Managing and monitoring your network inventory is an important part of ensuring your network is always planned and running as best as it can in your business.
The following list of network equipment inventory software is mainly for businesses, but at the end of the article, we will introduce an open source tool, if you need something to use for a small company. However, it should be noted that while these free tools can be of good quality, they are often not suitable for large enterprises that need high power and a wider range of features.
1. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager :
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
The top choice for network inventory tools is SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM). NCM is a network configuration management and mapping tool, designed to keep you up to date with changes occurring in your environment.
The tool includes a network inventory scanner, allowing you to track and record multiple devices in a variety of locations, including:
Seri number
Gate details
IP addresses
Supplier
Information when support expires
No matter what type of device you are using, NCM can automatically detect and import your device for management and device information is updated whenever there is a change. It also includes support for specific devices, including:
Cisco
Palo Alto Networks
Juniper
HP
Huawei
Etc....
This makes it easy to keep track of your network inventory without much effort.
One of the other great features of NCM is that you can generate network reports based on device information, so you can quickly see an overview of your network inventory. NCM can be set to scan frequently, so your device list is constantly updated.
For contract information and support expiration information, NCM regularly polls these points and can notify you when equipment or content needs to be replaced or when the contract needs to be replaced. is extended.
2. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper
SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper
SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper (NTM) is a comprehensive and easy-to-use network mapping, device discovery and reporting tool. SolarWinds NTM can help you easily track network inventory and network information by leveraging its multi-layer discovery technique:
SNMP
WMI
ICMP
VMware
CDP
Microsoft Hyper-DRAW
Etc...
By performing multi-level network discovery, NTM can create integrated Layer 2 and Layer 3 OSI network maps with detailed device information. The scanning and mapping functions in NTM are designed to make it easy for you to keep track of what your network looks like and what devices you've connected.
NTM can explore an entire network usually in just a few minutes. In addition to automatic network discovery, you can also edit the node details of objects, connect network devices manually, and use many other customization options to ensure you get the correct modes. See the most useful network inventory process. NTM can also help address reporting needs to demonstrate compliance with PCI, FIPS 140-2, and other regulatory requirements. NTM is built to be FIPS 140-2 compliant.
What really sets NTM apart is its ability to automatically discover, collect device details, and transform this data to generate a variety of reports and diagrams, including network topology maps, audits, and more. hardware enumeration, port usage conversion, and device connection reports.
NTM also eliminates the need to rescan the network every time you want to create a map, as it is designed to generate multiple maps from a single scan - saving you time, bandwidth and resources.
3. Network Inventory Advisor
Network Inventory Advisor
Another good network inventory software is Network Inventory Advisor. Network Inventory Advisor also allows you to track the installed software, the version you have, and the license that comes with it. With license aggregation, collection, and management, you can easily see how your licenses compare to purchased contracts.
In addition, you can scan network device stats, including CPU, memory, system details, and audio, visual, and peripheral devices. You can roll out bulk upgrades or fix hardware problems. Network testing can be performed regularly with automatic scanning. The reports generated will contain up-to-date hardware and software information for each asset. All devices can be tagged with multiple statuses, which are then assigned to a specific user or technical owner to manage.
4. Total Network Inventory
Total Network Inventory (TNI) is network inventory software designed for use with PC, Mac, Linux and FreeBSD. It's an easy tool to set up: Once the installation is complete, you'll need to define a list of network notes or IP ranges and connect to the Active Directory domain. You can then scan your network and it will automatically discover network devices and related device information.
Data from TNI is stored on the main hard drive, so you can move or store inventory data. Devices can be grouped and commented on. Reports in TNI ask you to select a group of computers in the file, and then select the type of report you want to generate. You can also create complex or custom reports by selecting specific objects or metrics from the TNI list.
TNI can also tell you what software you have installed on your network and which computers have it installed. You can see how many copies are installed and then compare those numbers with license allocations. Scans can be scheduled to collect and update information in the network, and you can scan individually by device list. Use a saved configuration snapshot to compare current and previous versions, then quickly view any changes.
Finally, you can create and view a map of your entire network, then organize it in a streamlined or business-focused way. You can drag and drop content all over your map and arrange them however you want. While TNI is a great tool, many processes require manual setup and can be a bit time consuming to do a full scan.
5. Spiceworks
Spiceworks
Spiceworks offers a free network inventory tool with basic functionality, so you can get it up and running in no time. You can use Spiceworks to automatically discover device information, with quick scans for Windows and Mac computers, routers, switches, printers, and more. It presents all the information including the device's manufacturer, MAC address, hardware details, installed software, and open ports. You can also see how much storage space your device has or whether anti-virus software is installed.
Auto-update is another useful feature of Spiceworks that allows you to track and inventory cloud services. Scheduled scans allow you to set how often you want to scan and update your information. With custom reports, you can create reports on your network content and any metrics you need.
Finally, Spiceworks includes an “Inventory with Help Desk” feature that allows you to keep track of your tasks, and user data can be imported from Active Directory to view them with user associations and information. their contact information.
However, the main downside of Spiceworks is that it requires add-ons to enhance functionality, which can quickly make the software cluttered and unwieldy. It also maintains its free status by including advertising and marketing from vendors (which can quickly become annoying for users). If you need a quick solution, maybe consider this tool, but for long term business use it might not be the best choice.
Open-AudIT is an open source network inventory management tool that runs on both Linux and Windows systems. It includes several different editions: Community, Professional, Enterprise and Cloud. The different editions have a common code base, but the Enterprise and Professional editions include additional features. These additional features are designed to improve network device discovery and increase reporting for the organization.
All versions include device discovery features. You can query the Windows system to discover hardware and software, operating system settings and security, services, and user groups.
You can also monitor network devices for their IP and MAC addresses, along with open ports, serial numbers, and more. You can also set up Open-AudIT to scan your network devices. automatically, such as setting up daily/hourly scans for the entire system, hourly network scans, or custom settings to suit your needs.
Professional and Enterprise editions have more network analytics dashboards and reports, geo-based network maps, and commercial support available for businesses. The Enterprise and Cloud editions are also highly scalable and have higher availability provisions as well as role-based access controls and a greater number of integrations. You can download these versions for free.
Although Open-AudIT has a solid feature base, not much is known about its performance and functionality in real enterprise scenarios. If you are running a large business, it is better to use software that is more well-documented and known, so that you can trust the service level and availability of the tools you use.
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