Documentation forEngineer's Toolset

IP Network Browser

SolarWinds IP Network Browser is an interactive network discovery tool. IP Network Browser can scan a subnet and show the details about the devices on the subnet. Each IP address is sent a PING. For each responding address, IP Network Browser attempts to gather more information. It does this using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). An SNMP agent must be active on the remote devices in order for IP Network Browser to gather details about the device.

The SolarWinds IP Network Browser is not specific to Cisco devices. It can discover any device with an IP address. If the device has an SNMP agent and the correct SNMP community string is included in the IP Network Browser Settings, IP Network Browser discovers a great deal about the device.

The first time you run IP Network Browser, a configuration wizard guides you through setting up the tool. Before completing the wizard, confirm that you have the read or read and write community string and that an access list on your router is not blocking SNMP access.

Scan subnet

  1. Enter an IP address in the Subnet Address field.
  2. Enter the subnet mask in the Subnet Mask field.
  3. Click Scan Subnet.

    You are not required to enter the exact network address. IP Network Browser calculates the correct subnet address based on the Subnet Mask. For example: if you enter 10.0.23.100 as the Subnet Address and 255.255.255.192 as the Subnet Mask, IP Network Browser calculates the correct subnet. 10.0.23.64/255.255.255.192. For this example, IP Network Browser scans from 10.0.23.65 to 10.0.23.126.

Scan single device

  1. Enter a host name or IP address in the Host name or IP address field.
  2. Click Scan Device.

Scan IP address range

  1. Enter the beginning IP address in the Beginning IP address field.
  2. Enter the final IP address of the range in the Ending IP address field.
  3. Click Scan Address Range.

    When scanning a range of IP addresses, you might scan a network or broadcast address. When you scan a broadcast address, any device (or all devices) on the subnet might respond. The discovery information can be a mix from many different devices.