Network scanning is a necessary task, but it can start off simple and rapidly become more complicated as your business gets larger. Manually finding IP addresses on your network is possible, but why do it yourself when there are so many tools to help you? Not only can network scanning tools help you find IP addresses, but they can also provide extra information for monitoring, troubleshooting, and keeping your network running efficiently.
My top choice for a network scanning tool is SolarWinds® IP Address Manager, as it works in an intuitive and easy-to-use way while offering a broad suite of tools and functions. It’s more approachable than some of the other tools out there and has a flatter learning curve for figuring out how to get started.
How to Find IP Addresses of Devices on My Network
How Do IP Scanners Work?
Why Is a Network IP Scanner Useful?
What Is a Duplicate IP Address?
The Impact of IP Scanners on Network Security
7 Best Network Scanner Tools for 2023
1. SolarWinds IP Address Manager (30-Days Free Trial)
2. MyLanViewer
3. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper (14-Days Free Trial)
4. Angry IP Scanner
5. Advanced IP Scanner
6. SoftPerfect Network Scanner
7. LANSweeper IP Scanner
Picking the Best IP Scanner – My Top Choice
How to Find IP Addresses of Devices on My Network
Curious how to find IP addresses on network? You may need to know about either static or dynamic IP addresses. If you can access your router, you may be able to simply view the client lists and get information like hostname and MAC address. Or you can use a device connected to the network to manually ping the network and view the ARP tables.
- Open the command prompt.
- For devices running on Mac servers, enter the command “ipconfig.” For Linux servers, enter the command “ifconfig.” This will prompt the computer to display information related to current network communications, such as the device’s own IP address, operational subnets, and other data needed to establish connectivity. From here, you can use your IP address to curate your broadcast address for pinging. Often, this can be done by simply replacing the final segment of your device’s IP address with “.255.”
- To scan for available IP addresses within the network, enter the command “arp -a,” which will spur your computer to generate a list of all active IP addresses residing in the network’s ARP folder.
However, this method doesn’t work across subnets. This means that if you have multiple subnets on your network, you have to go through each individual router or subnet to determine the IP addresses within the subnet. It becomes pretty clear as your network scales, that manually scanning for IP addresses becomes an extremely complex task. Multiple subnets and an ever-changing string of devices connecting to and disconnecting from the network become problematic.
Instead of attempting to manually manage these aspects of your network, I recommend using an IP address manager (IPAM), which includes IP scanners. These tools help you manage your IP addresses and troubleshoot problems, and they also help you find all the IP addresses of the devices on your network and determine the status of each one (dynamic, static, available, reserved, etc.).
How Do IP Scanners Work?
IP scanners are capable of conducting ping sweeps using Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), which is integrated into any IP suite. ICMP is responsible for notifying users about a variety of network communication issues, such as connectivity failures and server malfunctions, through error messages. To initiate a ping sweep, the IP address scanner sends an ICMP echo request via message packets to IP addresses on other devices a user wishes to analyze. In turn, those hosts will respond with an echo reply packet that gives the requestor insight into the status of their IP addresses, response times, latency issues, and more.
IP scanners can also dive deeper into their networks by using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). With SNMP, IP network scanners can gather comprehensive information about the devices that communicate with each other within the same network. They do this by polling an in-network device through UDP port 161, either proactively or reactively. Proactive polling involves initiating this communication to receive an SNMP message from the target device in order to gain information about it. Reactive polling uses SNMP traps, which notify the IP scanner of any anomalies a device is experiencing within the network.
Maintaining network efficiency and troubleshooting connectivity problems becomes a breeze with IP scanners, making them a necessity for enterprises that depend on seamless operability, day in and day out.
Why Is a Network IP Scanner Useful?
In a high-functioning environment, manually scanning for network disruptions can be cumbersome and overwhelming. IP network scanners eliminate the need for teams to devote extensive amounts of time to upkeep their operational infrastructure through automation. This allows your organization to focus on more important tasks while your system runs IPAM scans regularly to find IP addresses. Many IPAM tools are compatible with IPv4 and IPv6 for smooth integration and cross-management.
Unlike manual ping sweeps, IP network scanners can scan subnets simultaneously for faster insight and data acquisition. Some IPAM tools will also integrate with DNS and DHCP, and all of them will usually present data in a visual, interactive format. Many also allow you to save your network scanning results and present them in spreadsheets or reports. All of these capabilities help to detect unauthorized device activity, understand faulty network appendages, mitigate human errors with configuration, and prevent IP conflicts, such as duplicated IP addresses.
