ResourceScan

ResourceScan is a term used in information technology to describe the process and tooling involved in discovering, inventorying, and reporting on the resources that comprise an IT environment. It encompasses hardware resources such as CPUs, memory, storage, and network interfaces, as well as software resources including operating systems, applications, licenses, configurations, and cloud services. The goal is to create an up-to-date view of an organization’s IT estate to support asset management, capacity planning, auditing, and governance.

Typical approaches include active scanning, which probes systems directly to gather data, and passive scanning, which observes traffic and events without prompting devices. Scans can be agent-based, where software runs on managed devices, or agentless, relying on network protocols and remote interfaces. Outputs usually take the form of an inventory database, with fields for asset identifiers, ownership, location, status, and utilization metrics. Advanced implementations generate dependency maps, change reports, and trend analyses to aid planning and compliance.

Common applications include IT asset management, license compliance, infrastructure optimization, cloud migration planning, security audits, and disaster recovery readiness. Standards and protocols such as SNMP, WMI, IPMI, and various API interfaces are often used to collect data, which is then normalized and integrated into configuration management databases (CMDB) or monitoring platforms.

Limitations can include incomplete coverage in complex or isolated environments, data accuracy issues, performance impact during scans, and the need for robust data governance to manage sensitive information and change over time. See also asset management, network discovery, and IT monitoring.