Device Discovery with Nmap

Asset discovery is an important aspect of network management and security. It involves identifying and cataloging all the devices and systems connected to a network.

Problem #

Simple method to get a list of all devices on the network.

Assumptions #

• All network segments are accessible from the device running Nmap.
• Ping or ICMP packets are allowed unrestricted inside the network.

Solution #

Run the following command:

nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24

Usually, the default gateway is known and can be excluded from the scan:

nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24 --exclude 192.168.1.1

Explanation #

This is a simple way to discover devices on a network using Nmap. The -sn option tells Nmap to perform a ping scan, which is faster than a full port scan.