Без названия

Techopedia defines network inventory management as the process of keeping records of all the IT or network assets that make up a network. In the past, the average network inventory was fairly small and static. But due to the accelerating rate of technological change, companies today often acquire and decommission IT and network assets so frequently that they sometimes lose track of the state of their network inventory.

Fortunately, the developers of network inventory software have been listening to the needs of companies large and small, developing comprehensive network inventory scanners that greatly simplify the process of keeping records of all the IT and network assets.

What Are the Best Network Inventory Tools?

We have selected five best network inventory tools and sorted them based on several criteria, including their price, ease of use, reliability, features, customer support, user reviews, and versatility.

Out of all the network inventory software solutions that are currently available, Network Inventory Advisor has proven to outperform others in virtually every way, and it’s also one of only a few network inventory software solutions capable of meeting the needs of large enterprises just as well as it can meet the needs of small mom and pop businesses.

1. Network Inventory Advisor

Network Inventory Advisor is a professional network inventory software and the best network inventory solution featured on this list. Unlike other similar software products, we can recommend Network Inventory Advisor to anyone from small businesses to large enterprises. The core feature of Network Inventory Advisor is its ability to gather information about all hardware and software assets on a network.

The information that Network Inventory Advisor gathers includes software installations, software versions, licenses, and hardware details, making it indispensable when preparing for an audit. Network Inventory Advisor could never become the official audit partner of Autodesk if it wasn’t for its ability to collect licensing information for more than 500 independent software vendors, including the aforementioned Autodesk, Microsoft, or Adobe.

Network Inventory Advisor supports agent-less scanning of Windows nodes, Macs, Linux machines, and SNMP network devices. Thanks to the option to create multiple network groups, it’s possible to gather scan data from multiple networks with just one installation of the software. What’s more, it’s possible to set up Network Inventory Advisor to send alerts in case it detects a change on a network, which is something that every network administrator can appreciate.

Despite its vast capabilities, Network Inventory Advisor is one of the more affordable network inventory management solutions on the market, and it comes with fair license terms and absolutely no hidden fees whatsoever. The developers of Network Inventory Advisor guarantee business-friendly license terms, which state that any license purchased can be used for personal and commercial needs.

2. Spiceworks

Regardless of whether you need to monitor critical devices, troubleshoot issues, rescue users, or manage your inventory Spiceworks has the right tool for you. The inventory management software from Spiceworks supports automatic scanning, customizable alerts, software and hardware tracking, and much more. Spiceworks Inventory has been designed from scratch to integrate with other Spiceworks products and be a one-stop shop for managing devices and creating comprehensive reports. Spiceworks Inventory is easy to use, and it takes just a few minutes the finish the first scan thanks to pre-configured templates and out-of-the-box support for most networking devices.

3. Lansweeper

Lansweeper is an agent-free network inventory software with over 300 default network reports, integrated help desk, and the capability to scale to thousands of network assets. Because Lansweeper pairs network inventory management capabilities with Lansweeper Help Desk, it’s popular with small and medium-sized companies who want to kill two birds with one stone. But even when used only for network inventory management, Lansweeper still fares well when compared to other similar solutions, supporting automated software deployment, SNMP network management, active directory management, and license compliance monitoring.

4. Open-AudIT

Open-AudIT is a popular network auditing application based on PHP, Bash, and VBScript. Open-AudIT is available in two editions: Community and Enterprise. The Community edition is free and, as the name suggests, maintained by the community, while the Enterprise edition includes additional modules that improve discovery, simplify administration and increase reporting ability. Among the extra features found only in the Enterprise edition are a dashboard, scheduled reporting, reporting over time, advanced report filtering, exclusive reports, location mapping, scheduled discovery, bulk upload of discovery schedule, and commercial product and development support.

5. EMCO Network Inventory

EMCO Network Inventory is an award-winning network inventory software designed for companies both large and small. The main purpose of EMCO Network Inventory is to help business owners and network administrators automatically collect up-to-date information about all hardware and software assets from all remote PCs. To accomplish this, EMCO Network Inventory features a number of useful network inventory tools as well as the ability to generate detailed network inventory reports based on collected network audit information. EMCO Network Inventory is available in two editions: Professional and Enterprise. The Enterprise edition has additional software licenses management capabilities which the Professional edition lacks.

A network inventory is the collection of all hardware and software assets on a network. The term network inventory is typically used in the business setting, both by the management and the IT department. Decision-makers demand a running list of all the stuff on the company network because it allows them to better plan future software and hardware purchases and make sound strategic decisions. Network administrators need to have a good understanding of all the equipment that makes up the company network to diagnose and fix problems in a timely manner and to prepare for audits.

