Network device detection in vb.net

Question

How do I find out if a device on the local network is a computer, motherboard, printer, scanner, mobile phone, smart TV with vb.net?

Accepted Answer

I made this test in a Button click, it enumerates network devices on my OS (Windows 10 22H2) but it must be improved, because I must launch n times the EnumDevices function, otherwise my printer is not listed if I launch it only once (I did not find why...)

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices.ComTypes
Imports System.Text

Public Class Form1

    Public Enum HRESULT As Integer
        S_OK = 0
        S_FALSE = 1
        E_NOINTERFACE = &H80004002
        E_NOTIMPL = &H80004001
        E_FAIL = &H80004005
        E_UNEXPECTED = &H8000FFFF
    End Enum

    
    Interface IShellFolder
        Function ParseDisplayName(hwnd As IntPtr, pbc As IntPtr,  pszDisplayName As String, <[In], Out> ByRef pchEaten As UInteger,  ByRef ppidl As IntPtr, <[In], Out> ByRef pdwAttributes As SFGAO) As HRESULT
        Function EnumObjects(hwnd As IntPtr, grfFlags As SHCONTF,  ByRef ppenumIDList As IEnumIDList) As HRESULT
        Function BindToObject(pidl As IntPtr, pbc As IntPtr, <[In]> ByRef riid As Guid,   ByRef ppv As Object) As HRESULT
        Function BindToStorage(pidl As IntPtr, pbc As IntPtr, <[In]> ByRef riid As Guid,   ByRef ppv As Object) As HRESULT
        Function CompareIDs(lParam As IntPtr, pidl1 As IntPtr, pidl2 As IntPtr) As HRESULT
        Function CreateViewObject(hwndOwner As IntPtr, <[In]> ByRef riid As Guid,   ByRef ppv As Object) As HRESULT
        Function GetAttributesOf(cidl As UInteger, apidl As IntPtr, <[In], Out> ByRef rgfInOut As SFGAO) As HRESULT
        Function GetUIObjectOf(hwndOwner As IntPtr, cidl As UInteger, ByRef apidl As IntPtr, <[In]> ByRef riid As Guid, <[In], Out> ByRef rgfReserved As UInteger,  ByRef ppv As IntPtr) As HRESULT
        Function GetDisplayNameOf(pidl As IntPtr, uFlags As SHGDNF,  ByRef pName As STRRET) As HRESULT
        Function SetNameOf(hwnd As IntPtr, pidl As IntPtr,  pszName As String, uFlags As SHGDNF,  ByRef ppidlOut As IntPtr) As HRESULT
    End Interface

    Public Enum SHCONTF
        SHCONTF_CHECKING_FOR_CHILDREN = &H10
        SHCONTF_FOLDERS = &H20
        SHCONTF_NONFOLDERS = &H40
        SHCONTF_INCLUDEHIDDEN = &H80
        SHCONTF_INIT_ON_FIRST_NEXT = &H100
        SHCONTF_NETPRINTERSRCH = &H200
        SHCONTF_SHAREABLE = &H400
        SHCONTF_STORAGE = &H800
        SHCONTF_NAVIGATION_ENUM = &H1000
        SHCONTF_FASTITEMS = &H2000
        SHCONTF_FLATLIST = &H4000
        SHCONTF_ENABLE_ASYNC = &H8000
        SHCONTF_INCLUDESUPERHIDDEN = &H10000
    End Enum

    Public Enum SFGAO
        CANCOPY = &H1
        CANMOVE = &H2
        CANLINK = &H4
        STORAGE = &H8
        CANRENAME = &H10
        CANDELETE = &H20
        HASPROPSHEET = &H40
        DROPTARGET = &H100
        CAPABILITYMASK = &H177
        ENCRYPTED = &H2000
        ISSLOW = &H4000
        GHOSTED = &H8000
        LINK = &H10000
        SHARE = &H20000
        [READONLY] = &H40000
        HIDDEN = &H80000
        DISPLAYATTRMASK = &HFC000
        STREAM = &H400000
        STORAGEANCESTOR = &H800000
        VALIDATE = &H1000000
        REMOVABLE = &H2000000
        COMPRESSED = &H4000000
        BROWSABLE = &H8000000
        FILESYSANCESTOR = &H10000000
        FOLDER = &H20000000
        FILESYSTEM = &H40000000
        HASSUBFOLDER = &H80000000
        CONTENTSMASK = &H80000000
        STORAGECAPMASK = &H70C50008
        PKEYSFGAOMASK = &H81044000
    End Enum

    Public Enum SHGDNF
        SHGDN_NORMAL = 0
        SHGDN_INFOLDER = &H1
        SHGDN_FOREDITING = &H1000
        SHGDN_FORADDRESSBAR = &H4000
        SHGDN_FORPARSING = &H8000
    End Enum

