Question
What is an Unknown asset?
Answer
To provide a little more context for the unique identifiers used for Windows computers. Lansweeper uses a combination of the NetBIOS computer name and the domain name for this purpose. The NetBIOS computer name is also used to generate the asset name. For more information, you can refer to this KB article: https://community.lansweeper.com/t5/scanning-your-network/how-lansweeper-uniquely-identifies-assets/...
Lansweeper retrieves NetBIOS information through the following methods:
- Unauthenticated (works even if no valid credentials are found): If TCP port 135 is open, NetBIOS information is attempted to be retrieved over TCP/IP via ports 139 and 445. A UDP check on port 137 is also attempted.
- Authenticated: When port 135 is open, and a scanning credential is found that can connect to WMI on the target computer, NetBIOS information is retrieved directly from the computer itself, via Win32_ComputerSystem (WMI).
If both the above methods fail, but port 135 can be connected to, this will result in an Unknown asset. An Unknown asset indicates that the scanning service assumes it's a Windows computer, but could not retrieve NetBIOS information to generate a full-fledged Windows computer asset.
