Open Source Auditing Software

By Jamie | June 4, 2007

Languard

In my pervious job I worked with a rather excellent tool called GFI Languard . Languard allowed the IT department to scan the entire computer network so machines could be audited, Windows updates applied remotely and search for security flaws in business critical machines. You can also run the tool against other network devices such as firewalls, routers, WiFi boxes etc.

Audit

Now keeping track of your IT hardware in asset register can be something of a real pain. Many businesses IT infrastructure grown arms and legs over night, adding a PC here and server there. This is where a tool like Langaurd can really help to get your asset register back up to date.

Open Source Alternative to GFI Languard

When a client recently asked us to look on the market for a networking auditing tool similar to Languard we came across OCS Inventory, that provides very similar features. At first I was concerned that the product might not quite be enterprise strength, but from reading the feedback on the site I’m sure its more than capable. The problem with Languard is the price (£375 for 32 devices or £1800 for 512 devices) and lack of inventory features, you can create reports but it can’t maintain an inventory of devices. I think in some cases you can get considerable discount for not profit organisations.

OCS Inventory does need some time spent on initial setup, where as Languard will run out of the box. I’ll report back if we get the go head to deploy this tool within their enterprise.