Networks and nodes can be discovered with sequential ICMP ping messages to a specific IP subnet. SNMP 1, 2 and 3 queries, as well as NetBIOS and WMI lookups are also available. These are standard features for most network-management apps, though NetCrunch goes a step further by discovering devices registered in Novell eDirectory servers as well. Only a handful of products, such as SolarWinds' network-management software, provide this capability. NetCrunch offers wizards to help with more complicated scans and lets users add nonassociated devices to IP network maps manually.
Once the atlas database has been populated, the data is sorted into logical groupings and displayed as topology-specific maps. This feature is found especially in larger, more sophisticated management applications, such as HP OpenView and IBM Tivoli. It's also not unheard of in smaller applications, including WhatsUp Professional.
Device Monitoring
By default, NetCrunch uses ICMP ping messages to measure basic availability and also will monitor a handful of well-known TCP and UDP services. NetCrunch will read a variety of performance data from SNMP and WMI queries if those sources are available on the monitored systems. In addition, it can be configured to listen for incoming SNMP traps and SYSLOG messages: all the better to send instant notification of critical problems, instead of forcing users to wait for the next polling cycle.
NetCrunch doesn't support RMON or native WBEM-over-HTTP queries, nor does it include SNMP templates for many platforms other than Windows. Users must develop their own templates for most of their non-Windows platforms. Fortunately, NetCrunch's template editor is easy to use.
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