Client > LAN Watch

Show me an explanation of the items on this page.

LAN Watch periodically scans the local area network of the designated Client for any and all new devices connected to that the LAN since the last time LAN Watch ran. Optionally, the VSA sends an alert when LAN Watch discovers any new device. LAN Watch effectively uses the Client as a proxy to scan a LAN behind a firewall that would not normally be accessible from a remote server.

NOTE: You must have an Client already installed on at least one machine on the LAN you wish to scan.

Since LAN Watch monitors the entire LAN there is no need to schedule LAN Watch to run on more than one machine per LAN. Attempts to run LAN Watch on multiple machines on the same LAN are allowed but display a warning that you are introducing unnecessary network traffic by doing so.

What does LAN Watch do?

LAN Watch periodically checks the local area network looking for any and all new devices connected to the LAN since the last time LAN Watch ran. Optionally, the VSA sends an alert when LAN Watch discovers any new device.

Why is it unnecessary to run LAN Watch on more than one machine on the same LAN?

Since LAN Watch monitors the entire LAN there is no need to schedule LAN Watch to run on more than one machine per LAN. Attempts to run LAN Watch on multiple machines on the same LAN are allowed but display a warning that you are introducing unnecessary network traffic by doing so.

NOTE: LAN Watch will not scan more than 2048 IP addresses. If the specified IP address range is larger than 2048 then LAN Watch will truncate it to 2048 addresses.

How long does a LAN Watch scan take?

The scanner pings every IP address in the specified range. If a device exists at that address, the response comes back right away. The scanner times out after 200ms if no device exists at that address. If you scan the maximum range of 2048 addresses, the scan may take up to 6.8 minutes to complete if very few of the addresses reply to the ping.

NOTE: The system automatically adjusts the recurring interval to be longer than the maximum scan time as defined by number of IP addresses at 200ms per address.

What triggers a LAN Watch alert?

An email alert is sent to all email addresses listed in Email Recipients when a new device is discovered by LAN Watch.

NOTE: Machines that have not connected to the LAN for more than 7 days and then connect, are flagged as new devices and will generate an alert.

Explanation of items on this page

Scan Button

Click Scan to schedule a recurring LAN Watch scan on each machine selected (with the check box) from the list of displayed machine IDs. The scan runs every interval that you set (default is 1 day).

NOTE: LAN Watch will not scan more than 2048 IP addresses. If the subnet mask of the machine running LAN Watch specifies a larger IP range, LAN Watch will truncate it to 2048 addresses.

Cancel Button

Click Cancel to stop the scheduled scan from running any more. Cancel also deletes all records of the devices identified on a LAN from the VSA. If you re-schedule LAN Watch, after clicking Cancel, each device on the LAN will generate a new alert.

Scan range

Set the minimum and maximum IP addresses to scan here. Selecting a machine ID to scan, by checking the box next to that machine's name, automatically fills in the minimum and maximum IP range based on that machine's IP address and subnet mask.

Alert when new device appears on LAN

Checking this box sends an alert to all email addresses listed in Email Recipients when a new device is discovered by LAN Watch.

NOTE: Machines that have not connected to the LAN for more than 7 days and then connect, are flagged as new devices and will generate an alert.

Email Recipients

Email address where the event notification is sent. You can specify a different email address for each client machine, even if it is for the same event. The "From:" email address is specified in the Server Info function of the System feature tab.

Machine.Group ID

Lists the client machines according to the Specify Accounts criteria.

IP Range

The IP addresses that will be scanned by the selected Client when LAN Watch runs.

Last Scan

Timestamp showing when the last LAN Watch scan ran on a machine. When this date changes, new LAN Watch data has been processed and is available for viewing

Recurring Interval

The time interval used to determine how often LAN Watch runs.

Alert Active

A check mark appears if LAN Watch alerts are enabled for this scan. If checked, then an email alert is sent every time LAN Watch discovers a new device on the LAN. Email notification addresses may be viewed and/or edited in the Alerts function.