NetWhistler

Viewing the computers connected to the same LAN and monitoring them is usually a job for network administrators who have both knowledge and tools to carry out such tasks.

In case you want to scan the network and create a map of your own to know the location of each workstation, server or any other type of device, a utility like NetWhistler could be the right choice.

As soon as the setup procedure is finished, you will be able to run the program and put it to the test. The initial scan will discover the connected devices and in order to get this started, all you have to do is choose the 'Wizard' from the 'Map' menu and, in the newly displayed box, specify the network address and mask to be used for the scan.

There is a lot of space reserved in the main window for arranging the devices and the commands are always at hand, thanks to the main toolbar that hosts them.

NetWhistler can take a while to perform the network scan, but, once this is done, you will be able to start putting together the map. Adding nodes and shapes is very easy and the application offers the possibility to activate the monitoring of each device.

The way in which the items are shown inside the map can be easily switched, so instead of viewing them by DNS name, you can have the IP addresses shown. A neat feature of this utility is the ability to send alerts via e-mail, so in case one of the nodes supervised by NetWhistler crashes, you will receive a notification immediately.

This software does a decent job in finding and displaying workstations, servers, routers, modems, hubs and many other network devices, while allowing users to place each node in the desired place and monitor them.