Ping-Only Discoveryjason.arancelovic@statseeker.com2025-06-19T22:18:29+00:00

Index

Overview
Ping-Only Discovery
Customization Options
Scheduling Ping-Only Discovery

Overview

Discovery refers to the process Statseeker uses to locate devices on your network, and depending on the type of Discovery being run:

Test communications between Statseeker and the device for future data collection
Collect configuration information from those devices, building an inventory of monitored hardware

The Ping-Only Discovery option uses select IP Address Range configurations (IPv4) or the Hosts file (IPv4/6) to locate devices for monitoring via ping (ICMP). Devices discovered via Ping-Only Discovery won’t be monitored via SNMP, so SNMP Credentials are not required for this type of Discovery. For more information, see:

The Discovery Process – for an overview of the Discovery process and the different types of Discovery available
IP Address Ranges – configuring the ranges used by Discovery
Hosts File – populating the server’s Hosts file

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Ping-Only Discovery

A Ping-Only Discovery can be run by:

Selecting Admin Tool > Network Discovery > Discover My Network
In the Ping-Only Discovery panel, click Customize And Run
Note: Additional customization options can be found by:
- Clicking the dropdown next to Start Discovery and selecting Show Advanced Options
Customize the Discovery as needed and click Start Discovery

The default configuration for a Ping-Only Discovery:

References all enabled IP Address Range configurations
Ignores secondary IPs assigned to known devices
Runs all custom Auto-Grouping rules

Note:

Earlier versions of Statseeker used a simple text file containing IP Address:Device Name pairs (same syntax as the Hosts File) for determining the targets of a ping-only discovery. Statseeker 25.2 defaults to referencing defined IP Address Ranges but can be switched to use the content of the Hosts File instead.

Select IP Address Ranges or Hosts File

Device Naming

Discover via IP Ranges – the device’s IP will be used to name the device, if the IP matches an entry in the Hosts file it will be renamed according to the Hosts File
Discover via Hosts File – the device is named according to the content of the Hosts File

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Customization Options

The available customization options are:

IP Address Ranges or Hosts File:
- Select which IP Address Ranges to use or specify a new (un-configured) IP Address Range
- Switch from IP Address Ranges (IPv4 only) to the Hosts file (IPv4/6) as the source for IPs to target

Selecting Discover via Hosts File does not modify the polling configuration for known devices. If a device is currently SNMP polled and has an entry in the Hosts File for device naming purposes, running a Ping-Only Discovery via Hosts File will not modify the SNMP polling state of the device.

Additional options are available by clicking the dropdown next to Show Advanced Options

Advanced Options:
- Existing Device Behavior – modify how Discovery interacts with secondary IPs residing on known (previously discovered) devices
- Post-Discovery Actions – Discovery output and Auto-Grouping options

IP Address Ranges

The IP Address Ranges section allows for:

The selection of specific IP Address Range configurations for use with Discovery
The specification of a new IP Address Range configuration, which will be saved for future use
Switching from using IP Address Range configurations to the Hosts file as the IP addresses source for the Discovery

Note: The Hosts file supports both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, see The Hosts File for details on configuring the content.

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Existing Device Behavior

The options in this section determine how Discovery deals with secondary IPs residing on known (currently or previously SNMP polled) devices.

Option

Description

Allow Adding Secondary IPs

(default = Off)

When enabled, discovering a secondary IP assigned to a known device (a device currently or previously polled via SNMP) will result in a new ‘ping-only device’ being created.

Polling (ICMP\SNMP) of the existing device via the primary IP will not be altered in any way
The new ping-only device will be monitored via ICMP via the secondary IP

When disabled, discovering a secondary IP will not generate a new device record.

Note: If the device is only being ICMP polled (no SNMP polling), then Discovery will be unable to match the secondary IP to any known device. If the device responds to ping, then a new device record (linked to the secondary IP) will be created in all circumstances.

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Post-Discovery Actions

Post-Discovery Actions offers options to email the discovery output to a nominated recipient and to customize what Auto-Grouping actions are taken after Discovery completes.

Option	Description
Email Result To	Optionally specify an email address to receive the Discovery output
Run Auto Grouping Rules	(default = enabled) Determines if the custom Auto-Grouping rules are processed once Discovery is complete, see Automated Grouping for details Note: the default values for this setting can be configured: Select Admin Tool > Network Discovery – Advanced Options > Advanced Options In the Grouping section, set: Auto Grouping Rules

When the Discovery has been configured to suit the requirements:

Click Start Discovery to initiate the process

Discovery will begin, and the output summary will be displayed, updating as Discovery progresses. Details on each item can be viewed by clicking the associated help icon ().

The Discovery output summary and log are available for download once complete, and historical Discovery output is available from Admin Tool > Network Discovery > View Recent Discoveries.

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Scheduling Ping-Only Discovery

A default or customized Ping-Only Discovery process can also be configured to run on an automated schedule. For details on configuring and managing these schedules, see Scheduling Discovery.

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