What Is a Duplicate IP Address?
IP mismanagement and amateur configuration can lead to two or more devices sharing the same IP address. For example, an individual adding a device to a network may accidentally assign an IP address already being used within a subnet or by another device. This can lead to communication issues since devices sending message packets to duplicate IP addresses won’t know which specific device to send information to. In an attempt to understand and resolve the issue, ARP tables will constantly refresh in order to clarify the correct addressee, which can heavily disrupt enterprises and network viability. IP address scanners help prevent this confusion by providing administrators with a list of IP addresses in use, as well as flagging them when duplicate IP addresses are spotted.
The Impact of IP Scanners on Network Security
ou may be thinking about the security of IP addresses as they’re used within a network. Who can use them? How easy is it for an outsider to intercept a ping sweep? Are these addresses encrypted? In terms of finding and retrieving IP addresses, ICMP pings are vulnerable to denial of service (DOS) attacks that overwhelm systems and make it impossible for traffic to properly flow through all necessary channels. Additionally, hackers know that SNMP traffic takes place in UDP ports 161 and 162, making them highly exploitative targets for breaches. So finding a way to safeguard administrative activity and constantly running network communications becomes crucial for enterprises that can’t afford the costs and reputational damage inflicted by cyber attacks.
IPAM tools reduce the risk of unauthorized infiltration by keeping admins informed about the state of their infrastructure at all times. They do this by:
- Organizing and surveillancing Cisco, BIND DNS, Microsoft, and ISCO DHCP servers
- Granting admins a bird’s eye view of all concurrently running subnets
- Auditing in-network device activity
- Flagging suspicious behavior and sudden defects
- Addressing discrepancies in traffic direction and volume
Overall, IP scanners perform preventative measures to help protect incoming and outgoing traffic and provide organizations with the data they need to make informed decisions on how to best tackle lingering threats and vulnerabilities.
7 Best Network Scanner Tools for 2023
1. SolarWinds IP Address Manager (30-Days Free Trial)
©2023 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.
This is my top choice for network scanning software. SolarWinds IP Address Manager (IPAM) with its IP Address Scanner feature is great for both beginner users and small businesses, and expert network administrators and large enterprises. With automated IP address tracking and integrated DHCP and DNS management, you can quite easily monitor your IP addresses and associated network information.
You can also see all your subnets and how they are structured, and which subnets and scopes don’t have much free space remaining. It allows you to flag capacity issues before they become a problem, so IP address issues don’t affect performance. I’ve also found it easy to find unused IPs and reclaim them to tidy up my networks.
This IPAM uses a clean and simple interface, without a steep learning curve like some other IP address managers. You can easily assign management or control permissions to other admins or admin groups, allowing you to simply delegate tasks within IPAM rather than needing to use another tool. The console is centralized, allowing you to see all the relevant information in one place, reducing the potential for error.
I consider SolarWinds IPAM to be a complete solution, and it’s my choice for an all-around lightweight tool you can use to scan and maintain your network. There’s a free trial available, so you can try it out, then level up to gain access to more features and greater scalability.
2. MyLanViewer
Copyright © 2007-2023 S.K. Software.
This is another strong business-level contender for network scanner tools. MyLanViewer is an IP and network scanner, as well as a traceroute tool and network monitor. It uses a buddy-list style window to display all your network computers, including important technical information about each one. It can scan your network to monitor IPs and let you know when any details change.
It also supports remote shutdown and other remote functions for each network computer. It can monitor hidden devices on your subnets and discover bottlenecks in your connection with its traceroute tool. I’d say this is a fine choice for business use—it has an easy-to-use interface and is suitable for beginners and advanced users.
3. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper (14-Days Free Trial)
©2023 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved
Looking for a combination network scanning and mapping tool? Network Topology Mapper is designed to use a unique, multi-layer discovery method using SNMP v1-v3, ICMP, WMI, CDP, VMware, Hyper-V, and more to create network diagrams with integrated OSI layer 2 and 3 topology data.
After performing auto-discovery to identify your WAN or LAN, NTM can build many useful network maps without having to rescan, which can help save valuable resources, bandwidth, and your time. You can also customize the size and placement of icons and surrounding text on network maps, so you can build the best topology view to suit your needs.
