January 2, 2021

Network Device Scanner with Network Inventory Advisor

Looking for effective ways how to keep increasingly complex networks healthy, network device scanners such as Network Inventory Advisor have become very important over the years, but there’s still some confusion surrounding their purpose and benefits. This article aims to eliminate it.
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Network Inventory Advisor
Automatically collect all relevant data on all network devices and get detailed OS and devices statistics.
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Network Inventory Advisor for Windows scans Windows, Mac OS X, Linux computers and SNMP devices, any of them will count as a node.

Network administrators face many challenges these days, and network device scanning is certainly among them.

What Is a Network Device Scanner?

A network device scanner is a software tool whose purpose is to discover and monitor network devices, including personal computers, routers, modems, access points, and others. Network device scanners typically rely on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), which is an application layer protocol for monitoring the status and configuration of network devices. Network device scanners offer many useful features, including but not limited to:

  • Automatic network device discovery: In this day and age, manual network device monitoring is no longer effective. Employees are used to bringing their own devices to work and organizations of all sizes are forced to quickly adapt to rapidly changing market needs. Network device scanners can automatically discover all network devices, helping network administrators eliminate shadow IT and the plethora of security issues associated with it.
  • Network monitoring with alerts: It’s very important for network administrators to know when something is removed, installed, or replaced anywhere in the network. Network device scanners with monitoring capabilities are able to keep network administrators constantly in the know, alerting them of changes and potential issues a long time before they have a chance to become large problems.
  • Software asset management: Network device scanners are not limited to hardware assets. Software asset management is also an important part of network device scanning. Modern organizations use a whole host of software products to increase their productivity and managing licenses for all of them is a real challenge. Network Inventory Advisor, for example, features a unique license aggregation, collection, and management feature for most major software products from more than 500 vendors, making it much easier for network administrators to track installations, software versions, licenses, and services on all computers.
  • Non-IT asset management: It’s very useful to track non-IT assets, such as office furniture, alongside regular IT assets, and it’s always a good idea to select a network device scanner that can not only scan the network for devices but also keep track of all non-IT assets.
  • Reporting: Network device scanning for the sake of network device scanning is largely a waste of time. What’s really important is to organize the gathered information in a way that makes sense. Network device scanners with built-in reporting capabilities help the IT department communicate with the rest of the organization, and they are always preferable over network device scanners with no reporting capabilities.

Are Network Device Scanners Expensive?

Because of how useful network device scanners are, it’s often assumed that they must be very expensive. The truth is that some network device scanners are too expensive for small and medium-sized businesses to afford, but not all of them.

“Some network device scanners are too expensive for small and medium-sized businesses to afford, but not all of them”

In fact, there are network device scanners that don’t cost anything at all, but they are hard to recommend because of their limited functionality and non-existent customer support. Free network device scanners are great for home users who want to explore how professional network administrators keep track of network devices to make their life just a bit easier.

By far the best choice for small and medium-sized businesses are network device scanners whose cost depends on the number of network devices the business wants to manage.

Choosing a network device scanner that works just as well for businesses with 50 nodes as it does for businesses with 5,000 nodes is not only cost-effective, but it also helps businesses avoid vendor lock-in, which happens when a business becomes dependent on a certain vendor for products and services that no longer meet the needs of the business while being unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs.

Editor’s choice 2019
Network Inventory Advisor
Automatically collect all relevant data on all network devices and get detailed OS and devices statistics.
Download for Windows
Network Inventory Advisor for Windows scans Windows, Mac OS X, Linux computers and SNMP devices, any of them will count as a node.

Network Inventory Advisor


Network Inventory Advisor is a network device scanner that scans Windows, Mac, Linux, and other network and standalone devices. It can scan a network for devices with its agent-free solution and generate flexible reports for effective hardware and software inventorying and monitoring.

Network Inventory Advisor goes well beyond the hardware side of network management with its ability to easily track installations, software versions, licenses, and services on all computers. Network Inventory Advisor features unique license aggregation and supports software products from more than 500 vendors.

Network Inventory Advisor

Managed services providers can use Network Inventory Advisor to create and manage multiple networks while enjoying the ability to switch between them within a single click. Network Inventory Advisor makes it easy to generate customizable reports that can be presented to non-IT decision-makers, and it also supports network monitoring with alerts.

The cost of Network Inventory Advisor is calculated according to the number of monitored nodes, and substantial discounts are available for non-profits, government, and educational organizations. Everyone can download Network Inventory Advisor for free and use it for up to 15 days without any limitations to test its features.

Conclusion

Network device scanners have become an integral part of the daily life of most network administrators, helping them discover and monitor network devices, including personal computers, routers, modems, access points, and others. There are now many network device scanners to choose from, but not all of them come with the same features or cost the same amount of money. Instead of opting for a free network device scanner with limited capabilities, SMBs should choose a professional network device scanner with flexible pricing, like Network Inventory Advisor.

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Network Inventory Advisor for Windows scans Windows, Mac OS X, Linux computers and SNMP devices, any of them will count as a node.