Neon Responders Introduction

Neon Responders greatly enhance the functionality of LANsurveyor by providing LANsurveyor with direct access to computers with the Responder client installed. This direct access allows LANsurveyor to provide complete hardware and software asset reports, distribute software, and directly manage the client computers, either individually or as a group.

All the features and benefits on this page are made possible using Neon Responders.

Neon Responders are available in packs of 25, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 clients. Pricing is available on the order form or from your local reseller or distributor.

Asset Management

Automate software and hardware inventory reports to save time and money, ensure licensing compliance, and plan effectively for system upgrades and modifications. Reports include application programs, OS version, CPU, RAM, disk volume capacity, available free space, and hundreds of other system data.

View more information on Asset Management with LANsurveyor and LANsurveyor's Repository. The Repository tracks configuration changes over time. You can access asset information with third party software, even when client nodes are off-line, since the data is stored in a standard database format.

Use Neon Responders to manage assets on Macintosh and Windows computers.

Continuous Scan IDS

The Continuous Scan intrusion detection system actively checks your network for new nodes. Once a new node is discovered, LANsurveyor adds the node to the Thread List and attempts to authenticate the node. If the new node has a Neon Responder with the correct password, "Neon Responder" is displayed for Authentication.

LANsurveyor can send a customized alert based on whether or not the node is authenticated. For example: if a node is authenticated, you could send a simple email to the administrator, and if the node is not authenticated, you could send an email to a group of people, send an SNMP trap, and use netsend to send an immediate message to another computer.

Backup Profiler

Identify and quantify all your important data assets before disaster strikes. Backup Profiler helps you plan, implement, and monitor your disaster recovery strategy for all Windows and Macintosh computers. Backup profiler is based on a user-defined list of file extensions and includes hardware configuration information, throughput calculation for gauging backup speed, volume used space, number of files on volume, and more. This information will help you determine which backup device you will need to secure your important data.

Use LANsurveyor's Custom Report feature to create reports that include any additional information you would like to include.

Neon Responders provide LANsurveyor with access to the client computers' data for the analysis.

Custom Reports

LANsurveyor allows administrators to create reports that include more than 100 different report fields. Backup Profiler, Software Inventory, Software Meter, Hardware Inventory, and Switch/Hub Ports are included as standard reports, and custom reports can be created for any combination of nodes and report fields. Report fields are available in three categories: SNMP, Neon Responder client, and Retrospect Client-based information. All reports can be exported to and viewed in Excel with a single click of the mouse.

Cross-platform Client SupportManage both Windows and Macintosh computers from a single application as well as all IP-based resources with SNMP support, including UNIX systems, network attached storage (NAS), routers, tape libraries, printers and more. Remote Client Management
Use Neon Responders to closely manage all Windows and Macintosh clients without having to physically visit the computers. Remote client features include file and folder distribution for quick and efficient software distribution, instant message capability, launch and quit software applications, shut-down and restart, and clock synchronization.

Neon Responder Technical Details

All Neon Responders use both TCP and UDP port 4347, but they work differently on Windows and Macintosh computers. These technical details describe the more important differences.

Neon Responder for Windows

Neon Responder for Windows is architected differently depending on the version of Windows on which it is running. If you are running Windows 95, 98 or ME, the Neon Responder is started as a background application when Windows is restarted. The background application is launched as the result of a Run Services Windows Registry entry.

If you are running Windows NT, 2000, 2003, or XP, the Neon Responder is started as a NT service. You can start, stop, and pause this service by using the Services Control Panel.

LANsurveyor can deploy NT service-based Neon Responders using Active Directory. Refer to the LANsurveyor User's Guide for more information on deploying Neon Responders.

Neon Responder for Mac OS X

Neon Responder for OS X is a Mac OS X LoginItem. It is run whenever a user is logged in and will not respond when OS X does not have a user logged in.

Neon Responder for Mac OS

Neon Responder for Mac OS is a Mac OS INIT/Background Application. It makes use of AppleTalk's ADSP (AppleTalk Data Stream Protocol) and, optionally, TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), which are connection-oriented protocols used to provide reliable, flow-controlled data transfer to and from the LANsurveyor application. Neon Responder for Mac OS requires System 7 and is compatible with Mac OS 8 and 9. It must be placed in the Extensions folder of your Mac OS machine in order to be loaded at System startup time.

Internet Protocol Specifications

The Neon Responder for Windows, the Neon Responder for OS X, and, optionally, the Neon Responder for Mac OS use both UDP and TCP in order to communicate with the LANsurveyor management application. LANsurveyor uses UDP port 4347 to probe for Neon Responders and TCP port 4347 to query and manage Neon Responders.

Log File Maintenance

The Neon Responder creates and maintains a text log file of start and stop times and a record of every command received from a copy of LANsurveyor. This log file is called "Neon Responder Log" and its location depends on the OS version on which the Neon Responder is running:

Windows 95/98: the Windows folder
Windows NT/2000/XP: the WINNT folder
Mac OS: the Preferences folder

An exception to this Log File rule is found in the Neon Responder for OS X. This version of the Responder uses the OS X Console to which to log messages from the Responder. The OS X Console application is found in the Utilities folder under the Applications folder.

System Requirements

LANsurveyor Application (Management Station)

256 MB of memory (or more depending on the size of your network)
Pentium II or better computer
Windows 2000, XP, or 2003
(Workstation, Professional, or Server Editions)
SQL Server or MSDE (MSDE installation instructions)

Neon Responders

Windows 95, 98, ME: 73K RAM (app)
Windows NT, 2000 or XP: 52K RAM (service)
Windows 2000 or 2003 Server: 52K RAM (service)
Mac OS X version 10.1.5 or later: 96K RAM (app)
Mac OS 8 or 9: 128K RAM (init)
Neon Responder uses both TCP and UDP port 4347