With the ability to schedule network scans, NTM can automatically detect network topology changes and inform you of new devices or changes. NTM can also help you more easily stay on top of network information and, since it’s FIPS 140-2 compliant, can support your ability to demonstrate compliance with PCI and other regulations requiring the maintenance of an up-to-date network diagram. In my opinion, this tool can be most helpful for people who want to comprehensively manage and visually organize network data for quick accessibility and visibility.
You can try NTM by downloading a 14-day free trial.
4. Angry IP Scanner
Angry IP Scanner maintained by angryziber
Looking for one of the best free tools? This is an open-source and free network scanning tool, with the ability to scan ports and IP addresses quickly and efficiently. The tool provides a report of data on each device on the network, including NetBIOS, MAC and IP address, computer name, and hostname. However, open-source tools often require more know-how on the user’s part and aren’t my usual pick for business use.
Angry IP Scanner can also produce reports in XML, CSV, and TXT format, which is useful for exporting data and other information within your business. It uses a multi-threaded scanning approach, which uses a separate scanning thread for each IP address. This helps to improve the scanning process and make it more accurate.
5. Advanced IP Scanner
Copyright © 1999-2023 Famatech Corp. All rights reserved.
This tool is another open-source option for businesses looking to dip their toes into IP address scanning and management. Bear in mind that this tool can only help you analyze LANs in Windows ecosystems. Nonetheless, it offers useful remote insight into HTTPS, RDP, and FTP performances, troubleshooting capabilities (including remote shutdown), and exportable scan results in CSV format.
While not as comprehensive as other IP scanning tools, Advanced IP Scanner is still a dependable way to take a look at what’s going on with your LAN environment. It’s easy to use once integrated into your IT system, with a straightforward interface that minimizes confusion and human error, making it a suitable product for beginners and small-scale operations.
6. SoftPerfect Network Scanner
© 2000–2023 SoftPerfect Pty Ltd, Australia.
If you’re looking for optimal adaptability and customization features, SoftPerfect Network Scanner may be just what you need. It’s compatible with both Windows and MacOS systems, supports IPv4 and IPv6 protocols, can discover hidden shared folders through extensive ping sweeps, and exports scan data in HTML, JSON, TXT, CSV, and XML format for convenience and simple retrieval.
This tool’s interface is structured in application windows, folders, and drop-down lists, making it clear to navigate. You can set workstation options to filter the type of information you want to scan for, such as server roles, computer uptime, installed applications, and more. Additionally, you can tailor your scanner to automatically resolve certain issues common with network connectivity, like faulty IP addresses and defunct host names.
I find this tool to be appropriate for small businesses wanting functional flexibility and quick integration with existing IT environments. You can test run this product for free with up to 10 devices, but to explore all available features, you’ll have to upgrade.
7. LANSweeper IP Scanner
Copyright © 2023 Lansweeper.
I would consider LANSweeper IP Scanner to be a good choice for gathering detailed information from running assets in your network. It provides extreme visibility into every device and subnet associated with your network without needing to install software on them and organizes this information into digestible charts and graphs for quick analysis. From IP address tracking and agentless scanning to credential-free device recognition and real-time asset detection, this tool is built to help mitigate advanced cybersecurity threats.
At first glance, the centralized interface is complex, so it may take some time to get used to. However, it offers an expansive library of data that gives administrators competitive insight into crucial assets in their network. It also provides sweeping configuration settings that let you scan subnets individually or the network as a whole, establish regular scanning schedules, decide which functions should be performed automatically and manually, and manage how detected anomalies are resolved.
I recommend investing in this tool if you’re interested in the minutiae of the devices and software programs that run on your network and future-proofing the security of your IT infrastructure as you manage important assets. You can give it a try by downloading their 20-day free trial.
Picking the Best IP Scanner – My Top Choice
When I want to discover IP addresses on my network or scan for data generally, I tend to lean toward using a network scanning tool rather than trying to do it manually. Many network device scanners have simple interfaces, and some go above and beyond in terms of ease of use and clean interface appearance. I like using SolarWinds IP Address Manager, as it contains a pretty hefty solution in a lightweight package, with a free trial for people who want to try it out without commitment.
Recommended Reading
Ultimate Guide to Network Monitoring: If you’re looking for more in-depth information on how to monitor and look after your network once you find the best IP scanner for your business, take a look here for a beginner’s guide followed by more expert-level instructions.
