Using NMAP (Network Mapper) to find all devices connected to your network is a great way to monitor and maintain the security and proper functioning of your network. NMAP is an open-source utility for network discovery and security auditing, widely used across the globe for its range of capabilities. Here are the steps on how to use NMAP to find all devices connected to your network (Computer Hope, 2021):
1. Installation: If not already installed, download NMAP from the official website (https://nmap.org/download.html) and follow the installation instructions.
1. Command Prompt/Terminal: Open your preferred terminal or command prompt that varies among operating systems. For Windows, it could be the command prompt (cmd) or PowerShell; for Linux and MacOS, it’s the Terminal.
1. Network Identification: Identify your IP address and the subnet mask to specify the range of IP addresses your network contains. A typical home network might use something like 192.168.1.0 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, which makes the range of possible IP addresses 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254. You can use “ipconfig” (Windows) or “ifconfig” (Mac or Linux) command (Microsoft, 2021)
1. Running NMAP: In the terminal or command prompt, run NMAP by typing “nmap”, followed by a space and your network range. For example: `nmap 192.168.1.1-254`. This will instruct NMAP to scan all devices with IP addresses between 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.254.
1. Output Analysis: NMAP will generate an output listing the devices connected to your network. Look for the lines that say “Nmap scan report for”, which will tell you the IP addresses of the devices. You may also see information about open ports on these devices depending on your permissions (Linuxize, 2020).
Remember, ensure you have necessary permissions to scan network devices to avoid any legal trouble. NMAP holds great potential to be misused so it should be used responsibly. In a corporate environment, always get clear consent from appropriate authorities before initiating such scans.
A more feature-rich scan can be performed using various NMAP options like `-A` which enables OS and version detection, script scanning, and traceroute; `-v` for verbose output etc. These would give more detailed information about each device on the network such as their operating system, running services, open ports and more. You can find more options in the NMAP documentation (NMAP, 2022).
References:
1. Computer Hope (2021). How to use Nmap to scan networks and ports. https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001150.htm
2. Microsoft (2021). Ipconfig. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/ipconfig
3. Linuxize (2020). How to Use Nmap Command. https://linuxize.com/post/how-to-use-nmap-command/
4. NMAP (2022). Nmap Documentation. https://nmap.org/book/man.html