Most of those who are responsible for network inventory management rely on network inventory software such as Network Inventory Advisor or Total Network Inventory to accomplish what would otherwise take days and weeks in a matter of minutes and hours. Besides being time-efficient, network inventory software has numerous capabilities that are indispensable for preparing for audits, including reporting, automatic hardware and software asset tracking, and customizable alerts.

How Can Network Inventory Advisor Help Me Manage My Network Inventory?

First released in 2008, Network Inventory Advisor is a third-party network management tool designed to collect all relevant data on network devices and obtain detailed software and hardware statistics. Network Inventory Advisor is developed by ClearApps LLC, software development company headquartered in Elk Grove, California.Since it first became available, Network Inventory Advisor has become one of the most popular network inventory software solutions, and, in this section, we briefly describe some of the ways how Network Inventory Advisor can help you manage your network inventory.

Software Asset Management

As the official software audit partner of Autodesk Inc., Network Inventory Advisor supports software products from over 500 vendors, giving companies of all sizes the ability to easily track installations, software versions, licenses, and services on all computers with a press of a button.

Those who choose Network Inventory Advisor as their network inventory software of choice don’t need to worry about passing software audits. With many different licensing models, the modern software landscape can be very difficult to navigate. Most companies these days pay for yearly and monthly software subscriptions, purchase software license keys, and sometimes even pay for on-demand cloud computing services. Network Inventory Advisor helps companies ensure compliance with the myriad of different software licenses with its easy-to-use software tracking features and sophisticated reporting capabilities.

Hardware Asset Management

Network Inventory Advisor is also a powerful network inventory scanner capable of automatically detecting all Windows, macOS, Linux, and SNMP devices on the network. Besides IT asset tracking, Network Inventory Advisor also supports the tracking of standalone assets, like printers, keyboards, sound devices, and even office furniture.To scan connected devices with Network Inventory Advisor, it’s not necessary to install a scan agent on the scanned devices. What’s more, scanning with Network Inventory Advisor can be fully automated to always stay in the know of any changes that occur on the network. 

Thanks to its hardware asset management capabilities, Network Inventory Advisor helps companies leverage their existing resources in the most optimal manner and strategically plan future hardware purchases to keep up with the competition and achieve a healthy growth rate. Considering how much even many small and medium-sized companies spend on hardware assets, it makes sense for companies to assign a high priority to hardware asset management and equip themselves with network inventory tools capable of effortlessly monitoring even the largest networks while still meeting the needs of smaller companies.

One Solution, Multiple Networks

Network Inventory Advisor is one of only a handful of Network Monitoring Tools that can monitor multiple networks from a single installation, making it ideal for MSPs, ensuring that they won’t ever have to look for any additional software to run their network inventory projects. When an MSP gets a new client, they can simply create a separate network in Network Inventory Advisor and make a scan.

With Network Inventory Advisor, bulk editing of both software and hardware assets is as effortless as it can be. Even those network administrators who manage networks that consist of multiple thousand assets don’t feel overwhelmed when using Network Inventory Advisor.

Instant Alerts and Comprehensive Reporting

Network Inventory Advisor can send alerts when it detects software and hardware changes, notifying network administrators when something is removed, installed, or replaced on the network. A change on the network may be an early sign of a larger problem, and the sooner the IT staff is aware of the change, the quicker the underlying problem can be solved.

Of course, not all problems reveal themselves on their own. Some problems are systemic, having to do with network inventory utilization and software license compliance. In the worst-case scenario, a problem is revealed during an audit, leading to large financial penalties that might even threaten the very existence of the company. To prevent this from happening, Network Inventory Advisor features a host of comprehensive reporting capabilities, making it possible to print complex reports with a single click.

Free to Download and Inexpensive to Purchase

Network Inventory Advisor is free to download and can be tested in production without any limitations for up to 15 days. The price for the standard license for Windows XP/2000/ME/7/8/10 is determined by the number of nodes on the monitored network. Thanks to the business-friendly license terms of Network Inventory Advisor any license purchased can be used for personal and commercial needs and every purchase is a one-time payment without hidden fees or subscriptions of any kind. To find out more information about Network Inventory Advisor and its licensing terms, head over to the official website.

If you have ever faced the task of setting up a network inventory to manage your network to perfection, you know this can be quite the task. Searching the “network inventory” results over the web often leads to an overwhelming number of options. Some solutions will be ad-based, some — high-end and very pricey. We'll try to lay the information out for you so you can find the most suitable tool for your business.

What is “network inventory”

Network inventory is a process of creating the list of devices, such as computers, servers, routers, and printers, connected to the inventoried network. The amount of information one can obtain depends on whether the person who performs the inventory has the administrator privileges.

