Discovery Types and Methods
3. On the Quick Device Discovery window, click the OK button
SLP Multicast Discovery
● Details About Running an SLP Multicast Discovery (For network device discoveries only.)
A discovery using SLP multicast requires minimal settings to launch. SLP (service location protocol) is used to cast a query onto the network for the purpose of finding HP Jetdirect devices. After initial device response,
ENWW Discovery 133
SNMP follow-up queries are performed to learn more about devices and add them to the All Device list in HP Web Jetadmin. This discovery mechanism finds HP Jetdirect devices on both local and remote subnets.
Characteristics of an SLP Multicast discovery for network devices include:
● Multicast packets are sent to the HP Jetdirect-specific multicast address: 224.0.1.60.
● Packets contain a router hop-counter (IP time to live attribute) that can be set from within HP Web Jetadmin (default 4 hops).
● Packets expire when router hop-counter reaches zero.
● The discovery mechanism is fast.
● The discovery presents low network traffic.
● HP Jetdirect firmware must be at least x.06.00 or greater.
● Only HP Jetdirect-connected printers will be discovered.
The reach of SLP multicast discovery will depend upon the:
● Setting for Routers to cross (hops) (a configuration option for Discovery; see Configure the General Settings for Device Discoveries on page 59).
● Configuration of the network routers; if the router is configured to pass multicast requests on to other sections of your network, then a discovery could potentially discover devices on your entire network.
The other option to control the reach of the discoveries is to configure the multicast request to span a certain number of routers (Configure the General Settings for Device Discoveries on page 59). Spanning routers will require the routers to be configured to allow multicast request to be forwarded.
The discovery could also be affected by the configuration of your local firewall (Discovering Devices with HP Web Jetadmin through Firewalls on page 129).
If the router is configured to pass multicast requests on to other sections of the network, and Discovery is configured to cross multiple routers, then a discovery could potentially discover devices across multiple subnets and perhaps your entire network.
Details About Running an SLP Multicast Discovery (For network device discoveries only.)
If one of the discovery methods you choose is SLP multicast (while creating templates (Create Discovery Templates on page 157), editing templates (Edit Discovery Templates on page 158), or scheduling (Schedule Discoveries on page 154)), then the Choose SLP multicast settings page is displayed. On this page, select the number of routers to cross (or hops) for the discovery. Increasing the number of hops might increase the amount of time for the discovery to complete; plus, it generates more network traffic than a discovery with fewer routers to cross.
HP Web Jetadmin does not add devices that cannot be resolved and managed via SNMP, which might be due to insufficient credentials, to the device list. HP Web Jetadmin enforces device manageability through SNMP before adding devices to the device list.
IP Broadcast Discovery
● IP Broadcast Discoveries for Network Devices
● IP Broadcast Discoveries for PC-Connected Devices
● Details About Running an IP Broadcast Discovery
134 Chapter 3 Device Management ENWW
IP Broadcast discoveries send SNMP query packets (in the form of IP broadcasts) to one or more IP network(s).
These are used in both PC-Connected and network device discoveries.
IP Broadcast Discoveries for Network Devices
An IP Broadcast discovery enables you to find devices or HP Web Jetadmin installations when IP broadcast addressees are known. IP broadcast discoveries send SNMP query packets (in the form of IP broadcasts) to one or more IP network(s). One network-specific broadcast address exists for each IP subnet on an IP intranet. IP subnets are determined by the IP network number and the IP subnet mask. IP calculators, available free on the Internet, are a great way to determine IP broadcast addresses. An all 1s IP broadcast can also be used to query the entire intranet. Broadcasting is typically blocked by routers due to traffic spike concerns.
Characteristics of IP broadcast discoveries for network devices include:
● Sends SNMP queries over one or more IP broadcasts.
● Listens for replies and then qualifies network connected devices.
● Default broadcast is the Global Broadcast Address (255.255.255.255).
● Can use one or more known IP broadcast addresses with optional address descriptions.
● Limited checking is performed to determine if the broadcast address is valid.
● Fast and thorough, especially on a local segment.
● Most modern networks block broadcast traffic.
IP Broadcast Discoveries for PC-Connected Devices
IP broadcast discoveries for PC-Connected devices send an SNMP query to the IP broadcast address specified.
An all 1s broadcast is the default. Systems with the SNMP Proxy Agent first answer with the operating system.
HP Web Jetadmin follows up with queries to both host and to printer specific objects. IP Broadcast discovery does not attempt WMI queries when no SNMP proxy agent exists.
Characteristics of IP broadcast discoveries for PC-Connected devices include:
● Settings are the same as network device.
● SNMP queries are attempted on discovered nodes.
● If no SNMP Proxy Agent response, WMI queries are performed when credentials exist in settings.
NOTE: Legacy editions of Microsoft Windows Server that have HP SNMP Proxy Agent or HP WS Pro Proxy Agent do not always respond to IP broadcasts from the HP Web Jetadmin server. HP recommends that you use alternate discovery methods to find PC-connected devices on legacy editions of Microsoft Windows Server.
