Open-AudIT

Open-AudIT is a network discovery and IT asset inventory tool from FirstWave for sysadmins and MSPs who need to know exactly what is on the network: which devices, what hardware, which operating systems and software, and what changed since the last audit. People searching for “open audit” usually want the free edition, which covers up to 100 devices at no cost; larger estates and advanced features need a paid Professional or Enterprise licence.

It works without installing agents. Open-AudIT scans subnets with Nmap, then logs in to what it finds over SNMP, WMI and SSH to collect detailed inventory, and stores the results in a database you browse through a web interface. The source code is published under AGPL-3.0, and the server runs on Linux or Windows Server.

Open-AudIT at a glance

What it does

• Discovers devices across subnets with Nmap and identifies their type: servers, workstations, switches, printers, IP phones and more.
• Audits Windows hosts over WMI, Linux and Unix hosts over SSH, and network devices over SNMP for hardware, OS, installed software, services, users and network settings.
• Finds databases, web servers and file shares on audited machines.
• Detects configuration changes between audits, such as new software, removed RAM or changed network settings.
• Reports on installed software to support licence counting.
• Stores custom fields per device (location, owner, asset tag) and exports data as CSV, XML or JSON.
• In the paid editions: dashboards, maps, scheduled discovery and reports, a JSON API, and in Enterprise vulnerability reporting, baselines, cloud discovery and role-based access.

How sysadmins use it

First inventory of an inherited network

1. Add credentials first: an SNMP community or SNMPv3 user, a Windows account with remote WMI access (usually a domain admin or a delegated audit account), and an SSH account with sudo rights for Linux.
2. Create a discovery for each subnet, for example 10.0.10.0/24, and run it.
3. Check the discovery log for devices that responded to Nmap but refused every credential; those are your blind spots.
4. Fix access (firewall rules, WMI permissions, SNMP settings) and run the discovery again.

Answer “who has this software installed?”

1. After a full audit, open the software list and search for the product name.
2. Export the list of devices to CSV for the licence or security review.
3. Re-audit later and use the change detection to see where the software was added or removed.

Prepare a hardware refresh

1. Filter Windows devices by OS version, RAM and disk size.
2. Add custom fields such as location and owner to the devices you plan to replace.
3. Export the result as the basis for the purchase list.

Install and first run

Linux. Use a supported 64-bit distribution: Red Hat or Rocky Linux 9/10, Debian 12/13 or Ubuntu 24.04. Run the installer as root, for example sudo ./OAE-Linux-x86_64-release_6.0.4.run. It installs the dependencies and prompts for the distribution’s Nmap package. Then open http://your-server/open-audit.

Windows. Install only on 64-bit Windows Server 2016 or later; Windows 10 and 11 are not supported. You must install Nmap for Windows and the Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable yourself before or during setup.

Hardware. FirstWave recommends at least an Intel i7-class CPU, 16 GB of RAM and 40 GB of disk as a baseline. A small lab install works on less, but discovery is CPU- and memory-hungry.

Gotchas.

• Change the default administrator password as soon as you log in.
• On Linux, Nmap needs elevated rights for OS detection; if you install it manually, the docs say to set chmod u+s /usr/bin/nmap.
• WMI audits need the target’s firewall to allow remote WMI/RPC and an account with local admin rights.
• SSH audits get much less detail without sudo; give the audit account passwordless sudo for the commands it needs, or accept a thinner inventory.
• The FirstWave virtual appliance bundles Open-AudIT with NMIS on Debian 12 if you prefer a ready VM; it may lag behind the standalone installer version.

Limitations

• The free edition stops at 100 devices, and scheduling, dashboards, maps and the API are paid features, so discoveries are run manually.
• Vulnerability reporting, baselines and cloud discovery are Enterprise-only.
• No macOS server and no support for running the server on Windows 10 or 11.
• Results are only as good as your credentials; devices that reject WMI, SSH and SNMP appear with little more than an IP and MAC address.
• The interface is functional rather than polished, and the documentation is spread across the FirstWave wiki.
• The GitHub releases page lags the official download page, so check open-audit.com for the current version.

Open-AudIT vs alternatives

GLPI with its inventory agent and OCS Inventory NG are the usual open-source alternatives. Both rely mainly on agents, which gives richer, scheduled data on managed PCs but requires deployment; Open-AudIT is quicker to start because it is agentless. GLPI also adds a full helpdesk and asset lifecycle, which Open-AudIT does not try to be. If you only need a fast list of live hosts and open ports, a scanner such as SoftPerfect Network Scanner or Angry IP Scanner is lighter, and LanTopoLog covers physical topology maps.

FAQ

Is Open-AudIT free?

Yes, the free edition is available at no cost for up to 100 devices and the code is AGPL-3.0. Professional and Enterprise editions are paid and add scheduling, dashboards, the API, vulnerability reporting and more.

What is the Open-AudIT Community edition?

Older documentation used the name Community for the free, open-source version. Today FirstWave describes it as the Free edition, limited to 100 devices.

Open-AudIT vs GLPI: which is better?

Open-AudIT is better for fast, agentless discovery and audits. GLPI is better if you also need a helpdesk, asset lifecycle and agent-based inventory of managed PCs.

Open-AudIT vs OCS Inventory?

OCS Inventory is agent-based and free; Open-AudIT discovers and audits without agents. Many admins pick based on whether they can deploy an agent to every machine.

Does Open-AudIT run in Docker?

FirstWave’s supported options are the Linux installer, the Windows Server installer and its virtual appliance. Community Docker images exist but are not official.

Can I install Open-AudIT on Windows 10 or 11?

No. On Windows it is supported only on 64-bit Windows Server 2016 and later.

How do I access Open-AudIT after installation?

Browse to http://your-server/open-audit, sign in, change the default password, then add credentials and run your first discovery.

Last checked against official sources: 1 October 2026 (developer website: open-audit.com). Versions and licence terms change — confirm on the developer's site before deploying in production.