NETWORK DEVICE AUTO-DISCOVERYEvery Switch, Router, and Firewall—Found Automatically
Point Netdata at your subnets and SNMP credentials. It scans, identifies, classifies, and applies the right vendor profile to each device—so you get per-second metrics, dashboards, and topology maps with zero manual MIB mapping.
Discovery That Does the Heavy Lifting
Netdata finds, classifies, and profiles your network devices automatically—so you don’t maintain spreadsheets of IP addresses and OID mappings.
Subnet Scanning
Point Netdata at target subnets or seed devices and it scans for every SNMP-reachable device on the network.
sysObjectID Classification
Each device is identified by its system OID, determining vendor, model, and device type automatically—no guessing.
100+ Vendor Profiles
Cisco, Juniper, Aruba, Palo Alto, FortiGate, F5, Arista, and more—auto-matched with the correct OIDs for interfaces, CPU, memory, and environment.
Zero MIB Mapping
No manual MIB uploads, no OID spreadsheets. The matching vendor profile is applied the instant a device is classified.
New Devices Appear Automatically
Devices added to the network are picked up on subsequent scans and appear in the dashboard without any manual intervention.
Feeds Dashboard & Topology
Discovered devices flow directly into the Network Monitor dashboard and live topology map with LLDP/CDP/BGP/OSPF neighbor inference.
Trusted by network and ops teams worldwide
How Auto-Discovery Works
Point at Subnets & Credentials
SNMPv1 / v2c / v3
SNMP Monitoring Overview
Scan & Identify Devices
sysObjectID Matching
Topology Viewer
Auto-Apply Vendor Profile
100+ Profiles
Network Monitoring Guides
Appears in Dashboard & Topology
Live Topology
Network Monitoring Use Case
AUTO-DISCOVERY APPROACH
Netdata Auto-Discovery vs Traditional Device Registration
Stop maintaining spreadsheets and uploading MIBs. Netdata automates the entire discovery-to-monitoring pipeline.
Capability
Netdata
Traditional NMS
Device Discovery
How devices are found on the network
✅ Automatic Subnet Scan
Scans subnets and finds SNMP-reachable devices
⚠️ Manual or Scheduled
Often requires manual seeding or limited ping sweep
Device Classification
Identifying vendor and model automatically
✅ Automatic via sysObjectID
Vendor and type determined on discovery
⚠️ Manual or Template-Based
Often requires selecting a device template manually
Vendor Profile Coverage
Pre-built profiles for major vendors
✅ 100+ Auto-Matched Profiles
Cisco, Juniper, Aruba, Palo Alto, FortiGate, F5, Arista
⚠️ Varies by Platform
Coverage depends on installed MIBs and templates
MIB Management
Uploading and mapping MIBs manually
✅ Zero MIB Mapping
Profiles applied automatically—no MIB uploads needed
❌ Manual MIB Uploads
Requires MIB files and OID mapping per device type
New Device Detection
Picking up devices added to the network
✅ Automatic on Next Scan
New devices appear in dashboard without intervention
⚠️ Manual Registration
Often requires adding devices by hand
Topology Integration
Feeding discovery into live topology maps
✅ Native Live Topology
LLDP/CDP/BGP/OSPF neighbor inference built in
⚠️ Separate Module
Topology often requires additional licensing or tools
Polling Granularity
How frequently metrics are collected
✅ Per-Second Polling
1-second granularity where the device sustains it
⚠️ 1–5 Minute Intervals
Typically 60s to 300s polling cycles
What Discovery Unlocks
Precise Device ID
Every discovered device is classified by its sysObjectID—determining vendor, model, and type with no manual input. The right monitoring profile is applied instantly.
Vendor and model identified automatically
See Topology Viewer →Key Takeaways
Why Netdata’s auto-discovery changes how network teams onboard devices.
Scan Subnets Automatically
Point Netdata at your subnets and it finds every SNMP-reachable device—no manual IP lists.
Classify by sysObjectID
Vendor, model, and device type determined automatically from the system OID.
100+ Vendor Profiles
Cisco, Juniper, Aruba, Palo Alto, FortiGate, F5, Arista, and more—auto-matched on discovery.
Zero MIB Mapping
No MIB uploads, no OID spreadsheets. The right profile is applied the moment a device is found.
New Devices Appear
Hardware added to the network is detected on the next scan and shows up in the dashboard automatically.
Feeds Topology Maps
Discovered devices flow into live topology with LLDP/CDP/BGP/OSPF neighbor inference.
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