Discovering non managed devices in a network such as a lan using http

A computer comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory on which is stored machine readable instructions that are to cause the processor to:
• send an unauthorized hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request to a device over a network as part of a discovery operation of the device, wherein the device is to generate a HTTP challenge request in response to receipt of the unauthorized HTTP request;
• receive the generated HTTP challenge request, wherein the HTTP challenge request includes a string containing information that identifies the device;
• and
• extract the information that identifies the device from the string included in the HTTP challenge request to discover the device.

A method of collecting information on a device in a network by a computer, said method comprising:

• sending, by the computer, an unauthorized hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request to the device over a network as part of a discovery operation of the device, wherein the device is to generate a HTTP challenge request in response to receipt of the unauthorized HTTP request;
• receiving, by the computer, the generated HTTP challenge request, wherein the HTTP challenge request includes a string containing information that identifies the device;
• and
• extracting, by the computer, the information that identifies the device from the string included in the HTTP challenge request to discover the device.

A computer comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory on which is stored machine readable instructions that are to cause the processor to:
• send a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request for a web page to a device over a network as part of a discovery operation of the device, wherein the device is to generate a HTML encoded document in response to receipt of the HTTP request;
• receive the generated HTML encoded document, wherein the generated HTML encoded document includes a <HEAD> section, wherein the <HEAD> section includes a <META> tag that includes a string containing information that identifies the device;
• and
• extract the information that identifies the device from the string included in the <HEAD> section of the HTML document to discover the device.

A method comprising:

• sending, by a computer, a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request for a web page to a device over a network as part of a discovery operation of the device, wherein the device is to generate a HTML encoded document in response to receipt of the HTTP request;
• receiving, by the computer, the generated HTML encoded document, wherein the generated HTML encoded document includes a <HEAD> section, wherein the <HEAD> section includes a <META> tag that includes a string containing information that identifies the device;
• and
• extracting, by the computer, the information that identifies the device from the string included in the <HEAD> section of the HTML document to discover the device.