IP scanners simply try to find hosts that are alive on a network. If you are searching for IP scanners for Windows, you will surely find an abundant supply of them. In Linux, however, you may be searching a little harder to find a quality, easy to use IP scanner. Here is a list of the 3 best IP scanners for Linux, rated on speed and usability.
1. arp-scan - Arp-scan is an easy-to-use tool that can find alive hosts on a network. It sends ARP packets to specified hosts and displays any responses. I rated arp-scan #1 because of its simplicity and speed. By simply adding the -l switch to arp-scan, it will automatically determine the network settings and scan the network of the first adapter. It also scanned the network the fastest. To install arp-scan:
Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install arp-scan
OpenSuse (12.1): wget http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/security/openSUSE_12.1/i586/arp-scan-1.8-1.1.i586.rpm
sudo rmp -i arp-scan-1.8-1.1.i586.rpm
The easiest way to scan the network you are in is to run any of the following commands (they all do the same thing):
sudo arp-scan -l #Scans the local network
sudo arp-scan 192.168.1.0/24 #Scans 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0
sudo arp-scan 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.254 #Scans the obvious range
You will see results like this:
192.168.1.10 00:0c:29:a4:16:48 VMware, Inc.
192.168.1.11 00:0e:2e:3a:c1:2d Edimax Technology Co., Ltd.
192.168.1.20 00:e0:81:31:97:47 TYAN COMPUTER CORP.
Total Time: 1.381 seconds
2. nmap – Nmap, better known for its port scanning abilities, is also quite suitable as an IP scanner. I rated nmap #2 because it returned the results slighty slower than arp-scan, and there is no -l switch to automatically determine the network settings, as with arp-scan. To install:
Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install nmap
OpenSuse: sudo zypper install nmap
To scan for alive hosts on a network, run any of the following commands (they all do the same thing):
sudo nmap -sP 192.168.1.0/24 #Scans 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0
sudo nmap -sP 192.168.1.1-254 #Scans the obvious range
You will see results like this:
Host 192.168.1.11 is up (0.0089s latency).
MAC Address: 00:0E:2E:3A:C1:2D (Edimax Technology Co.)
Host 192.168.1.20 is up (0.00063s latency).
MAC Address: 00:E0:81:31:97:47 (Tyan Computer)
Host 192.168.1.21 is up (0.00099s latency).
MAC Address: 00:E0:81:31:45:26 (Tyan Computer)
Total Time: 1.82 seconds
3. Angry IP Scanner – This tool, perhaps better know to Windows users, is also available on Linux, as a Java application. I rated Angry IP Scanner #3 because it is significantly slower than arp-scan and nmap, however, it has a nice and simple GUI that many people find intuitive. To check if you have Java installed, run this command:
java -version
To install Java, run this command:
Ubuntu : sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jre
Download and install the “.rpm” file using the rpm command for RPM-based systems such as Red Hat (RHEL), CentOS, Oracle Linux, Fedora and openSUSE.
Alternatively, you can install the rpm package directly using the yum command.
Download and install the “.dep” file using the dpkg command for Deb-based systems such as Ubuntu, Debian and Linux Mint.
I like to do most of the work from the terminal. If you’re on the same pinch, here you go.
Use the following command to scan a given IP address range. You can enter your IP range instead of ours.
Use the following command to scan the given IP address range, export the output and then exit the application. I exported the output with the “.txt” format, which supports other formats such as “.csv”, “.xml” and “.lst”. You can use the one you like instead.
You will be getting an output similar to the one below.
Hope this was helpful to you !!
