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Device discovery

Computers and devices can be discovered using LDAP lookups in an Active Directory, or by using the following technologies for network discovery on specific IP address ranges:

  • SNMP

  • SSH

  • WinRPC/WMI

  • ICMP (“ping”)

  • TCP/IP fingerprinting

  • DNS lookup

  • NIC manufacturer lookup

All discovery technologies are turned off by default when installing Snow Inventory Server. Each technology can be turned on individually and be configured for specific ports and IP-ranges as needed to enable full asset discovery.

Non-inventoried devices​

Computers that are not inventoried add uncertainty to what is installed and used in the environment, and what impact that could have on the license compliance of the organization.

All computers and mobile devices in the IT environment are discovered. Any devices that are not yet inventoried, either by Snow Inventory Agents or a Snow Integration Connector, are presented in the Snow Inventory Admin Console.

Network devices​

In addition to computers and mobile devices, connected network equipment is also discovered and presented in the Snow Inventory Admin Console. The network management protocol SNMP is used for discovery of equipment like printers, routers, and switches.

Using the Snow Integration Connector for Discovery data from any source, data from already existing discovery tools can be integrated.

Unreachable devices​

In order to mitigate the gap between discovered and inventoried devices, it is essential to be able to reach the device from a Snow Inventory server (Master Server or Service Gateway). The Snow Inventory Admin Console has built-in views for presenting any device that is unreachable but exists in the Active Directory or third-party discovery tools. By using this information, Service Gateways can be set up to cover the entire estate.