Discovery

Tools for your network and infrastructure devices

With in the Ardexa Web App, the following section describes each of the utility tabs under the selected Device's[DISCOVERY] tab:

MENU: > [DEVICES] > (select device) > [DISCOVERY]

Discovery provides you with a number of tools to gain insight into your network and infrastructure devices.

NETWORK SCAN

MENU: [DEVICES] > [DISCOVERY] > [NETWORK SCAN] tab

The default tab provided when you first arrive on the selected Device's [DISCOVERY] component tab.

Select a network interface and click on the RUN button; a report will be generated and after a duration will returned to the open NETWORK SCANtab.

The contents of the report will show what devices can be found on the local network with their local IP address, MAC address and device name provided.

Network Size Limitations

Summary: Large networks with a netmask < /20 will not be scanned.

Determining the network size of your selected interface is as easy as reading the netmask on the back of your IP address, being the number after the / character.

Netmask

A netmask indicates how many bits of your IP address are fixed (and therefore how many are variable). The greater the number of fixed bits means fewer possible addresses on the network and therefore the network size can be calculated.

An Average Sized Network Example

Given the following example network address: 192.168.1.10/24

The netmask has a value of 24 and this will translate to a network size of potentially 254 usable hosts.

A network of this size may take up to 2 minutes to scan.

A large Network Example

Given the following example network address: 192.168.1.10/16

The netmask has a value of 16 and this will translate to a network size of potentially 65,534 usable hosts. Attempting to scan a network of this size requires tens-of-minutes, currently being beyond various timeout constraints. If you have a need to scan a part of a large network with a netmask of less than 20 then there are still options you can take by manually scanning particular subnets of your IP range. This is covered in the next section.

Manually Scanning a Subnet of a Large Network

Background & Example Scenario

An IP address is built using four octets - each of 8 bits. For example:

192:168:5:10 1st-octet : 2nd-octet : 3rd-octet : 4th-octet Using this example we are going to scan the subnet 4 on the 3rd-octet.

Solution

1. Take note/copy of the IP address of your large network as displayed in the network scan selection list. Eg: enxb827ebd2b458 (192.168.5.10/16)

2. Build your command: If you would like to scan a particular 3rd-octet/subnet of your IP address then set the value in the IP address as desired and set the netmask as /24 NB. a netmask of anything less than /20 will be rejected. For example, referencing the provided example interface address from point 1/ above, if you wanted to scan the subnet of 4 on the 3rd-octet of your IP address, you would build your subnet address as follows: 192.168.4.0/24

3. Navigate to your device's [REMOTE SHELL] where you will manually run your arp-scan commands.

4. execute the following command against your device to only scan a particular subnet of the full host range. arp-scan --interval=20 --retry=1 --timeout=200 [YOUR-TARGET-SUBNET-IP]/24

5. Repeat for other subnets.

Example:

Example

arp-scan --interval=20 --retry=1 --timeout=200 192.168.4.0/24

Install arp-scan

Hint: installation is not required for devices running ArdexaLinux

Before your device can run a network scan it must have arp-scan installed. If your device does not arp-scan installed you will be prompted to install. Installing may take a few minutes depending on your internet connection to and from the device.

If your connection is very poor there is a chance of a timeout error; no problem, just wait a minute or so and then refresh your page - it may have installed. If the module hasn't installed then try again.

All devices running ArdexaLinux will have this installed out-of-the-box. Once installed you are ready to start scanning.

Results for the most recent Network scan on a given device will be available in the app until the user leaves the workgroup, logs out or closes their browser.

PORT SCAN

MENU: [DEVICES] > [DISCOVERY] > [PORT SCAN] tab

Select a network interface, choose which ports to interrogate and click on the RUN button; a report will be generated and after a duration will returned to the open PORT SCAN tab. Ports can be select from a predefined list of common ports or manually entered using the Custom text field. The Custom text field accepts a comma-separated list of port numbers.

The contents of the report will show what devices can be found on the local network and a list of open ports from the pre-selected ports list.

Install nmap

• not required for ArdexaLinux Devices

Before your device can run a port scan it must have nmap installed. If your device does not nmap installed you will be prompted to install. Installing may take a few minutes depending on your internet connection to and from the device.

