Frequently asked questions

A list of the most frequently asked questions.

How is an Unmanaged Asset identified?

Two Unmanaged Assets, where MAC addresses are known, match if they have the same MAC, otherwise they do not. Two Unmanaged assets, where one of the MAC addresses is not known but their hostnames are known, match if they have the same hostname, otherwise they do not. If both Unmanaged assets do not have a MAC address nor a hostname, they match if they have the same IP address, otherwise they do not.

I started a scan - where are the results?

When first installed, Asset Discovery might take several minutes to initially scan the system and report on your unmanaged assets. If you still do not see anything in the BigFix console after 20 minutes, press F5 on your keyboard to force a full refresh.

Where is the Unmanaged Assets tab?

The Unmanaged Assets tab is only visible after you install the Nmap Asset Discovery Import Service. It might take a few minutes to display in the interface. When it is displayed, you can open the tab and click the individual assets to learn more about them.

How long does a typical scan take?

Scanning a Class C subnet typically takes 10-30 minutes, but this can vary based on your specific network. On bigger networks, the scans may take several hours to run.

What are the bandwidth requirements?

The Nmap scanner sends small packets that are unlikely to cause any bandwidth concerns, especially because it is designed to scan nearby computers on fast networks. Once the scan is finished, the scan results are uploaded to the BigFix server. Normally this is a relatively small file - generally 10-200 KB - depending on the number of endpoints scanned. Scanning large networks with a single Scan Point can result in bigger files, but these scans are only run periodically.

How often can I run a scan?

When Asset Discovery is set up correctly, there is very little network impact and it can be run fairly often without issues. Scans can be run as often as several times a day to find unauthorized network devices, or less often to maintain accurate network inventory information.

Can the Nmap scan settings be changed?

Yes. The default Nmap scan settings enable fast and thorough scanning. The settings can be changed as necessary using the Nmap Configuration Wizard and support any possible Nmap configuration.

Which data can the Importer read from the XML ouput of the Nmap utility?

host: starttime=
host:status: state= reason=
host:hostnames:hostname: name=
host:address: addr= addrtype= vendor=
host:os:osmatch: name= accuracy=
host:os:osmatch:osclass: accuracy= vendor= osfamily= osgen= type=
host:ports:port: protocol= portid=
host:ports:port:state: state=
host:ports:port:service: name= product= version= extrainfo=
runstats:finished: time=