If you’ve ever tried to work with a network that you didn’t set up, you know just how frustrating it can be to try and understand that network. Questions like: what’s the username? and what is the IP address? Are questions that are often left unanswered if nobody around you has the information that you’re looking for. When this happens, there are two things you can do. The first is to scrap the network and start all over again (not a good plan). The second is to purchase Network View – a simple Windows app that was built to help network administrators who’ve recently inherited a functioning network.

Installing and Using Network View

Since Network View is a downloadable app, installation is quick and painless. After choosing to download this app, simply choose the “file” option and then the “new” option from your Windows toolbar (note: Network View only works with Windows). This will allow you to create a brand new Network Map. If you want to configure the app or customize it, all you have to do is select the “settings” option. From the settings menu, you will see a number of different customization options (really, quite an extensive list!). You can set the timeout, play with WMI and port-settings, and disable various discovery options. As far as customization settings go, Network View really does come out on top.

The main purpose of Network View is to discover a single system quickly and easily (once a device has been discovered, Network View will uncover everything about that device from the manufacturer name to the exact type of device detected). However, this app also has another purpose: to help users create complete network maps. Creating a network map can be difficult, but Network View really makes this task easy. Once a network map has been created, that map can be exported as text or you can choose to export it as a delimited file. When tested, this app proved to be efficient all around and had very few drawbacks.

Overall Efficiency

Network View is a very handy app that is network administrators will find useful in every manner. The one major drawback to this app (if you can call it a real drawback, that is) is that it only works with Windows. If you happen to have a Windows machine, however, Network View is worth the download. When tested, this app performed all task superbly, was a cinch to use when detecting a device or creating a network map, and it also has a user-friendly interface that doesn’t include a steep learning curve. In addition, Network View comes with a great overall price point.

Since Network View is a downloadable app, this program runs on the inexpensive side of things at just $79. Licensing for Network View depends on the number of user (not on the number of devices being detected), so keep this in mind if you plan to share the app with colleagues. While not an app that gains a lot of attention, Network View is really quite useful all-around. This program doesn’t install anything that’s unwanted and it performs all necessary tasks very well.