If your connection is very poor there is a chance of a timeout error; no problem, just wait a minute or so and then refresh your page - it may have installed. If the module hasn't installed then try again.

All devices running ArdexaLinux will have this installed out-of-the-box. Once installed you are ready to start scanning

Results for the most recent Port scan on a given device will be available in the app until the user leaves the workgroup, logs out or closes their browser.

MODBUS

MENU: [DEVICES] > [DISCOVERY] > [MODBUS] tab

Reads values from one or more Modbus slave devices over the Modbus TCP protocol.

See Modbus for more information.

OPEN SERVICES

MENU: [DEVICES] > [DISCOVERY] > [OPEN SERVICES] tab

The OPEN SERVICES tab is a network tool that you can use to discover the description and status of your open ports on your public network (available to anyone over the internet).

NB. Included IP Versions: IPv4 vs IPv6

The open services scan only supports IPv4 IP addresses. IPv6 addresses are not yet supported. If your device utilises an IPv6 address you will be notified via a return message.

Included Ports

The following common ports are included in the scan:

21: file transfer / ftp
22: secure shell / ssh
23: telnet
25: mail server routing / smtp
53: address name resolving / dns
69: trivial file transfer protocol / tftp
80: web server / HTTP
88: Kerberos authentication system
102: PLC/IEC
110: Pop3
135: end point mapper for remote management services / EPMAP DHCP
137: name registration and resolution / netBIOS
139: session service / netBIOS
143: imap
161: SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
443: secure web server / HTTPS
445: SMB
465: smtps
500: ISAKMP / IKE
502: Modbus Protocol
554: camera-video streaming / RTSP
2342: 
3306: Mysql
3389: Remote Desktop Protocol
4343: TCP / UDP
5060: SIP
5900: NFS or IIS
8000: HTTP Alternative
8008: HTTP Alternative
8080: HTTP Proxy
8443: HTTPS Alternative

Example Report

ENDPOINT ACCESSIBILITY

MENU: [DEVICES] > [DISCOVERY] > [ENDPOINT ACCESSIBILITY] tab

Run connectivity diagnostics from a device using three tools: Ping, Nmap, and Traceroute

These tools are accessible as sub-tabs.

Each tool runs from a network interface you select on the device, so you can verify reachability over the exact connection you care about.

For example, the LAN port connected to your inverters vs. the WiFi/Ethernet port connected to the wider internet.

After clicking RUN, the command runs on the device and the result is returned to the open sub-tab, showing the actual command, output, and any errors.

PING

Check whether a target IP or hostname is reachable from the device.

Specify a target and the number of pings (1–30) to send. The result shows whether the host responded along with the raw ping output (per-packet round-trip times and statistics).

NMAP

Check whether a specific port is reachable on a target host.

Specify a target and choose a port — Modbus (502), OPC UA (4840), or a custom port (1–65535). The result reports the port state: open, closed, filtered, or no host.

When no host responds, a "Retry with -Pn" button appears to re-run the scan with host-discovery disabled — useful when the target host blocks ICMP.

TRACEROUTE

Show the network path the device takes to reach a target.

Specify a target and the maximum number of hops (1–30). The result lists each hop with its IP address and response time, and indicates whether the target was reached or where the path stopped.

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Nmap and traceroute must be installed on the target device before their tabs can be used.

If your device does not have one installed, you will be prompted to install it.

Installing may take a few minutes depending on your internet connection to and from the device.

If the install fails (for example, the device cannot reach the package repositories), the failed command and its output will be displayed so you can diagnose the cause. Once the underlying issue is resolved, click Try again.

• Ping does not require installation — it is available by default on almost all devices.

• Nmap / traceroute is not required for ArdexaLinux Devices - All devices running ArdexaLinux will have these tools installed out-of-the-box.

• Results for the most recent run of each tool on a given device will be available in the app until the user leaves the workgroup, logs out, or closes their browser.

Note: cloud devices (CEDs) Cloud devices have a read-only filesystem, so the Install action will not work on them. If you need Nmap or Traceroute on a cloud device, the tool must be included in the device image at build time. The install button will still appear and show a clear error if clicked, with the actual apt output explaining the read-only filesystem.