Network Discovery gives you a complete birds-eye view of your workgroup and domain controller (DC) networks with detailed information on each device. Identifying and dealing with security vulnerabilities, network slowness, aging OS info (and more!) has never been easier. 

Check out this video guide on Network Discovery automation toggles.

Video link: Watch our video

Before you scan...

Before running a Network Discovery scan, make sure all prerequisites are in place. This ensures accurate detection, secure connections, and a smooth scan process across your network.

General requirements

• You’ll need to install the Atera Agent on at least one Windows device to scan its network.
• The Atera Agent must be online to run the scan. If it’s offline, the scan will start automatically once it reconnects.
• By default, scans continue to run even if the scanning agent’s public IP address changes:
  • If a scanning agent’s IP address changes, it will scan the new network.
  • If the scanning agent is removed from the network, scans will automatically resume once it returns.
• Network Discovery scans on-premises networks only; it does not scan cloud environments.

• Before running Network Discovery, we recommend whitelisting Nmap to prevent potential disruptions or false positives from security software, antivirus solutions, or endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems.

  
  Doing so helps ensure the scanning process runs smoothly and that all discovery results are captured accurately.

  For detailed instructions on how to whitelist Nmap, please see Nmap Whitelist Guide for Antivirus Software.

Agent scan requirements

• For domain controller environments: Ensure all relevant devices are linked to the domain controller (DC).
• For workgroup environments: Local administrator permissions are required on all relevant devices.
• Enter the scanning credentials when prompted.
• Ensure WMI (port 135) or WinRM is enabled on remote machines.

SNMP scan requirements

• Ports 161 and 162 (UDP) must be open on SNMP devices.
• Device must support SNMP v1 with the community string set to "public".

Set up a scan

Once you've activated Network Discovery, you can start scanning your networks. We recommend scanning your networks with a domain controller. Doing so enables retrieval of maximum network information. For more information on setting up DC scans, see Network Discovery: Optimal network settings

To set up a scan:

1. From Network Discovery (on the sidebar), find the site and click Set up scan.

1. From Network Discovery (on the sidebar), find the customer and click Set up scan.

Note: If you've already scanned networks within the site, click on the site to open it.

Note: If you've already scanned networks within the customer, click on the customer to open it.

The Scan settings page appears.

2. Expand the Scan settings.

3. Select the public IPs, scan type and scanning agents for each associated subnet.

Note: You can toggle off scanning agents to prevent scanning specific networks. 

4. Click Show more to view scheduling and advanced scanning options. 

5. Set the schedule.

6. Under Advanced settings, define the port range, scanning speed, and protocol. For more info on security settings, see Network Discovery: Security scans

7. Toggle the following automations as needed:

• Auto-install agents on Windows devices: Silently install the Atera Agent on all detected Windows devices.
• Auto-monitor SNMP devices: Automatically monitor SNMP devices by setting the scanning agent as the monitoring agent, and apply available SNMP templates to detected SNMP devices based on the SNMP model.

8. Click Save and scan.

The Initiate scan window appears.

9. Enter the device credentials (username and password). For instructions on sending a request to the target device so the end user can input the device credentials themselves, click here

Note:

• Domain controller scans require credentials for both scanning the network and installing the Atera Agent. Workgroup scans don't require credentials to run, but they’re needed to install the Atera Agent on discovered devices.
• Credentials are only required once, when first activating a scan — unless you change the configuration.
• Credentials are securely stored by Windows Credential Manager on the local scanning agent.

10. Click Scan. 

Check back in a few minutes to see discovered devices on the scanned network.

• In the Devices > Workstations/Servers tab, you'll see all discovered Windows devices. If you entered the local admin credentials for the workgroup scan, or if you're scanning a domain environment, you can then manually install the Atera Agent on detected devices. If 'Auto-install agents on Windows devices' is toggled on, all discovered Windows workstations will attempt to automatically have the Atera Agent installed.
• In the Devices > SNMP tab, you’ll see all discovered SNMP devices, with the scanning agent listed as the monitoring agent. If 'Auto-monitor SNMP devices' is toggled on, matching SNMP templates will be automatically applied based on the device model. 

For more information on each tab, see Network Discovery: Scan results and actions

Request credentials from user

If you don't have the local admin credentials (username and password), you can directly request it from the end user at the target device.

To request local admin credentials:

After clicking Save and scan (see step 8 above), the Initiate scan window appears.

9. Select Request from user. Then click Request credentials.

Note:

• Credentials are only required once, when first activating a scan — unless you change the configuration.
• Credentials are securely stored by Windows Credential Manager on the local scanning agent.

On the end user's device, the Enter local admin credentials window appears.

Once the end user submits their credentials, you'll see a confirmation in the Initiate scan window.

• If scanning with a domain controller, you can now start the scan.
• If scanning a workgroup, credentials aren’t required to initiate a scan — but providing them enables Atera Agent deployment to detected devices.

Check back in a few minutes to see discovered devices on the scanned network.

• In the Devices > Workstations/Servers tab, you'll see all discovered Windows devices. If you entered the local admin credentials for the workgroup scan, or if you're scanning a domain environment, you can then manually install the Atera Agent on detected devices. If 'Auto-install agents on Windows devices' is toggled on, all discovered Windows workstations will attempt to automatically have the Atera Agent installed.
• In the Devices > SNMP tab, you’ll see all discovered SNMP devices, with the scanning agent listed as the monitoring agent. If 'Auto-monitor SNMP devices' is toggled on, matching SNMP templates will be automatically applied based on the device model. 

For more information on each tab, see Network Discovery: Scan results and actions

Export results

You can export the full scan results as an .xlsx file with four tabs: 

• Workstation: Device name, status, last seen, monitored, RTT, device type, IP address, MAC address, manufacturer, OS platform, OS info, and OS age.
• SNMP: Device name, status, last seen, monitoring agent, monitored, device type, IP address, MAC address, manufacturer, device model, serial number, and description.
• Security (devices): Device name, number of open ports, device type, IP address, manufacturer, and OS platform.
• Security (open ports): Port number, port state, port type, port service, and number of devices.

Note: If an SNMP device that you want to monitor does not use SNMP v1 and "Public" as the Community String, the device will appear as a Workstation instead of an SNMP device in the Network Discovery scan.

Update scan settings

You can update your network scan settings at any time. To save your changes without running a scan, click Save. To save and immediately run a scan, click Save and scan.

Note: If you click Save and scan, you'll need to re-enter the scanning credentials or request the end user to provide them again for all domain environments. This ensures the scan runs with the correct permissions.

Deactivate a scan

To stop a scan from running, click the Active pill (next to Scan Settings) and select Inactive.

Note: This is easily reversible. When activating the scan again, the scan will run immediately and at the defined schedule.