How to use ARP Ping to Detect Duplicate IP Addresses

Update January 2014: there is a dedicated Duplicate IP Address Scanning Tool in NetScanTools Pro.

I've mentioned before how due to past problems with online games sites I have my son use a Linux distribution called Knoppix 6.0.1 that runs from a CD inside a Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 virtual machine. Well due to a problem with a DHCP server, I found that Knoppix was taking the same IP address as an HP Laser Printer. I had been having trouble with the printer on the weekend - it decided on it's own to change it's fixed IP address.

So I decided to use the situation as a real world demonstration of how to find a duplicate IP address. This can be done from NetScanTools Pro using the ARP Ping Tool. Since I had my suspicions about the printer, I used the printer IP. The video shows the results quite clearly.

http://www.netscantools.com/videos/duplicateipdetect/duplicateipdetect.html

In NetScanTools Pro v11 we will be introducing a tool to scan the whole subnet for duplicate IPs, not just one at a time.

October Newsletter Posted

This newsletter talks about our releases and the progress being made on NetScanTools LE. It also talks about the upcoming NetScanTools Pro 10.94.

http://www.netscantools.com/pressandnewsletters/NST_Pro_October_2009_News.pdf

It also mentions the return of the 2 for 1 NetScanTools Pro CDROM and USB sale.

Enjoy!

KB970892 solved - at least for me!

As I mentioned in early posts, Sage ACT 2009 (ACT 7) uses MS SQL Server Express 2005 and KB970892 failed to patch it. Someone anonymously posted a solution today and it works for me. Their solution of changing the registry entry makes perfect sense because if you dive into the patch log, you will see that it seems to think that SQL Server is not fully installed and it asks you to use add-remove programs to complete the installation.

By simply changing this registry entry from a numeric '1' to a '0' (zer0), you are apparently telling the patch that the original installation was completed correctly:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQLServer\MSSQL.1\Setup

Change the "Resume" value from a 1 to a 0.

(If you have multiple instances of MSSQL installed, the MSSQL.1 reg key might be different for you)

Now you should be able to install the update either from Windows Update or manually using the knowledge base patch that has a full user interface. I used the full user interface patch and you may need to stop your instance of SQL Server before the patch can be fully applied - it will tell you if you need to. I did not use the "silent" Windows Update patch.

A big THANK YOU to whoever figured this out and to the person who posted the solution here today!

Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool v1.99

Today we released Managed Switch Port Mapping Tool v1.99. It has a number of internal improvements such as making sure no duplicate macs appear on a switch port, giving the user control of autosizing the column widths and many other changes. We also updated SQLite to 3.6.19.

Visit either http://www.switchportmapper.com or http://www.netscantools.com/spmapmain.html for more information or to download.

Still no luck with KB970892

Today I had a few minutes, so I tried stopping all the SQL Server processes and running the patch manually using the version downloaded from the knowledge base. Still no go.

I also tried using the add-remove programs suggestion the patch log suggests, but after you get part way through it, it starts asking for SQLRUN_SQL.MSI which is not on the computer. Nor is it on the ACT 2009 install CD. And to make matters worse, I couldn't find it in the developer downloads area in MSDN.

So now I'm at an impasse. I guess the next step is to see if Peachtree (Sage) has a fix for this. I'm not holding my breath.

Oh and one comment suggested looking for another instance of SQL Server on the machine. I haven't found one yet.

KB970892 fails relentlessly

10-31-09 Update: an anonymous comment provided a simple solution. See the newer posts in this blog.

Most of the time I never have any trouble with Patch Tuesday. But this time I got a consistent failure: KB970892 fails to install every time. So as a result, I have little yellow shield with a ! in it on the taskbar - every day.

SQL Server 2005 express edition was installed by ACT 2009 last year on this XP system. Internally the SQL Configuration Util calls it Act 7. Anyway, the install log says this when it gets to the error:

"Error 29565, Product Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. SQL Server Setup cannot upgrade the specified instance because the previous upgrade did not complete. Start the Remote Registry service and go to Add/Remove Programs, select the Change button for Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and then select SQL instance ACT7 and complete the setup."

Whatever. I went to control panel - add/remove programs and started to do this but stopped (chickened out - will do system backups before trying this). Then I went to MS's site and downloaded the KB patch manually and ran it. During the install/patch process it said to stop the process for ACT7 - I did it, but the patch still failed.

Internet searches show that other people are having the same problem, but I can't see a definitive solution. Does anyone have a solution?

SNMP Snooping, Adding MIBs and other stuff

Those of you who perhaps use Wireshark on a regular basis are aware that SNMP traffic randomly occurs on your network, particularly from printers. On October 7 Laura Chappell posted a short article called "SNMP Snooping". In the article Laura talks about using NetScanTools Pro to have a look at the SNMP information available from a wireless HP printer. She talks about pulling out reams of statistics including Wireless SSIDs and WLAN signal strength. This is all done by simply 'Walking' the .1.3.6.1 OID. Even more interesting are the printer's listening ports - also something reported by the NetScanTools Pro SNMP Tool (he is how: set the IP and community name, select Advanced Queries, press Perform Action, then press Listening Ports Report).

Laura will be talking about SNMP and NetScanTools Pro during her Summit '09 Conference in December. The article is here (at least until Weds, Oct 14):
http://www.chappellseminars.com/index.html

Laura also mentions that she had to add MIBs to the SNMP tool in order to understand the data from the printer. Without the printer MIBs translating the numbers to human readable information, the Walk results are just numbers or strings and don't really look too interesting. Today we added a new video explaining why you need to do this and how to add a MIB to NetScanTools Pro. This even works with the NetScanTools Pro Demo:
http://www.netscantools.com/videos/snmpaddamib/snmpaddamib.html

September Newsletter Out

Yes, it was just barely released in September. Been busy. You can read it here:

http://www.netscantools.com/newsletters.html