Packet Rancher

I found this great tool recently I felt I should share called NetworkAuthority Inventory (was called ZipTie).   It’s more than your run of the mill config archiver like the ever popular RANCID. Here are some of the more notable features:

• Performs autodiscovery of devices on a network which can be scheduled on a recurring basis
• Finds and stores stats about devices including serial number, version of software running, amount of RAM, etc.
• Provides an inventory of ARPs on a device (useful for tracking down abusive hosts on a network)
• Provides an inventory of MACs for forwarding without an ARP (useful for associating an abusive MAC to a switch port)
• You can assign tags to devices which is useful in larger networks

All of these features for a grand total of $0.  You can pay for support if you need it on a per device basis of $13 to $15 per device.  Setting it up was relatively trivial (unfortunately had to use the pain in the ass that is CPAN to get some PERL dependancies) but once up and running, it’s a great little piece of software that I’ve found to be incredibly useful.  Check it out if you’re looking for something to fill this slot.

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