Details About Running an IP Broadcast Discovery
1. In the left navigation pane, click Discovery and then click Discover devices on my network (in the Discovery - Current Tasks task module). The Device Discovery wizard is started with the Specify discovery options page displayed.
2. Select Specify settings and then select IP broadcast. Click Next. The Select IP broadcast address page is displayed.
3. You can:
ENWW Discovery 135
● Select a broadcast address.
● Add: Add a broadcast. Type the address in Address and type a description (if desired) in Description. Then click Add.
● Show favorites only: View only the broadcast addresses you have added by clicking Show favorites only (at the bottom of the page).
● Remove: Remove addresses from the list by highlighting the address and clicking Remove.
● Customize: Add or remove addresses to favorites by clicking Customize. Then select an address and click Add Favorite or Remove Favorite. When done, click OK (Customizing IP Ranges for Discoveries on page 139).
4. Click Next.
IP Range Discovery
● Setting Realistic Ranges
● Import and Export Features of IP Range Files
● IP Range Discoveries for Network Devices
● Customizing IP Ranges for Discoveries
● IP Range Discoveries for PC-Connected Devices
● Details About Running an IP Range Discovery
In contrast to running a broadcast discovery (where all devices or HP Web Jetadmin installations in the subnet are queried), you can choose to discover a specified IP range or a number of IP ranges. This reduces network traffic and eliminates the possibility of having unwanted devices. HP Web Jetadmin installations show up in the database. IP Range discovery searches for devices or HP Web Jetadmin installations within a range of IP addresses. This type of discovery is accurate and thorough but can be slow for large ranges.
IP Range Discovery is effective when the administrator has knowledge of IP segments. Administrators use IP Range Discovery settings to map IP segments or groups of IP segments into HP Web Jetadmin discovery. This method efficiently sweeps selected portions of the network or WAN. IP Range address pairs consist of beginning and ending IP addresses. IP Range discoveries first ping specific IP addresses as defined by range address pairs. If the device responds, HP Web Jetadmin follows with SNMP queries. Multiple ranges can be specified in IP Range discoveries. HP Web Jetadmin pings in bursts of 30 queries to the first set of addresses from the first range and then waits one second before sending the next burst of 30 queries.
Setting Realistic Ranges
● Setting Ranges Based on Subnets or Contiguous Subnets
Most networks are divided up into subnets, which can be used to describe a network IP addressing scheme and are sometimes referred to as IP maps. A subnet within a large network can be described with a network number and a subnet mask. This is an example of one subnet with an IP range of 15.5.188.1 through 15.5.191.254:
● Network number example: 15.5.188.0
● Subnet mask example: 255.255.252.0
There are 1,022 possible addresses on this subnet. It may take HP Web Jetadmin only about 10 minutes to discover devices on this network depending on the network, the number of devices on that network, and the host on which HP Web Jetadmin is installed.
136 Chapter 3 Device Management ENWW
NOTE: IP address calculators are an easy way to analyze IP networks. Many free versions of IP calculators exist and can be obtained on the Internet.
IP Range discovery can perform to expectations when the range data has been correctly developed. It is easy to configure ranges that are larger than needed and actually cause the discovery to take a long time and perhaps even yield little in the way of devices. For example, a class A range could easily be developed for the HP intranet but would literally take weeks to complete. On most large networks, the majority of the IP addresses won’t answer the HP Web Jetadmin query and will cause timeouts to occur; these translate into very long discovery times.
If you specify an IP range that is very large, your network might crash if that IP range is for a class A or class B network (when the first two octets of the IP range are not the same). HP Web Jetadmin will display a warning message stating that a large range might cause a large amount of network traffic; you can choose to continue or change the range.
You can choose to specify a large subnet range using the larger subnet address feature (Tools > Options >
Shared > Discovery > Methods > IP Range > General). Large networks are considered any network bigger than a Class B network, which has up to 65,000 nodes.
Setting Ranges Based on Subnets or Contiguous Subnets
Since large IP ranges can cause HP Web Jetadmin discovery to take long periods of time to complete, it can be useful to use subnet ranges rather than the entire network for a discovery. These subnets, when put together into one list, represent an IP map. This type of a map can be obtained from an IT or Network Infrastructure team. It is also a good idea to work with these teams to discuss plans for implementing HP Web Jetadmin discoveries.
NOTE: Hewlett-Packard strongly recommends that you discuss HP Web Jetadmin discoveries with your information technology or network administration team.
