2.4.2 Discovering networked devices

You can search for devices connected to a network, and register discovered devices as management targets of JP1/IT Desktop Management.

You can search a specific range of network addresses for devices. You can register discovered devices such as computers that require security management as management targets, and devices such as routers that do not require security management as exclusion targets.

As part of the search process, you can automatically register discovered devices as management targets, and automatically distribute the agent program to discovered computers. You can also configure the system to notify the administrator by email when a new device is discovered.

The following figure shows an overview of searching for devices and registering discovered devices as management targets.

[Figure]

On the management server, search for devices on a routine basis by specifying a network range to search, a discovery schedule, and other parameters.

Important note

To conduct an intensive search for devices in the network by specifying a discovery period, specify 50,000 or less IP addresses in the discovery range. If more than 50,000 IP addresses are contained, the search might stop.

In an environment with site servers deployed, you can search for devices from the management server or a site server.

If a site server is deployed within the discovery range (that is, within one of the IP address ranges set in the IP Address Range view accessed by clicking Discovery Settings under Discovery in the Settings module), then the search is conducted from the site server. This allows you to search for devices that are not directly accessible from the management server. To make every device in the organization discoverable, deploy a site server within each discovery range.
- If a site server is deployed within the discovery range, then the search is conducted from the site server. When there are several site servers within a discovery range, the discovery range is apportioned among the site servers which search in parallel. If there is also a management server within the discovery range, the search is conducted from the management server and site servers in parallel.
- If there is no site server within the discovery range, the search is conducted from the management server or from a site server outside the discovery range.
Tip

Management servers and site servers can connect to a maximum of 10 devices at once during a search.
Discovered devices can be registered as management targets automatically, or set aside to be manually registered as a management target or exclusion target at a later time.

Related Topics:

Organization of this subsection

(1) Discovery conditions
(2) Estimating data traffic during network searches

(1) Discovery conditions

Several conditions must be met before you can discover devices. Each discovery method has different conditions.

Discovering devices in Active Directory

The correct settings must be specified for the connection-target Active Directory server in the Active Directory view under General in the Settings module.

Discovering networked devices

The following conditions must be satisfied:

In an environment with site servers deployed, the management server and the site server must be mutually accessible by their IP addresses.
If a device is in the same segment as the management server or site server, the device must respond to ARP requests from the management server or site server
If a device is in a different segment from the management server or site server, the device must respond to ICMP ECHO (ping) messages from the management server or site server
Devices must have IP addresses assigned
The discovery range must be set correctly
Authentication information must be set correctly

You can set the discovery range and authentication information in the IP Address Range view accessed by clicking Configurations under Discovery in the Settings module.

The prerequisites for a network environment in which devices can be discovered are as follows:

The network supports TCP/IP communication and the firewall settings and other parameters permit communication through chosen ports.
The management server or site server and managed devices are able to communicate with each other via ICMP.

Important note: Virtual machines are treated as separate computers for discovery purposes. The guest OS of a virtual machine must be assigned its own IP address and MAC address separate from those assigned to the host OS.

Important note: You cannot manage agentless devices in a NAT environment.

Important note: By default, computers running Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 (Service Pack 2 or later), or Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or later) use firewall settings that block ICMP messages. To use ICMP in the discovery process, ICMP must be enabled in the configuration of the computer being discovered.

Important note: Do not specify a discovery range that includes a loop-back address or broadcast address. Searches whose discovery range contains such an address might discover devices wrongly.

Tip: You can discover devices that use a wireless LAN, WAN, or VPN, provided that the network environment meets the above prerequisites.

You can automatically distribute the agent program to discovered computers that are running Windows. For details about the conditions that must be met for this to occur, see 2.5.2 Criteria for agent distribution to online-managed computers.

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(2) Estimating data traffic during network searches

The following shows general guidelines for estimating how much traffic is generated by a network search.

When using SNMP authentication: If SNMP authentication is successful, approximately 2 KB of data is sent per device.
When using Windows administrative shares: If login to the Windows administrative share is successful, approximately 2.5 MB of data is sent per device. Agent distribution uses approximately 30 MB of data traffic.

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