Modern home and small business networks are not the simple things they once were with only a handful of devices on them. Between the Internet of Things (IoT), streaming video devices, microcomputers such as the Raspberry Pi, and phones/tablets, you can expect your network to contain dozens of utilized IP addresses.
If you want to have a good security posture on your network, having a good understanding of what exists is critical. If you do not understand what exists, then you cannot understand what should not be there. This could mean an unpatched system that you forgot about, or it could mean an intruder on your network.
In this chapter, we will be talking about some of the various steps you can take in order to better inventory your network and what tools you should use in order to do it.