Best program for searching for IP addresses

Besides using BootP in the past, I am relatively new to having to look for privately addressed devices in many control networks. All of the controls devices in the plant I work in are privately addressed. I was wondering what the best free program for searching for IP addresses is, and what the best program in general would be. I have seen Wireshark used in the past and have read where SolarWinds is very good as well. I am merely trying to document the current IP addresses. Thanks for feedback.

If you have a single device that you need to identify and you can take it offline, I would use Wireshark and connect your adapter directly to the device. You should see packets almost immediately that identify it. I've done that before when I had a damaged HMI on my desk that would talk but the display was gone. No drawings or documentation of the IP address, but I needed to upload the project from it.



If you have a network of devices running and you want a snapshot of everything, check out Zenmap. It's a GUI wrapper of the command line tool nmap. If you use Wireshark to identify the subnet, Zenmap can run a ping scan to identify all active (or, at least, all responding) hosts on the network. You can do a more detailed scan that will identify MAC IDs and manufacturer of each device but it takes longer.



I'm sure that there are more "proper" and elegant ways to use those tools, but I'm not a networking guy. That's how I've done things in the past. I'll be watching here for more information myself.


BTW, newer AB PanelView+7 HMIs have the ping service disabled out of the box, so a ping scan wouldn't find them. That's something to be aware of.

Proneta works well for me.

I regularly use advanced IP scanner

Softperfect's Netscan works well for me. You can scan any range of IP addresses and save the results in several file formats.

I either use my IP Scanner from plctools.com or I use "IP Setting Tool" software from Keyence that is free to download from their website.

Slitheris is my go to.

An ancient copy of SuperScan (3.00). I like it because I can perform a One Ping Only scan of a network, which is fast. Or it will port-knock on a list of TCP port on the targets. Finding HTTP servers out on a network is fairly easy even in those cases where the servers are on a non-standard port #s.


Softperfect netscan is nice for profiling a whole subnet worth of windows clients and server. It is also incredibly useful for waking up, and causing panic, among the IT/Network Admin that might be at the building/campus you are visiting. It isn't malware in-and-of-itself but it certainly triggers all the automated detection systems that those people might have running to try to protect their network.

There used to be good free software from Hilscher that I used a few years ago

AngryIP Scanner, Proneta, Wireshark and nmap.

IF you are at the PLC and not remote.... I sell a TON of these

https://www.plccable.com/allen-brad...dress-explorer-dhcp-and-bootp-server-sim-ipe/

geniusintraining said:

IF you are at the PLC and not remote.... I sell a TON of these

https://www.plccable.com/allen-brad...dress-explorer-dhcp-and-bootp-server-sim-ipe/

Click to expand...

AB's BOOTP software has driven me to *almost* buy that on multiple occasions...

geniusintraining said:

IF you are at the PLC and not remote.... I sell a TON of these

https://www.plccable.com/allen-brad...dress-explorer-dhcp-and-bootp-server-sim-ipe/

Click to expand...

joseph_e2 said:

AB's BOOTP software has driven me to *almost* buy that on multiple occasions...

Click to expand...

Our PLC group purchased the IP Explorer Pro years ago and the find unknown device IP address works great... Well worth the price.

joseph_e2 said:

AB's BOOTP software has driven me to *almost* buy that on multiple occasions...

Click to expand...

What will it take to push you over the edge? Amber needs more work to do
https://youtube.com/shorts/pB-2OWptePE

https://www.advanced-port-scanner.com/

free, very easy to use