Network Discovery & Documentation
Budget: $20 – $100 USD
I have been asked to produce a clear, accurate map of a small K-12 school / church network before we move on to a later firewall project. The immediate objective is to discover every device on both subnets (/24 and /16), identify the HP switches, the Comcast-supplied modem, and the wireless access points, then show exactly what is plugged into every switch port.
My plan is to run LDWin first; however, I am not very comfortable with Wireshark or alternative discovery utilities and would like step-by-step guidance on the best toolset and workflow so the process is repeatable for staff. No Cisco gear is in play, and the dead on-prem server will not be replaced, so there is no AD or local DNS to query.
I need help from you:
• How to get verified inventory of all switches, routers, APs and client devices, including each switch’s configuration settings and the live connection on every port.
• Will allow me to create a clean network diagram that visually reflects both subnets, cable paths, and wireless coverage.
• Recommendations (and brief walk-through) on which discovery / packet-capture tools to use, with minimal or no licensing cost, so the school can redo the scan in the future.
Please keep the approach lightweight and budget-friendly; fancy paid platforms are out of scope. Once this documentation is complete, we will open a second project for the firewall that will assume DHCP/DNS duties, so accuracy here is critical.
I will provide remote access and I will be onsite to do all the work as needed and can supply any additional details you request before we begin.
My plan is to run LDWin first; however, I am not very comfortable with Wireshark or alternative discovery utilities and would like step-by-step guidance on the best toolset and workflow so the process is repeatable for staff. No Cisco gear is in play, and the dead on-prem server will not be replaced, so there is no AD or local DNS to query.
I need help from you:
• How to get verified inventory of all switches, routers, APs and client devices, including each switch’s configuration settings and the live connection on every port.
• Will allow me to create a clean network diagram that visually reflects both subnets, cable paths, and wireless coverage.
• Recommendations (and brief walk-through) on which discovery / packet-capture tools to use, with minimal or no licensing cost, so the school can redo the scan in the future.
Please keep the approach lightweight and budget-friendly; fancy paid platforms are out of scope. Once this documentation is complete, we will open a second project for the firewall that will assume DHCP/DNS duties, so accuracy here is critical.
I will provide remote access and I will be onsite to do all the work as needed and can supply any additional details you request before we begin.