node-red-contrib-network-tools 2.3.5

Comprehensive network monitoring and discovery tools for Node-RED with Bonjour/mDNS support

npm install node-red-contrib-network-tools

node-red-contrib-network-tools

A comprehensive collection of network monitoring and discovery tools for Node-RED. This package provides four powerful nodes for network analysis, monitoring, and discovery in your Node-RED flows.

Installation

Install directly from the Node-RED palette manager or via npm:

npm install node-red-contrib-network-tools

After installation, restart Node-RED and you'll find all nodes under the "networktools" category in the palette.

Quick Start

1. Install the package using the palette manager or npm
2. Drag nodes from the "networktools" category into your flow
3. Configure targets (IP addresses, hostnames, or network ranges)
4. Deploy and start monitoring your network!

Available Nodes

🏓 Ping IP

Basic ping functionality to test connectivity to IP addresses or hostnames.

Features:

• Simple ping operations
• IPv4 and IPv6 support
• Hostname resolution
• Configurable timeout
• Success/failure status reporting

Usage:

Input: { payload: "8.8.8.8" }
Output: { payload: true, latency: 23, target: "8.8.8.8" }

🎯 Enhanced Ping

Advanced ping with statistics, retry logic, and continuous monitoring capabilities.

Features:

• Multiple ping attempts with statistics
• Continuous monitoring mode
• Jitter calculation
• Packet loss tracking
• Custom packet sizes
• Historical data storage

Usage:

Input: { payload: "google.com", count: 5 }
Output: { 
  payload: { 
    alive: true, 
    stats: { avg: 25, min: 20, max: 30, loss: 0, jitter: 2.5 } 
  } 
}

🔍 Network Discovery

Discover devices on your network using CIDR notation, IP ranges, or single addresses. Now with Bonjour/mDNS support for zero-configuration service discovery.

Features:

• CIDR subnet scanning (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24)
• IP range scanning (e.g., 192.168.1.1-50 or 10.13.37.1-20)
• Port scanning capabilities
• Hostname resolution (traditional DNS)
• Bonjour/mDNS service discovery (.local hostnames, service advertisements)
• Zero-configuration networking support (printers, AirPlay, SSH, web servers, etc.)
• Service type detection (HTTP, SSH, FTP, SMB, printer services)
• Concurrent scanning with progress reporting
• Configurable timeouts and concurrency

Usage:

Input: { payload: "192.168.1.0/24", includeBonjourServices: true }
Output: { 
  payload: {
    devices: [
      { 
        ip: "192.168.1.1", 
        alive: true, 
        hostname: "router.local",
        bonjourServices: [
          {
            name: "Router Web Interface",
            type: "http",
            port: 80,
            host: "router.local"
          }
        ],
        serviceTypes: ["http"]
      },
      { 
        ip: "192.168.1.100", 
        alive: true, 
        hostname: "Johns-MacBook.local",
        ports: [22, 80],
        bonjourServices: [
          {
            name: "SSH on John's Mac",
            type: "ssh",
            port: 22
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    bonjourServices: [
      {
        name: "Office Printer",
        type: "printer",
        host: "HP-LaserJet.local",
        port: 631
      }
    ]
  }
}

📊 Network Performance Monitor

Monitor network performance with configurable thresholds and alerting.

Features:

• Continuous network performance monitoring
• Multiple target monitoring
• Configurable thresholds for latency and availability
• Alert generation for threshold violations
• Performance trend analysis
• Historical data and reporting
• Start/stop monitoring commands

Usage:

Input: { command: "start" }
Output: { 
  payload: {
    measurements: [
      { target: "8.8.8.8", alive: true, latency: 15 },
      { target: "1.1.1.1", alive: true, latency: 12 }
    ],
    aggregateStats: { averageLatency: 13.5, aliveTargets: 2 }
  }
}

Configuration Tips

All nodes are organized under "networktools" in the Node-RED palette for easy access.

Best Practices

• Start small: Begin with a single target before monitoring multiple hosts
• Set reasonable timeouts: Use 3-5 seconds for local networks, 10+ seconds for internet hosts
• Monitor critical services: Focus on essential infrastructure components
• Use appropriate intervals: 30-60 seconds for most monitoring scenarios

Common Use Cases

🏠 Home Network Monitoring

Monitor your home router, smart devices, and internet connectivity:

192.168.1.1 (router)
192.168.1.0/24 (discover all devices)
8.8.8.8 (internet connectivity)

🏢 Business Network Monitoring

Monitor servers, switches, and critical infrastructure:

server.company.com
192.168.10.1 (main switch)
10.0.0.0/16 (corporate network scan)

☁️ Cloud Service Monitoring

Monitor external services and APIs:

api.service.com
cdn.provider.com
database.cloud.com

Flow Examples

Example 1: Basic Internet Connectivity Check

[Inject] → [Ping IP: 8.8.8.8] → [Debug]

Simple flow to check if internet is reachable

Example 2: Network Device Discovery

[Inject: 192.168.1.0/24] → [Network Discovery] → [Function: Filter Alive] → [Debug]

Discover all devices on your local network

Example 3: Continuous Server Monitoring

[Inject: start] → [Performance Monitor] → [Switch: Alert/Normal] → [Dashboard/Email]

Monitor multiple servers with alerting

Example 4: Advanced Network Health Dashboard

[Inject] → [Enhanced Ping] → [Function: Parse Stats] → [Chart Widget]

Create network performance charts with statistics

🎛️ Bonjour/mDNS Configuration

The Network Discovery node now supports Bonjour/mDNS (also known as zero-configuration networking) for discovering services that advertise themselves on the local network.