The most basic network inventory is a list of devices. However, the deeper it gets the more data it contains: details about software installed, hotfixes applied, serial numbers, management change, and more.

How inventory software helps you manage network assets

If you’re administering a network or multiple networks, it is rather important to have an up-to-date and detailed network inventory at hand. For example, staying in the know of what software is running on your network can save time, troubleshooting costs, and spare you from expensive IT audits.

A high-quality software inventory tool helps you keep track of software licenses, so you don't have to worry about not complying. Central management of software licenses can help prevent the loss of data.

Here are the best network discovery tools

Network Inventory Advisor

Network Inventory Advisor from ClearApps can be used on Mac or Windows machines and offers a quick and reliable audit results for all software and hardware on the network. Network Inventory Advisor discovers all network assets automatically, thoroughly scans them and builds comprehensive ready-to-use reports. It can even discover and build reports for standalone assets, such as printers, keyboards, sound devices, and your office furniture as manually added nodes.

PROS:

Ideal for small to large businesses

Strong fault management tools

Multiple reports generation

Highly customizable admin dashboard

Simultaneous support for multiple networks

Works on Mac and Windows OS

Hardware monitoring and reports

Network discovery

CMDB export

Works with SNMP devices

Integration with your remote desktop app

CONS:

No web-interface

Lansweeper

Lansweeper is a network inventory tool for Windows networks. This network discovery and asset management tool is automatic and has a web interface.

PROS:

For small to large business

Basic free version with several paid plans

Fault management options

Text message alerts

Automatic network mapping

Device shutdown and startup according to schedule

CONS:

No remote administration

No scheduled backups

No accounting management

No security management

Doesn't require administrator approval for changes

Total Network Inventory

Total Network Inventory software from Softinventive is a PC audit and network inventory software for small office use and large-scale enterprise networks. TNI software scans computers remotely and generates reports with information about operating system, service packs, hotfixes, software, hardware, processes running, etc.

PROS:

Good for small to large businesses

Network Topology

Network Discovery

Hardware monitoring

Schedule data collection

CONS:

No performance report

A poor set of fault management features

Admin dashboard is not customizable

Network mapping is not automated

Doesn't require administrator approval for changes

ManageEngine OpManager

ManageEngine OpManager is a network management solution for large businesses, service providers and SMEs. With OpManager monitoring tool one gets clear management and monitoring of a network and configuration, firewall log, quality bandwidth analysis, management of IP address and switchport, as well as fault management.

PROS:

Expansive feature list

Web-based

Monitors devices using SNMP, WMI, SSH/Telnet

Supports mobile devices (Android/iOS)

Scheduled Device Startup/Shutdown

Scheduled Changes of Configuration

CONS:

High pricing

Unconventional and complex interface is tricky to use

Needs a lot of manual configuration

Doesn't allow to customize admin dashboard

Spiceworks Inventory

Spiceworks inventory is an IT network management software created for networks with up to 1,000 devices. This solution offers automated scans, generates reports, tracks IT services. It is a help desk software, asset management solution, network inventory app, and much more.

PROS:

Free

Supports multiple devices

Notifies of changes in real time

Remote configuration

Mobile OS are supported

CONS:

Limited scalability

Not suitable for large businesses

No security management options

Doesn't generate performance report

Doesn't offer accounting management

Very few fault management features

Ad-based

Web interface is slow and becomes bulky as your network grows

Solarwinds Network topology mapper

Solarwinds offers Network Topology Mapper — a tool that will automatically map your network. It creates hardware inventory and switch port usage reports. This solution automatically generates network maps upon scanning your network. The maps can be exported to MS Visio, SolarWinds Network Atlas, and PDF format. Scans can be scheduled up to your convenience and you get detailed inventory reports.

PROS:

For small to large businesses

Network topology

Requires admin approval for changes

Notifies of changes in real time

Administrator dashboard

Automatic network mapping

CONS:

Few possibilities for performance management

No security management options

No accounting management options

Very few configuration management features

Doesn't offer remote administration

Doesn't offer network discovery

The Importance of Inventory ManagementAs the famous proverb says, knowledge is power. Knowing what resources your business or organization has at its disposal is critical for smooth and cost-efficient growth. The challenge is finding a way how to handle inventory management and still maintain a firm focus on one’s core business. A good inventory management software solution allows you to do just that and more. Perhaps more than any other piece of software, an inventory management app needs to compliment your existing workflow, instead of forcing you to change your processes to match its capabilities. Fortunately, there are multiple inventory management software solutions to choose from, and, in this article, we’ll help you pick the best one for you.

https://www.network-inventory-advisor.com/best-inventory-management-software.html

The Importance of Inventory Management