In a fast-paced world, you need a fast-paced network management solution. Today we take a look at the NEWT Professional Network Inventory software from Komodo Laboratories LLC, or Komodo Labs for short.

According to the Komodo Labs website, NEWT Professional started development in 2003 and an initial version 1.0 was released in 2004, based on agentless technology. It has steadily improved to perform PC Audits "up to 50 times faster" than its initial version, says Elizabeth Roth, Komodo Labs vice-president of sales. She goes onto say, "in the beginning, it took well over an hour to scan 100 PCs. We can now perform the same Network Audit of 100 PCs in just 5 minutes or less." Elizabeth says this was done by redesigning a new multithreaded Network Inventory system using an agent-based method. While agent-based PC Inventory in the past was cumbersome and difficult to manage, Komodo Labs has invested 2 years of R&D to make its new Computer Audit technology appears agent-less to the user. The folks at Komodo Labs wanted to make sure I knew it wasn't easy to make the transition to a Hardware and Software Inventory solution that works as automatically as it did during its early years. Roth indicates that "without this dramatic change, we couldn't have moved forward. Agentless, for many reasons, just doesn't cut it anymore. The new method is faster, uses less bandwidth and dramatically decreases scan-related errors." We see what she's talking about when we tested NEWT Professional on our 400+ PC network. It blew through the total Network Inventory process fluidly, save a few PCs that needed credentials added under NEWT Professional's Credential Manager.

NEWT audits common hardware and software configuration data such as CPU type, computer and monitor serial numbers, memory, operating system, product keys, software inventory, attached storage, printers, etc., but also provides more granular information we haven't seen in other products, including CPU temperature, hard drive temperature and type (IDE vs SATA), and even detailed RAM module information, including the RAM's manufacturer and serial number. We were also surprised to see the monitor's display type shown accurately as LCD or CRT. We found this particularly important in monitor upgrade planning.

A free 25 PC version is provided as a free download on the Komodo Labs website, almost identical to the purchased version. We felt this provided a good balance between demonstrating its speed and still allowing Komodo Labs to make a profit. This means smaller MSPs (Managed Service Providers) and other organizations with 25 computers or less can use NEWT Professional free of charge - without expiration.

Whether you need Software Asset Management or Network Inventory and want it fast, this writer believes NEWT Professional fits the bill quite nicely.