LANState Free: Visual Network Map for When You Need to See, Not Just Scan
Ping results and IP lists are great — until there are too many of them. At some point, someone says “just show me the layout,” and that’s where LANState Free makes sense. It’s a lightweight Windows utility that builds a live network map: who’s online, which host is reachable, what’s responding to pings — all drawn out on a simple canvas.
It doesn’t do flow analysis. It’s not about bandwidth or syslog or SNMP graphs. What it does is give a visual answer to the question “is the network behaving normally right now?”
What It Actually Handles
| Feature | What It Helps With |
| Live host discovery | Scans subnets and finds reachable devices |
| Visual topology map | Builds a clickable network map — not just a table |
| Online/offline status | Real-time icons for up/down status via ping |
| Manual layout editing | Move nodes, label them, clean up the view |
| Remote tools integration | RDP, ping, trace, telnet — all available from the right-click |
| Basic alerting | Notifies if a host goes offline (in the free version — limited) |
| Export to image or file | Save maps as PNG or editable diagrams |
| Lightweight footprint | No agents, no dependencies, runs standalone |
Where It Fits
LANState Free is especially useful in:
– Small office networks where documentation doesn’t exist
– Lab setups where IPs and hostnames change often
– Support teams who need a fast way to track which system is failing
– Admins doing walkthroughs or live troubleshooting with non-technical staff
– Visual thinkers who need to see relationships, not just addresses
It’s not built for automation or long-term logging — this is for situational awareness, not historical reporting.
Installation and Use
Runs on Windows only. Available as a free download from 10-Strike Software. The free version has some limitations compared to the paid product (like monitoring count), but still functional enough for quick diagnostics.
Installation is fast — no drivers, no services. Launch the tool, scan a subnet, and start arranging the map. Most functions are available via right-click: ping, open in browser, start RDP, etc.
Maps can be saved, printed, or exported to graphic formats for reports.
What It Does Well
– Gives a clean network overview in under a minute
– Doesn’t need agents or external sensors
– Drag-and-drop layout makes it easy to explain to others
– Portable — can run from flash drive if needed
– Integrates common admin actions without needing another app
– Useful in one-off audits, disaster checks, or cleanups
Limitations to Know
– Windows-only; no Linux or web client
– Free version limits the number of monitored nodes
– No SNMP or deep protocol support
– Doesn’t persist metrics — status resets on restart
– Not ideal for large or segmented networks — it’s built for simplicity
Final Thoughts
LANState Free isn’t trying to be a NOC platform. It’s a desk-side tool — something to launch when the picture in your head doesn’t match the reality on the cable. It’s not perfect, not scalable, but sometimes it’s the only thing that helps explain what’s going wrong — not in logs, but in shapes and links and blinking green dots.
