Test if an IP is being used in an internal network without using nmap

Question

I can perform port scan using nmap to test if a given IP is being used, e.g.

nmap -PR 192.168.1.9

However, nmap is not installed in most server, is it possible to have the same result (e.g. check if the particular IP is being used) without installing nmap?

Answer 1

You can use ping:

ping 192.168.1.9

Most of the machines will reply, but some wont. If it's in the same local network, you can check the arp (after a no-reply):

arp -n |  grep 192.168.1.9 

(-n shows numeric IP addresses - does not try to resolve hostnames)

Answer 2

I assume there is some reason why ping 192.168.1.9 is unacceptable? If you're looking for a device that might be firewalled, but is on the local broadcst network, ping 192.168.1.9 followed by arp -a -n|grep 192.168.1.9 can be a more reliable way of finding an otherwise-silent host.