Walkthroughs

Routes through common network chores

Each walkthrough starts from a real situation — a device nobody recognises, two machines fighting over an address, an inventory that only lives in someone’s head — and ends with a result you can file. They assume you are working on a network you own or manage.

• Build a device inventory spreadsheet from a network scan

  Turn a scan of your own network into a living inventory sheet: which columns to keep, how to export from Advanced IP Scanner, and how to spot changes.

  Uses Advanced IP Scanner
• Finding and fixing an IP address conflict

  Why two devices end up with the same IP address on your network, how to find the second one with arp -a and Angry IP Scanner, and how to stop it recurring.

  Uses Angry IP Scanner
• How to check which ports are open on your own computer

  List listening ports on your own PC with netstat, Get-NetTCPConnection, lsof or ss, match them to programs, then confirm from a second machine.

  Uses Advanced Port Scanner
• How to identify an unknown device on your own network

  A patient, step-by-step way to put a name to that mystery entry on your home or office network: router lists, arp -a, MAC vendor lookups and Fing.

  Uses Fing