What is Bonjour/mDNS?

Bonjour/mDNS enables automatic discovery of devices and services without requiring manual configuration. Common examples include:

• Printers advertising print services
• Apple devices (AirPlay, SSH, file sharing)
• Web servers on development machines
• IoT devices with web interfaces
• Network-attached storage (NAS) devices
• Smart home devices

Configuration Options

Enable Bonjour/mDNS Discovery: Checkbox to enable service discovery

Service Types: Comma-separated list of services to discover:

• http - Web servers and web interfaces
• ssh - SSH servers
• ftp - FTP servers
• smb - Windows file sharing
• printer - Network printers
• airplay - Apple AirPlay devices
• afpovertcp - Apple Filing Protocol
• nfs - Network File System

Bonjour Timeout: How long to wait for service responses (1000-30000ms)

Example Service Types by Device

Home Networks:

http,ssh,printer,airplay,smb

Development Networks:

http,ssh,ftp,mongodb,redis,postgresql

Office Networks:

http,ssh,smb,printer,afpovertcp

Benefits

1. Discover .local hostnames that don't exist in DNS
2. Identify device types based on advertised services
3. Find network services automatically without port scanning
4. Monitor service availability in real-time
5. Cross-platform compatibility (works on Windows, macOS, Linux)

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Host unreachable" errors:

• Check if the target IP/hostname is correct
• Verify network connectivity
• Increase timeout values for slow networks

No devices found in network discovery:

• Ensure the subnet notation is correct (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24)
• Check if devices respond to ping (some may have firewalls)
• Try smaller IP ranges first

Bonjour/mDNS services not found:

• Not all devices advertise services via Bonjour/mDNS
• Some networks may block multicast traffic (required for mDNS)
• Try increasing the Bonjour timeout value
• Check if devices are on the same network segment
• Some enterprise firewalls block mDNS traffic

Bonjour discovery slow or incomplete:

• Increase the timeout value (try 10000ms for large networks)
• Reduce the number of service types being searched
• Some devices may advertise services slowly after network changes

Performance monitor not starting:

• Verify at least one target is configured
• Check that targets are reachable
• Ensure monitoring interval is reasonable (minimum 10 seconds)

Support & Documentation

• Node Help: Each node includes detailed help text accessible in Node-RED
• Configuration: All settings have tooltips and validation
• Error Handling: Errors are displayed in Node-RED debug panel

Requirements

• Node-RED: v1.0.0 or higher
• Node.js: v12.0.0 or higher
• Operating System: Windows, macOS, Linux

License

MIT License - Free for personal and commercial use.

About

Created by Brian Rodriguez - BRDC.nl for the Node-RED community.

Version History

v2.3.5 (Latest)

• 🔧 FIXED: Inject Node Compatibility - All nodes now handle inject node timestamps properly
• Enhanced Fallback Logic - Enhanced-ping and ping-ip nodes fall back to configured IP when msg.payload contains timestamps
• Network Performance Monitor Improvements - Fixed ping result handling and added input validation
• Consistent Behavior - All nodes now use the same fallback validation approach for better user experience
• Better Error Handling - Improved ping result processing and error states

v2.3.3

• 🔧 FIXED: Network Performance Monitor - Fixed ping configuration and result processing
• Improved Ping Results - Better handling of "unknown" values and failed pings
• Enhanced Validation - Added input validation to network performance monitor
• Platform Compatibility - Improved ping command arguments for cross-platform support

v2.3.2

• 🔧 FIXED: Enhanced Ping Timestamp Validation - Changed to direct validation approach
• Ping-IP IPv6 Support - Added proper IPv6 address validation
• Improved Hostname Validation - More strict hostname format checking
• Test Coverage - Enhanced test suite for edge cases and validation scenarios

v2.3.1

• 🔧 FIXED: Enhanced Ping Input Validation - Fixed bug where timestamps in msg.payload would be used as host target
• Improved Input Logic - Enhanced ping now properly validates msg.payload before using it as target IP/hostname
• Better Error Handling - Falls back to msg.ip or node.ipAddress when msg.payload contains invalid data
• Timestamp Rejection - Numeric timestamps and ISO date strings are now properly rejected
• Comprehensive Testing - Added extensive tests for input validation scenarios

v2.2.0

• 🎉 NEW: Bonjour/mDNS Service Discovery - Zero-configuration networking support
• Service Type Detection - Automatically discover HTTP, SSH, FTP, SMB, printer services and more
• Enhanced Device Information - Discover .local hostnames and service advertisements
• Cross-Platform Support - Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Configurable Service Types - Specify which services to discover
• Service Correlation - Link discovered services to IP addresses and devices
• Comprehensive Testing - Full test coverage for new Bonjour functionality

v2.1.4

• Organized all nodes under "networktools" category
• Enhanced network discovery with shorthand IP ranges
• Comprehensive network performance monitoring
• Full English documentation and help text

v2.1.0

• Added Network Performance Monitor node
• Enhanced ping statistics and jitter calculation
• Improved network discovery performance

v2.0.0

• Initial release with four network monitoring nodes
• Support for IPv4/IPv6 and hostname resolution
• CIDR and IP range scanning capabilities