Tag: Small Business Networking

How To Catalogue Your Network Machines And Appliances

Building a network inventory is a need borne by many different reasons, such as for identifying precise requirements in order to prepare for an upgrade, asset control and for identifying actual utilization of available resources. There are programs that offer a very automated approach for creating and maintaining precisely such an inventory. Yesterday we recommended Komodo Labs – NEWT Professional which does a complete network inventory with TONS of information about each device.

So how does this program work and what does it have to offer? It gets all the data it requires by scanning your whole local area network and identifying all of your network elements, whether that be hardware or software, along with their characteristics. Doing so manually, would take so much time that it would be impossible for even medium-sized networks; on the other hand, this program can handle any LAN, regardless of size. Even maintaining such a network inventory would be more than a full-time job for an actual worker, while NEWT Professional does such automatically, updating the inventory automatically whenever a new device is connected to it.

Able to find servers, workstations, routers, sites, services and much more, this software has the ability to also record data considered useful for each one of these elements. This way, a full inventory can be made considering the network items, along with their information, regardless of the size and complexity of your network. All that without the problem of manually checking each individual device, or even requiring you to install client versions of the program on any of the devices.

So, are you planning for your next upgrade and thinking what precisely your network contains, whether it’s useful or compatible in the next version of your network? How many machines are still running outdated operating systems and need to be renewed or replaced? How are you going to get all that data you require to calculate the upgrade elements and cost? Are you worried and need to monitor which PCs are kept up to date with the latest security or hot-fix updates? Total Network Inventory can gather all this data for you, offering comprehensive reports for each and every element; storing and organizing all this data to easily provide you with custom-selected reports in an easy to follow way.

Hardware data is drilled down even to include elements such as CPU processing ability, motherboard model and manufacturer, as well as peripheral data regarding graphics video cards, random access memory (RAM), network adaptors, system devices list and other. Software data drill down includes operating system (OS) data such as type and edition, service packs and updates installed, third-party programs installed and running on system boot (start up), user accounts as well as running processes that are present, and other.

Prioritize your upgrades based on a well-informed vision of your network, identify security problems such as outdated OS and missing updates, spot un-used devices and many more, all these using simple step-by-step wizards, creating important reports in seconds and without worrying about leaking such data outside the network.

Komodo Labs – NEWT Professional – Free: https://www.komodolabs.com/network-inventory/

The above link is NOT an affiliate link. I do not receive any compensation from the above link or this posting.

NEWT Professional is Free for up to 25 devices.

How to get a complete network inventory of all the machines and software

If you are a network administrator, you have no doubt been in many scenarios before where you need to have these crucial software and hardware statistics, but you have to manually probe each machine rather than having an automatically updated network inventory. Of course this takes a great deal of time, so imagine if you could have a complete network inventory accessible automatically and remotely. Using highly useful application you can do precisely that. This application will thoroughly scan your complete network, querying all the workstations and servers on it. It will then give you data about all these different pieces of hardware and software installed on each PC and appliance installed on the network.

You don’t have to install anything else on the other machines, and in a matter of moments, this application can do everything for you. What’s more, it doesn’t even matter how large or diverse your network is. This application will be able to do the task just perfectly, even if you have a vast commercial type environment with dozens if not hundreds of machines on the network. Collecting all the data you need in real-time, you’ll be able to get to it without even leaving the office.

To give you an example of some of the sorts of details that this application will offer you, it will give you data regarding hardware that each workstation and server has. Some of the hardware data included, but not limited to, is the workstation manufacturer, model, motherboard make and any other peripherals installed. It will also give details about the type of operating system installed including the version and also data about all the updates and service packs that have been applied, if any. However, it doesn’t end here. It will also give you data about all the additional applications installed on the machines, and what’s presently running.

It also gives you a better way to securely monitor multiple machines over a network, since it will also tell you which processes are presently running on the machine. It will also list the user accounts being used, including information about the staff that are using the PC.

Another great use for this network inventory application is if you are thinking about upgrading certain machines on your network. You can easily go through the data offered by the application to find which devices are letting down the network. Machines with older hardware or machines which need software updates to the operating system can easily be filtered. It will also be able to scan the network remotely, and you don’t need to ever install anything on to the machines being probed. It is safe and secure, and will not allow any data to leave your network. The application also includes various step-by-step wizards, making things even easier.

Recommended Software:

Komodo Labs – NEWT Professional – Free: https://www.komodolabs.com/network-inventory/

Gordon Lyon’s NMAP – Free: https://nmap.org/

Graphical User Interface for nmap – ZenMap – Free: https://nmap.org/zenmap/

NEWT Professional is free for up to 25 devices.

The above link is NOT an affiliate link. I do not receive any compensation from the above link or this posting.

Network monitoring without even having to get up from the chair

While you probably won’t have any issues with a small network of 10 or so machines, once the network starts increasing in size, the networking tools built into the Windows operating system are no longer so useful and things can hastily get out of control. You need a program which is more ideally suited to larger networks.

However, as networks get larger, the problem tends to need far more complex monitoring software to keep track of everything that is fucntioning on the network. However, things can start getting so complicated that only specialist IT experts can use them. This can add quite a large extra cost to your organisation to hire somebody who can do the task.

However, there is software out there now which will assist the monitoring of medium to large networks without even having to leave the chair. Total Network Monitor does precisely this. It doesn’t matter how large your local area network is, but this software can do the job for you by automating a lot of the tasks and collecting data in real time.

You can keep watch over network performance with this and also automatically be informed about any issues through its complex system of alerting. Even more impressively, the application can be configured to send you alerts to your mobile phone or e-mail, so you can keep an eye on what is going on back on the network from wherever you are.

This way you can monitor your entire network without having to leave the room, giving you much more freedom and time to work and other jobs. There are various automatic scans featured in the application including easy-to-use wizards and a number of various tests and probes.

It is also compatible with a great number of different protocols, including ICMP, HTTP, FTP, TCP, POP/SMTP, and IMAP, making it highly versatile as well. It will also allow you to access the various Windows performance tools on a number of different machines on your network, allowing you to more easily keep an eye on the finer details of all the devices on your network.

Network monitoring becomes ever more difficult as your network and company continues to grow, but there is really no need for it to get extremely confusing and out of control. A program like this can make things a lot simpler. Also, as a new machine is added to the network, Total Network Monitor will automatically add them to the network layout.

Working with all versions of Windows, this application really does have it all. However, if you are not completely convinced, then you should try a free evaluation edition which will give you a much better idea of how the application works and what it can do for you.

Better yet, why not go with a network device that has all of the needed monitoring tools embedded in it. I LOVE the Firewalla Gold Router/Firewall/Network Security and Monitoring device.

Firewalla Gold: Multi-Gigabit Cyber Security Firewall & Router Protecting Your Family and Business (Ships Worldwide)
Firewalla GOLD – the best overall network security and monitoring device I have found for small businesses and Advance Home Users.
Firewalla Blue Plus: Smart & Powerful Cyber Security Firewall Appliance Protecting Your Family and Business (Ships Worldwide)
Firewalla Blue Plus – The best overall network security and monitoring device I have found for average home users. Plug and play simplicity with a ton of features for network management, monitoring and security.

The above links are affiliate links and I will receive a small reimbursement for each device purchased through my affiliate link. Using these links helps support this website with no additional expense to you the consumer.