About Device Discovery scan types

There are four options for device discovery. They are:

• SNMP SmartScan: SmartScan discovers devices by reading SNMP information on your network. This scan type uses an SNMP enabled router to identify both network devices and subnetworks. We recommend using SmartScan as your primary Discovery method.
• IP Range Scan: WhatsUp Gold scans a range of IP addresses and finds the devices that respond to one or more of the chosen services. The Discover Devices wizard prompts you to enter a range of the IP addresses in your network. You should use IP Range Scan if SNMP is either unavailable or does not meet your needs.
• Network Neighborhood: Scanning a Network Neighborhood creates a list of devices by scanning the Windows network to which your computer is connected, and finding the other systems on the network. Use this type of scan if you only want to discover Windows devices.
• Hosts File Import: WhatsUp Gold imports devices from the system's Hosts file, which is a text file that lists host names and their IP addresses on a network. For small networks, the Hosts file is an alternative to DNS. The Hosts file may also be called a host table by some TCP/IP vendors.

For more information, see Example: discovering devices.