scaling to meet business needs, advanced IP scanning has become a crucial task for network admins to ensure network availability and performance. Scanning IP addresses can be challenging in large networks, which often include wired and wireless devices with dynamic IPs, multiple DNS, DHCP configurations, and complex subnets. Compromising on an advanced IP scanning solution, which can provide comprehensive IP address management (IPAM), DHCP management, and DNS management, can have adverse effects on network performance, including costly network downtime. That being said, it’s crucial to deploy an advanced IP scanner for effective IPAM.
Here’s why.
Native OS commands vs. enterprise-level networks
The most common way to perform an IP scan is using the native commands supported by whatever operating system you’re using. If you’re a network admin who is managing a small network with a handful of IPs, native commands like ipconfig and ping can help you scan IPs and track your network address space. However, applying this technique for large-scale or enterprise-level networks is close to impossible. Why? Large-scale networks involve multiple subnets, perform dynamic IP allocations, support BYOD policies, and scale continually to support computational needs. All of these characteristics rule out the possibility of manually scanning your network with native commands.
Using a solution like OpUtils’ advanced IP scanner, on the other hand, eases the task of network IP scanning. Supporting both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, OpUtils’ advance IP scanner for Windows and Linux, enables you to scan your entire network in seconds and displays the scan result in your console. With features like Rogue Detection, you can secure your organization’s resources by scanning your entire network to pinpoint and block intruders using this advance IP scanning tool.
Spreadsheets and network data processing
Tracking IPs with spreadsheets is a basic strategy network admins follow to manage their network resources and IP address space. Using spreadsheets for IPAM means every status update has to be tracked and logged manually. A network admin has to check their spreadsheet every time they want to view details like IP availability, subnet utilization, and the status of forward and reverse IP lookups. Since these spreadsheets are mostly distributed and updated by different network admins in large networks, inconsistencies and errors in the data may occur. These errors, however insignificant they appear, may lead to costly network downtime when left unaddressed.
That being said, the solution is to migrate from spreadsheets to IPAM software, like OpUtils advanced IP scanner software, which provides advanced IP scanning and IP address tracking capabilities.
Real-time network resource tracking
To manage your network efficiently, you need real-time insights into what is happening in the network. This includes dynamic IP allocations, switch port mappings, and devices connected to your network. However, as said earlier, manual IP scanning methods, like native commands and spreadsheets, don’t support this. Whereas OpUtils’ advanced IP scanner not only provides you real-time insights into your network resources but also offers complete visibility with end-to-end network scanning. With scheduled and continuous IP scanning, you can view details like IP availability, reserve IPs, device MAC address, system location, connected ports, and associated subnet.
Cross-subnet scanning
Managing a larger network requires you to track IP addresses across subnets to resolve issues like IP duplication and IP address conflicts. OpUtils’ advanced IP scanner tool supports an agile subnet-based hierarchy of both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. It provides visibility into subnet performance and utilization with metrics such as IP availability, DNS status, authenticity status, and AD status. You can monitor IP addresses in a subnet by initiating IP scanning across the subnets and get results within seconds.
Visibility into network device details
Let’s say one of the devices connected to a switch port is down in a large network. In this case, it’s not possible for the network admin to trace all the cables from that switch port manually to find the device that went offline. In order to provide visibility into network devices and their connectivity, OpUtils’ advanced network IP scanner maps the scanned IP addresses with the ports they are connected to. It also goes the extra mile by scanning ports to provide details like the services running on the ports and the list of open ports, as well as offering the option to block a certain port if any unusual activity is detected. You can view device-specific details such as location, user, last live time, and forward and reverse IP lookup with advanced IP s.
What makes OpUtils’ advance IP scanner stand out?
Along with offering the capabilities mentioned above, ManageEngine OpUtils is integrated software that lets you easily handle network scanning and management of a heterogeneous network environment. The features that make OpUtils stand out as an advanced IP scanner include:
- IP address tracking: Enables end-to-end IP address tracking, eliminating the need for spreadsheets for IPAM.
- Auditing IP allocation: Keeps a historical log of all the IP address allocations and users.
- Granular IP reports: Pulls out the used, transient, and available IPs in the network address space. You can analyze the network IP address space with reports generated regularly.
- Easier troubleshooting: Offers instant alerts.
- Superior search: Lets you search for any network device using IP, MAC, or DNS name.
- Remote booting: Allows you to wake up a device or a group of Wake-on-LAN enabled devices right from the OpUtils console.
- Code-free, intuitive UI: Provides an easy-to-use console where any crucial information is just clicks away.
- Dashboard and widgets: Offers an overview of network performance metrics.
- IP Tools: With 30+ networking tools, gain complete control over your network resources.
In addition to that, OpUtils’ advanced IP scanner and switch port mapping solution is available for both Windows and Linux. The OpUtils mobile app for iPhone and Android is available to the existing OpUtils users for on-the-go network monitoring.
** Optrics Inc. is an Authorized ManageEngine partner
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