The operator's manual
Everything the diligent operator needs to master Perceptron. Study well, comrade — an educated operator is the backbone of the network, and ignorance of the subnet is counterproductive to the cause.
§ 01 — QUICK START
Download and install
Download Perceptron and run the installer. Follow the prompts to complete installation.
Pick your interface
Open Perceptron from your Start menu or Applications folder. It detects your network interfaces automatically — pick the one you want to scan from the toolbar. On a large subnet, use Allocate to to choose which block to scan.
Start a scan
Click Scan to discover devices. Perceptron runs mDNS, SNMP, DNS, and MAC lookup in parallel to identify each one.
Inspect a device
Rows fill in as devices are found. Click any row to open the inspector panel for full detail, saved commands, and per-device actions.
§ 02 — SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
| PARAMETER | WINDOWS | MACOS |
|---|---|---|
| OS VERSION | Windows 10 (64-bit) or later | macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later |
| HARDWARE | 4 GB RAM minimum | Apple Silicon (M1–M4) |
| DISK | ~100 MB | ~100 MB |
NOTE: SELF-CONTAINED APP — NO RUNTIME REQUIRED. ADMIN PRIVILEGES RECOMMENDED FOR FULL SCANNING.
§ 03 — DISCOVERY PROTOCOLS
mDNS / Bonjour
Discovers devices advertising services via multicast DNS. Great for Apple devices, printers, and smart home hardware.
SNMP
Queries network devices for rich metadata. Identifies managed switches, routers, printers, and enterprise gear.
DNS reverse lookup
Resolves IPs to hostnames via your DNS server. Works well in corporate environments with proper DNS infrastructure.
MAC vendor database
Identifies manufacturers from MAC prefixes. Even when everything else fails, you'll know who made the device.
§ 04 — DEVICE TABLE AND INSPECTOR
The table is the working surface: everything found on the wire, plus anything you add by hand.
Search and export
Filter the list with the search box, then Export CSV to hand the inventory to a ticket, a spreadsheet, or a site binder.
Add devices manually
Add anything that didn't answer the scan, including Wake-on-LAN devices that are powered down. Edit names, types, and IPs inline.
Duplicate review
When a device appears twice — a new MAC on a known IP, or the reverse — Perceptron flags the collision and lets you merge or replace rather than guess.
Inspector actions
Open a device for full detail and copyable raw data. Save your own commands (for example ssh admin@{ip}) and run them per device. Related gear is cross-linked — jump straight to a device's switch or WattBox.
§ 05 — SITE SETUP
A site stores everything Perceptron needs to identify and reconcile one location: its address ranges, its credentials, and the systems it should talk to.
| SETTING | WHAT IT DOES |
|---|---|
| DEVICE PROFILES · IP RANGES | Define the address ranges that belong to the site so scans and reconciliation know what's in scope. |
| SNMP CREDENTIALS | Community string for v1/v2c and full v3 authentication. Perceptron can also try a second protocol per device (for example SNMPv2c plus SNMPv3). |
| CAMERA LOGINS (ONVIF) | Store camera credentials so ONVIF devices report full model and channel detail instead of a bare IP. |
| DOCUMENTATION SOURCE | Map the site to an IT Glue organization. This is what enables Reconcile's documentation column and credential sync. |
| FIREWALL | Connect the site's firewall to read DHCP reservations. Supported: SonicWall and UniFi. |
WITHOUT A FIREWALL CONNECTION, RESERVATION STATE READS AS UNKNOWN. WITHOUT A DOCUMENTATION SOURCE, DOC STATE READS AS UNKNOWN.
§ 06 — RECONCILE
Reconcile compares what's actually on the wire against two records: the DHCP reservations on your firewall, and the documentation in IT Glue. Each device lands in one state.
| STATE | MEANING |
|---|---|
| MISSING BOTH | On the network, but has neither a DHCP reservation nor a documentation record. The usual starting pile. |
| RESERVATION ONLY | Documented already — it just needs a DHCP reservation created. |
| DOCS ONLY | Has a reservation but no documentation record, or the reverse — one side is missing. |
| CONFLICT | The wire and the records disagree. Worth a look before you let anything write. |
| IN SYNC | Reservation and documentation both present and matching. Nothing to do. |
| EXCLUDED | Devices you've deliberately taken out of reconciliation. They can be brought back at any time. |
Publishing back
- Push to IT Glue — write discovered devices up into the site's documentation.
- Pull from IT Glue — bring existing documentation down to compare against the scan.
- Sync device types — keep Perceptron's device classifications aligned with IT Glue, optionally creating missing types on upload.
RESERVATIONS ARE CREATED FROM PERCEPTRON BUT CAN ONLY BE REMOVED IN SONICWALL.
§ 07 — SETTINGS
Discovery
Turn SNMP on or off, set default credentials, and add camera logins. The SNMP catalog controls which OIDs are queried per device type.
Sites
Auto-detect the matching site for each scan, so the right ranges and credentials are applied without picking them by hand.
Apple device database
Resolves Apple hardware to specific models. Updated independently of the app.
Application updates
Perceptron updates itself automatically. You can check for updates on demand from Settings.
§ 08 — FIELD TIPS FOR THE VIGILANT OPERATOR
- Run as administrator for full network access and more complete discovery results.
- Wait for scan completion — some protocols take longer but reveal devices that quick scans miss.
- Set SNMP credentials per site — managed switches and printers return far more detail once SNMP can authenticate.
- Connect the firewall before reconciling — without it, every reservation reads as unknown and Reconcile can't tell you much.
- Scan regularly to catch new devices appearing on the network.
- Check your firewall — some firewalls block discovery protocols. Allow Perceptron through for best results.
§ 09 — REMOVAL
Perceptron uninstalls cleanly. Settings and scan history are stored locally in the Perceptron folder of your user profile — they survive an uninstall until you delete that folder.
- Open Settings → Apps
- Find Perceptron in the list
- Click Uninstall
- Open the Applications folder
- Drag Perceptron to Trash
- Empty Trash to complete removal
PORTABLE VERSION: DELETE THE APPLICATION FOLDER. TO ERASE ALL DATA: ALSO DELETE THE PERCEPTRON FOLDER UNDER %APPDATA% (WINDOWS) OR ~/.config (MACOS).
§ 10 — SUPPORT
Questions or feedback? The committee welcomes your correspondence.