| Every day we rely on various integral parts of infrastructure to function as a society. These infrastructures, such as power, water, and roads, are all abstract representations of networks. Each of these networks is monitored so that their usability and functionality remain intact. SnoScan is a service scanner for computer networks to allow the constant monitoring and notification of their status with regards to their functionality. While there are many open source service scanners available, they will simply tell you if the service is present or not, but can not recognize an error in functionality. By testing for functionality, an in-depth picture of the status of the network can be revealed and present errors to administrators that would otherwise go unnoticed. A functionality service scanner is only useful when the relevance and importance of knowing the functionality is significant to the service in question. If it is enough to say that if the service is present, the service is intrinsic and requires no further testing. However, if knowing the service is present does not give sufficient evidence that the service is working as intended, further testing of the system is required. SnoScan is intended to monitor computer networks by emulating user behavior and initiating status checks to various services typically hosted in a home or business setting. Knowing that the service is functionally sound will provide more relevant information than a standard service scanner and ultimately a more stable network. |
