Question: OpManager by ManageEngine The free version of ManageEngine's OpManager provides tools for monitoring activity and performance on a small network (fewer than 10 devices). In this project, you install and use the free version of OpManager on a Windows computer. This project is best done over a few days, so the software can collect longer-term data for analysis.
1. Go to the Web site at manageengine.com, click Network, and click Network Monitoring Software. Locate the free edition download link. At the time of this writing, you could click Editions, then scroll down and click Free Edition.
2. You do not have to complete the Register for Free Technical Support form. Click the Download button, then install the program.
3. Accept all default settings, except be sure to select the Free Edition option instead of the 30-day Trial Version. At the end of the installation process, open OpManager in the Web browser of your choice.
4. Create an account as a first-time user. OpManager automatically assigns the username admin and enters a password.
5. After signing in and before changing any other settings in your account, use the mouse to point to the admin username at the top of the dashboard, and then click Change Password. The default current password is admin. Type a new password and click OK.
6. On the menu in the left pane, under Discovery, click Add Network. Type in the starting and ending IP addresses for the address range on your LAN. Be sure the NetMask (another word for subnet) is correct, then click Discover.
7. Wait for the discovery process to complete. How many devices were discovered by OpManager? What information does it give about them?
8. If you have more than 10 devices on your network, you might be prompted to delete some of the devices from the account in order to conform to your license restrictions. To decide which devices to delete, you can enter arp -a at a command prompt to get a current listing of the devices on your network along with their MAC addresses. If you're having a hard time identifying which IP address belongs to which device, recall that you can perform an OUI lookup on Wireshark's Web site.
9. To interact with another device on the network, click Inventory, and then click All Devices. Double-click any device on the list. What is the IP address of the device you clicked? What is the DNS name of the device, if available?
10. Examine the device details, looking for any indications of a problem with the device. Click the Ping button in the top right of the page. What was the average round-trip time?
11. Click the TraceRoute button. How many hops were completed?
12. Notice that OpManager also provides the option to browse the other device or connect to it via Telnet or Remote Desktop. Spend a few minutes exploring the various options and features of OpManager. Notice there are several opportunities for plug-ins that you can use to expand the data available. If you find one that you're interested in, you can look into installing it as well.
13. Leave the software running and check back with it from time to time over the next few days. Check any errors that are reported. Notice any trends in network resource utilization or device availability.