Here is an example of IP range planning. Assume we have 27 subnets on our hypothetical network. All of these subnets use the same subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. Here are the network numbers that represent our 27 subnets:
15.0.1.0, 15.0.2.0, 15.0.3.0, 15.0.4.0, 15.0.5.0, 15.0.30.0, 15.0.31.0, 15.0.32.0, 15.0.33.0, 15.0.34.0, 15.0.35.0, 15.0.36.0, 15.0.37.0, 15.0.38.0, 15.0.39.0, 15.0.55.0, 15.0.64.0, 15.0.65.0, 15.0.66.0, 15.0.67.0, 15.0.68.0, 15.0.69.0, 15.0.70.0, 15.0.71.0, 15.0.72.0, 15.0.73.0, 15.0.74.0
From this information, we can formulate the following IP address ranges and import them into HP Web Jetadmin:
● 15.0.1.1-15.0.1.254
● 15.0.2.1-15.0.2.254
● 15.0.3.1-15.0.3.254
● 15.0.4.1-15.0.4.254
● 15.0.5.1-15.0.5.254
● 15.0.30.1-15.0.30.254
● 15.0.31.1-15.0.31.254
● 15.0.32.1-15.0.32.254
● 15.0.33.1-15.0.33.254
● 15.0.34.1-15.0.34.254
● 15.0.35.1-15.0.35.254
ENWW Discovery 137
● 15.0.36.1-15.0.36.254
● 15.0.37.1-15.0.37.254
● 15.0.38.1-15.0.38.254
● 15.0.39.1-15.0.39.254
● 15.0.55.1-15.0.55.254
● 15.0.64.1-15.0.64.254
● 15.0.65.1-15.0.65.254
● 15.0.66.1-15.0.66.254
● 15.0.67.1-15.0.67.254
● 15.0.68.1-15.0.68.254
● 15.0.69.1-15.0.69.254
● 15.0.70.1-15.0.70.254
● 15.0.71.1-15.0.71.254
● 15.0.72.1-15.0.72.254
● 15.0.73.1-15.0.73.254
● 15.0.74.1-15.0.74.254
We can take the formulation one step further and simplify things. Some of the IP ranges are contiguous.
These contiguously-addressed subnets are one after the other, in order, making it easy to combine them. The final result would look like this:
● 15.0.1.1-15.0.5.254
● 15.0.30.1-15.0.39.254
● 15.0.55.1-15.0.55.254
● 15.0.64.1-15.0.74.254
This has reduced the number of IP ranges from 27 to 4. We can build this into a form that is easily imported into HP Web Jetadmin and also reflects descriptions. Here is an example of data that can be imported via a text file:
● 15.0.1.1-15.0.5.254 = subnet range for western area
● 15.0.30.1-15.0.39.254 = subnet range for central area
● 15.0.55.1-15.0.55.254 = subnet range for branch office
● 15.0.64.1-15.0.74.254 = subnet range for eastern area
Consolidating ranges makes dealing with large quantities of data simpler but may not help when descriptions are needed for the purpose of cataloging ranges.
Import and Export Features of IP Range Files
IP range data can be developed in other tools and imported through text files. In fact, HP Web Jetadmin can export IP range data to text files. This makes it easier to deal with large numbers of IP ranges, manipulate complex data and archive data for use in multiple instances. Tile format for IP Range import and export file format can be broken down as follows:
138 Chapter 3 Device Management ENWW
● 1 range per line
● Each IP address is separated by a hyphen character (-)
● Comment or description strings can be appended to the IP range by using an equal character (=) Here is an example of 1 IP range with a comment: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx-xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx=descriptive text string (where xxx represents an octet in the IP address).
There is no known limit to the number of IP ranges manageable within HP Web Jetadmin software. IP ranges are also used by other features like PC-Connected printer discovery and HP Web Jetadmin Installations discovery. All IP ranges entered into HP Web Jetadmin can also be managed globally from within Tools >
Options > Shared > Discovery > Methods > IP Range > IP Ranges.
IP Range Discoveries for Network Devices
IP Range discoveries for network devices or HP Web Jetadmin installations first send an SNMP query to all addresses within the range. When nodes are discovered, HP Web Jetadmin performs queries to determine qualified devices. These qualified devices, when found, are added to the device lists.
Characteristics of IP range discoveries for network devices or HP Web Jetadmin installations include:
● IP ranges are simply two addresses that represent range begin and end points.
● Multiple ranges can be specified in an IP Range discovery.
● IP range data can be manually added through the user interface.
● IP ranges can be imported to HP Web Jetadmin from text files.
● Multiple IP ranges can be added and with optional, descriptive tags.
● HP Web Jetadmin sends 1 query to each address represented by the range.
● HP Web Jetadmin pings the device ranges in bursts of 30.
● HP Web Jetadmin has features to calculate IP ranges based on:
◦ Local client host
◦ HP Web Jetadmin server host
◦ Device
● HP Web Jetadmin IP Range discoveries have proven to be effective, accurate and thorough.
● HP Web Jetadmin IP Range discoveries can be very slow if not configured properly.
● HP Web Jetadmin IP Range discoveries can draw security attention due to their scanning action.
Customizing IP Ranges for Discoveries
To customize the IP ranges for discoveries, perform the following steps: