Contents
Discovery
Discovery is the process of finding Unmanaged Devices (PC’s, printers, servers, switches, routers, or any other device with an IP address, whether wired or wireless) on the network. The Discovery process looks for devices referred to as Unmanaged Devices. Once identified, certain devices can have a LANDESK Agent deployed to them, making them manageable from the Console from that point on.
Discovery can use two methods to find Unmanaged Devices, namely, Unmanaged Device Discovery (UDD), and eXtended Device Discovery (XDD).
Unmanaged Device Discovery (UDD)
The Unmanaged Device Discovery (UDD) method sends ping packet requests (ICMP protocol) on a predefined subnet range, and listens for ICMP Replies. The information obtained from ICMP Reply packets is used to compare with database entries to see if the responding machines are already present in the database. The MAC address and the NetBIOS Name are in the response packets. Management Suite searches for those entries in the database to ascertain whether the device is in the database.
If the corresponding MAC Address or NetBIOS Name, discovered in the network scan, is not present in the database, the device will be added to the UDD tool.
UDD lists the Operation System, if known, on devices it discovers. If the device was discovered via NT Domain discovery, the Operating System is listed in the Active Directory table, so UDD uses what is in the table to populate the UDD column. For all other UDD discovery, LANDESK uses NMAP Operating System Fingerprinting to discover the operating system on a Device. This technology sends malformed packets, which each operating system responds to in different ways. Through the responses, the Operating System is often discernible.
If you don't designate a subnet address range on a TCP/IP search, discovery is performed only on the network segment where the console initiating the discovery resides. For example, if you've installed four Consoles on four different PC workstations, each residing on a different network segment, you would have to initiate four scans, one from each of the four Consoles.
On network segments where there are no PC workstations with Consoles installed, you must use a subnet address range to scan that network segment.
To Launch a UDD Scan:
1. On the LANDESK Console click Tools > Configuration > Unmanaged Device Discovery.
2. On the Unmanaged Device Discovery tool click Scan Network (first icon on left on toolbar).
3. Enter the IP address range to scan in the Starting IP, Ending IP, and Subnet mask fields.
4. Click the More button if you desire to set additional scan options, then click Close.
a. Standard network scan
b. LANDESK Common Base Agent
c. NT or LDAP Domain discovery
d. LDAP
e. IPMI-enabled devices
f. Intel vPro-AMT devices
g. Virtual hosts
5. Click Add.
6. Click Scan now, or Schedule task, to scan immediately or schedule the scan for later.
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If from the Scan Network screen you click the More option, you will see this window.
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Discover devices using a standard network scan: Searches for computers by doing an NMAP ping sweep. This is the most thorough search, but also the slowest. You can limit the search to certain IP and subnet ranges. By default this option uses NetBIOS to try and gather information about the device.
- IP OS Fingerprinting: Uses NMAP to try to discover what OS the device has.
- Use SNMP: UDD uses Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to discover devices. Click Configure to enter information about SNMP on your network.
- Discover devices with LANDESK PDS2 installed: Searches for the standard LANDESK agent, formerly called Ping Discovery Service 2 (PDS2) on computers. This option discovers computers that have LANDESK products installed.
- Discover devices using NT domain: Searches for devices in a domain you specify.
- Discover devices using LDAP: Searches for devices in a specified Light-weight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory.
- Discover Virtual Host: Looks for servers running the VMware ESX Server.
UDD Rights
In order to perform UDD a Console User needs to have Unmanaged Device Discovery right assigned to them through Role-Based Administration.
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The View right grants the Console User the right to see and access the UDD tool. The Edit right grants the ability to create UDD scanner configurations. The Deploy right grants the ability to schedule and run different UDD scans.
NOTE: Agent discovery cannot be used to search outside firewalls, because firewalls generally limit the flow of packet traffic to designated ports.
Extended Device Discovery (XDD)
Extended device discovery (XDD) can help you find devices that UDD scans do not discover. XDD uses a managed device elected to be a listener on its subnet. XDD enabled managed devices listen for Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) broadcasts and maintain a cache (both in memory and in a file on the local drive) of devices that make ARP requests. Networked devices use ARP to obtain a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) assigned address to join a network. Even heavily firewalled devices rely on ARP. Because of this, XDD can help you find devices that UDD scans do not discover.
Client Self-Election Process
In order to have one (and only one) device listening on each subnet, and reporting discovered devices to the Core Server, Management Suite uses a unique and ingenious process called the Client Self-Election Process (CSEP). In CSEP, one device on each subnet performs the role as listener. If that managed device is turned off or disconnects from the network, another device dynamically becomes the listener. With this technology, each subnet always has a listener so no devices are missed, and only one device per subnet is sending discovery information to the Core Server, utilizing only a minimal amount of bandwidth.
The CSEP implementation eliminates the need to have multiple agent configurations for devices on subnets. There is no need to have a configuration for listeners, and a separate configuration for non-listener devices. The self-election process makes it possible for each device to have the same configuration, and be able to be the listener, if elected.
Self-Electing Subnet Services
Currently, two services can be configured to use Self-Electing Subnet Services (SSS or S³), including Extended device discovery (ARP), and Extended device discovery (WAP). To configure the services to use S³, open the Self-electing subnet services tool. Here, the desired state of both services can be set. It also shows the subnets configured to use S³.
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To set devices to be a part of the S³ election process, use the Client Connectivity agent setting. The setting is made by selecting the Enable self-electing subnet services checkbox, on the Self-electing subnet services page.
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The Self-electing subnet services page sets which devices will participate in the election to be a listener. The Extended device discovery page configures how devices will work the process. Parameters include:
- Use address resolution protocol (ARP): Whether to discover ARP announced devices
- Duration ARP entry stats cached (in seconds): The length of time to keep discovered devices in the cache (default 86400 or 1 day)
- Maximum delay before pinging an unknown device for the LANDESK agent (in seconds): Default 3600 or 1 hour
- Frequency the cached ARP table is refreshed (in seconds): How often discovered devices are reported to the Core Server
- Logging Level: The level of logging to select (IF the Force logging level checkbox is selected. Levels include:
- Errors only
- Errors and Warnings
- Debug
- Give desktops preference over laptops: Whether to weight the election process to give desktops a higher probability of being selected to be the listener.
- Use wireless access point discovery (WAP): Whether to discover WAP devices
- Frequency of WAP scan (in seconds): How often discovered to scan for WAP devices
- Logging Level: The level of logging to select (IF the Force logging level checkbox is selected. Levels include:
Errors only
Errors and Warnings
Debug
Process for XDD Discovered Devices
If Management Suite does not find a corresponding MAC address or NetBIOS Name in the database, the Core Server will act upon these added devices by waiting a random amount of time (between 15 minutes and 1 hour) to send a ping request to Agents that would exist on a managed device. The ping request packets from the Core Server are TCP port 9595 to the Standard LANDESK Agent, TCP port 9535 to the LANDESK Remote Control service, and TCP port 4343 to HTML5 Remote Control.
- Standard LANDESK agent: Enables the Ping Discovery Service (PDS). If the standard LANDESK agent is installed on a device, you can schedule software distributions and device setup configurations.
- Remote control: Lets you remotely access and control a device.
Any device that is not in the database, and does not send a response packet to the ping requests will be added to the UDD list.
There is a column in the UDD list titled “ARP Discovered”. Items found via a UDD scan populate the ARP Discovered field with “false”, while XDD discovered devices populate the field with “true”.
XDD can be set to listen to Wireless Access Point (WAP) traffic as well. If enabled, the listener will report wireless routers to the Core, and these routers will appear in the UDD list.
Setting an Agent Setting to include XDD
1. To include XDD as a part of agent setting, do the following:
2. Open the Agent Settings tool in the Console (Tools > Configuration > Agent Settings).
3. Expand My agent settings or Public agent settings and select Client connectivity.
4. Click the Create New Settings icon on the Agent settings toolbar. (The Client connectivity settings window appears.) OR open an existing Agent Setting you wish to change.
NOTE: This can optionally be configured by editing an Agent Configuration setting, selecting Client connectivity, and clicking [Configure]. (The Configure client connectivity settings window appears. Click [New]; (the Client connectivity settings window appears OR open an existing Agent Setting you wish to change.)
5. Click Extended device discovery (left window).
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- Click to select the Use address resolution protocol (ARP) checkbox, and configure the desired settings.
- Optionally, you can click to select Use wireless access point discovery (WAP) checkbox and configure the desired settings.
- Click Save.