Re: Find all running postgres DB servers on a network

Hi everyone,

I have to bring this up again. I ran the nmap command *nmap --open -sV
-p5432 -oG dbserverlist.txt 172.28.26.0/24 *to scan the network for running
instances of Postgres servers on my network. The serverlist had the
following output: (I am excluding the IP addresses with Status:Down to
simplify the output)

# Nmap 5.21 scan initiated Thu Dec 30 12:02:52 2010 as: nmap.exe --open -sV
-p5432 -oG dbserverlist.txt 172.28.26.0/24
Host: 172.28.26.0 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.4 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.5 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.38 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.39 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.1 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.1 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.2 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.2 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.3 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.3 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.7 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.7 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.14 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.14 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.18 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.18 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.19 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.19 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp//tcpwrapped///
Host: 172.28.26.30 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.30 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.36 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.36 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.40 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.40 () Ports: 5432/unknown/tcp//postgresql///
Host: 172.28.26.44 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.48 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.50 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.51 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.253 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.254 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.255 () Status: Down
Host: 172.28.26.41 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.41 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp/////
Host: 172.28.26.42 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.42 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.43 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.43 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.45 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.45 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp/////
Host: 172.28.26.46 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.46 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp/////
Host: 172.28.26.47 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.47 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp/////
Host: 172.28.26.49 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.49 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp/////
Host: 172.28.26.56 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.56 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp/////
Host: 172.28.26.57 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.57 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.61 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.61 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp//tcpwrapped///
Host: 172.28.26.68 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.68 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.74 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.74 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.76 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.76 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.77 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.77 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.78 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.78 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.79 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.79 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.81 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.81 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.85 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.85 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.86 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.86 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.87 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.87 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp/////
Host: 172.28.26.88 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.88 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.89 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.89 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.90 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.90 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.91 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.91 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.92 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.92 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.93 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.93 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.94 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.94 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.96 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.96 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.99 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.99 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.101 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.101 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.103 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.103 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.104 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.104 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.107 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.107 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.108 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.108 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.109 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.109 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.110 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.110 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.111 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.111 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.112 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.112 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.113 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.113 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.114 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.114 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.115 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.115 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp/////
Host: 172.28.26.116 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.116 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.117 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.117 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.118 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.118 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.119 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.119 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.121 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.121 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.122 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.122 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.123 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.123 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.124 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.124 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.125 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.125 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.126 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.126 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.127 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.127 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.130 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.130 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.132 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.132 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.135 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.135 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.136 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.136 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.137 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.137 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.138 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.138 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.139 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.139 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.140 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.140 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.144 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.144 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.145 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.145 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.146 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.146 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.148 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.148 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.149 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.149 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.152 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.152 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.154 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.154 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.157 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.157 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.158 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.158 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.159 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.159 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.160 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.160 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.161 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.161 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.162 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.162 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.163 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.163 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.165 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.165 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.169 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.169 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.170 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.170 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.172 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.172 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.178 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.178 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.181 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.181 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.184 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.184 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.187 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.187 () Ports: 5432/open/tcp/////
Host: 172.28.26.197 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.197 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.202 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.202 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.205 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.205 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.206 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.206 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.208 () Status: Up
Host: 172.28.26.208 () Status: Up
# Nmap done at Thu Dec 30 12:03:02 2010 -- 256 IP addresses (97 hosts up)
scanned in 10.29 seconds

From the above output I concluded that the IP addresses with port status of
the format *Ports: 5432/open/tcp///// *are the running instances of the
dbservers which gave the correct result for my networl. But running the same
command on another network gave me the following output:

# Nmap 5.21 scan initiated Tue Jan 04 21:27:09 2011 as: C:\Documents and
Settings\Administrator\Application Data\nmap\nmap.exe --open -sV -p5432 -oG
dbserverlist.txt 192.168.1.0/24
Host: 192.168.1.0 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.2 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.108 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.109 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.1 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.1 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.11 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.11 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.45 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.45 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.46 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.46 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.56 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.56 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.59 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.59 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.99 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.99 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.100 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.100 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.101 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.101 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.102 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.102 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.106 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.106 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.107 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.107 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.111 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.110 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.110 () Ports: 5432/unknown/tcp//postgresql///
Host: 192.168.1.113 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.114 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.251 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.252 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.253 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.254 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.255 () Status: Down
Host: 192.168.1.112 () Status: Up
Host: 192.168.1.112 () Status: Up
# Nmap done at Tue Jan 04 21:27:13 2011 -- 256 IP addresses (14 hosts up)
scanned in 4.44 seconds
Now I am unable to understand the difference between the port status *Ports:
5432/open/tcp///// *and *Ports: 5432/unknown/tcp//postgresql/// *as in what
does the port status *unknown* imply ?

Also please help me out if I am using the wrong command for detection of the
postgres service. Thanks all in advance.

Regards,
Ojas

On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 10:40 PM, Frederiko Costa <frederiko(at)gmail(dot)com>wrote:

> I believe in this case you will have to talk with the sysadmin and have an
> agreement about this requirement for your application. I don't know about
> Spiceworks, but I see nmap as an application working on layer 3/4, so you
> may be subject to firewall rules or anything defined in the security policy.
>
> ~Fred
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 7:26 AM, ojas dubey <ojas(dot)dubey(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>
>> Thank you Rich,Fred,Scott,Viktor and Gerard for your replies.
>>
>> Actually I am neither the system administrator nor the person who set up
>> all the servers. I am developing an application which would provide the user
>> with a list of running Postgres DB servers from which the user can select
>> one. So I was wondering if scanning ports using nmap or Spiceworks would
>> get me into trouble with the System administrator for trying to flood the
>> network with my requests or not ?
>>
>> Regards,
>> Ojas
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 2:51 AM, Rich <rhdyes(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>>
>>> Use nmap. Unless you deliberately changed the IP port you should have no
>>> problem. Are you the one who setup all the servers?
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 17, 2010 at 4:03 PM, Frederiko Costa <frederiko(at)gmail(dot)com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> True. However, I was just assuming that Postgres was running on default
>>>> ports. If not, you could also probe in port ranges or even probe the network
>>>> for open ports to have an idea and get closer. It might be faster option if
>>>> software such as Spiceworks is not being used.
>>>>
>>>> Spiceworks looks a good option too.
>>>>
>>>> ~Fred
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Nov 17, 2010 at 12:56 PM, Scott Whitney <scott(at)journyx(dot)com>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> That only works in the event that you have PG listening on port 5432.
>>>>>
>>>>> A product like Spiceworks will provide much more detail, presuming you
>>>>> have the IT credentials to talk to the machines.
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>> nmap is the way to go. Try to scan for port 5432 in a range of IP of
>>>>> your
>>>>> LAN.
>>>>>
>>>>> ~Fred
>>>>> Linkedin profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/frederikocosta
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sun, Nov 14, 2010 at 8:52 AM, ojas dubey <ojas(dot)dubey(at)gmail(dot)com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> > Hi,
>>>>> >
>>>>> > I wanted to know if there is a way to get the hostnames of all the
>>>>> systems
>>>>> > running PostGres DB servers on a local network on Windows
>>>>> (XP/Vista/7) using
>>>>> > JDBC or any other Java API ?
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Regards,
>>>>> > Ojas
>>>>> >
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>