Basic Lab work questions
Using MS Word only, record your answers. Provide screen shots for each step of your work. Save the file as CaseProj4-2.docx.
Case Project 4-2: Download and Use Spiceworks
Earlier in this chapter, you downloaded and used Zenmap, the Nmap GUI, to collect data about the devices on your network. You also used Advanced IP Scanner to scan the network in an earlier project. A very popular program for monitoring network devices is Spiceworks. You might be familiar with Spiceworks for its help desk features, but it also includes some powerful network mapping and monitoring functionality. In this project, you download and install Spiceworks, scan your network, and view a network map.
⦁ To begin, go to the Spiceworks Web site at spiceworks.com. Download and install Spiceworks. Accept the default port 80. Decline Nmap and WinPCap because you already installed those programs when you installed Zenmap, which typically includes more recent versions of those programs than Spiceworks does. Accept all other defaults during the installation process.
⦁ Create a free Spiceworks account, and be sure to record your account information in a safe place. (You can decline the special offers and survey options if you’d like.)
⦁ First you need to discover network devices, so click the Discover My Devices button.
Spiceworks automatically configures the IP search range, as shown in Figure 4-40. In this example, Spiceworks was also able to resolve a few device names already. If you wanted to search a different IP address range than the one automatically selected by Spiceworks, that option is available in the drop-down menu on the right. For now, you can stick with the default range.
Figure 4-40
Automatic IP search range
Source: Spiceworks
⦁ Click Enter Credentials.
⦁ Type your user credentials and click Start Scan. Depending on the type of credentials you used, your device scan may have been more or less successful, but that’s fine for the level of work you’ll be doing in this project. You don’t need to fix the errors at this time. Take a couple of minutes to explore the results of your scan and answer the following questions:
⦁ How many devices were successfully inventoried? How many errors were reported?
⦁ Click on the Inventoried section in the left pane. Which devices were successfully added to the inventory?
⦁ Click on one of the Errors sections in the left pane. What additional percentage of your network could be inventoried if you fixed those errors?
You can skip the remainder of the scan process and see what kinds of results you can see already.
⦁ 6.
Click Overview at the top of the left pane, then click the Skip this step button to choose not to address the errors at this time. Finally, click the Finished button to complete the scan process.
On the Scan Overview page, notice the Scan Range Breakdown chart at the bottom of the page, which highlights the portion of the IP address range that is in use. (See Figure 4-41.)
Figure 4-41
Scan Range Breakdown chart
Source: Spiceworks
Spiceworks provides several options for monitoring the devices on your network. Spend a few minutes exploring what you can discover about the inventoried devices, and perhaps even try to fix a few of the errors. When you’re ready, use the following steps to build a graphical network map:
⦁ 7.
On the menu bar at the top of the window, point to Inventory, then click Network Map. In the Select a Network Map dialog box, under Default Maps, click All Devices.
After the map is created, answer the following questions:
⦁ How many devices appear on the Network Map?
⦁ What is the IP address of your network’s default gateway? How did you identify this device on your map?