    
    Public Structure STRRET
        
        Public uType As UInteger
        
        Public pOleStr As IntPtr
        
        Public uOffset As UInteger
        
        Public cString As IntPtr
    End Structure

    
    Friend Interface IShellFolder2
        Inherits IShellFolder
        Overloads Function ParseDisplayName(hwnd As IntPtr, pbc As IntPtr,  pszDisplayName As String, <[In], Out> ByRef pchEaten As UInteger,  ByRef ppidl As IntPtr, <[In], Out> ByRef pdwAttributes As SFGAO) As HRESULT
        Overloads Function EnumObjects(hwnd As IntPtr, grfFlags As SHCONTF,  ByRef ppenumIDList As IEnumIDList) As HRESULT
        Overloads Function BindToObject(pidl As IntPtr, pbc As IntPtr, <[In]> ByRef riid As Guid,   ByRef ppv As Object) As HRESULT
        Overloads Function BindToStorage(pidl As IntPtr, pbc As IntPtr, <[In]> ByRef riid As Guid,   ByRef ppv As Object) As HRESULT
        Overloads Function CompareIDs(lParam As IntPtr, pidl1 As IntPtr, pidl2 As IntPtr) As HRESULT
        Overloads Function CreateViewObject(hwndOwner As IntPtr, <[In]> ByRef riid As Guid,   ByRef ppv As Object) As HRESULT
        Overloads Function GetAttributesOf(cidl As UInteger, apidl As IntPtr, <[In], Out> ByRef rgfInOut As SFGAO) As HRESULT
        Overloads Function GetUIObjectOf(hwndOwner As IntPtr, cidl As UInteger, ByRef apidl As IntPtr, <[In]> ByRef riid As Guid, <[In], Out> ByRef rgfReserved As UInteger,  ByRef ppv As IntPtr) As HRESULT
        Overloads Function GetDisplayNameOf(pidl As IntPtr, uFlags As SHGDNF,  ByRef pName As STRRET) As HRESULT
        Overloads Function SetNameOf(hwnd As IntPtr, pidl As IntPtr,  pszName As String, uFlags As SHGDNF,  ByRef ppidlOut As IntPtr) As HRESULT
        Function GetDefaultSearchGUID( ByRef pguid As Guid) As HRESULT
        Function EnumSearches( ppenum As IntPtr) As HRESULT
        Function GetDefaultColumn(<[In]()> dwRes As UInteger,  ByRef pSort As UInteger,  ByRef pDisplay As UInteger) As HRESULT
        Function GetDefaultColumnState(<[In]()> iColumn As UInteger,  ByRef pcsFlags As UInteger) As HRESULT
        
        Function GetDetailsEx(<[In]()> pidl As IntPtr, <[In]()> ByRef pscid As PROPERTYKEY,  ByRef pv As Object) As HRESULT
        Function GetDetailsOf(<[In]()> pidl As IntPtr, <[In]()> iColumn As UInteger,  ByRef psd As IntPtr) As HRESULT
        Function MapColumnToSCID(<[In]()> iColumn As UInteger,  ByRef pscid As PROPERTYKEY) As HRESULT
    End Interface

    
    Interface IEnumIDList
        
        Function [Next](celt As UInteger,  ByRef rgelt As IntPtr,  ByRef pceltFetched As Integer) As HRESULT
        
        Function Skip(celt As UInteger) As HRESULT
        Sub Reset()
        Function Clone() As IEnumIDList
    End Interface

    
    Public Shared Function SHParseDisplayName( name As String, bindingContext As IntPtr,
         ByRef pidl As IntPtr, sfgaoIn As UInteger,  ByRef psfgaoOut As UInteger) As HRESULT
    End Function

    
    Public Shared Function SHGetDesktopFolder( ByRef ppshf As IShellFolder) As HRESULT
    End Function

    
    Public Shared Function StrRetToBuf(ByRef pstr As STRRET, pidl As IntPtr, pszBuf As StringBuilder,  cchBuf As UInteger) As HRESULT
    End Function

    
    Public Shared Function SHGetKnownFolderIDList(ByRef rfid As Guid, dwFlags As Integer, hToken As IntPtr, ByRef pidl As IntPtr) As HRESULT
    End Function

    Private Shared FOLDERID_NetworkFolder As New Guid("D20BEEC4-5CA8-4905-AE3B-BF251EA09B53")

    
    Public Structure PROPERTYKEY
        Private ReadOnly _fmtid As Guid
        Private ReadOnly _pid As UInteger

        Public Sub New(fmtid As Guid, pid As UInteger)
            _fmtid = fmtid
            _pid = pid
        End Sub

        Public Shared ReadOnly PKEY_ItemNameDisplay As New PROPERTYKEY(New Guid("B725F130-47EF-101A-A5F1-02608C9EEBAC"), 10)
        Public Shared ReadOnly PKEY_Devices_Category As New PROPERTYKEY(New Guid("78C34FC8-104A-4ACA-9EA4-524D52996E57"), 91)
        Public Shared ReadOnly PKEY_Devices_CategoryGroup As New PROPERTYKEY(New Guid("78C34FC8-104A-4ACA-9EA4-524D52996E57"), 94)
        Public Shared ReadOnly PKEY_Devices_PrimaryCategory As New PROPERTYKEY(New Guid("D08DD4C0-3A9E-462E-8290-7B636B2576B9"), 10)
        Public Shared ReadOnly PKEY_Devices_CategoryIds As New PROPERTYKEY(New Guid("78C34FC8-104A-4ACA-9EA4-524D52996E57"), 90)
        Public Shared ReadOnly PKEY_Category As New PROPERTYKEY(New Guid("D5CDD502-2E9C-101B-9397-08002B2CF9AE"), 2)

    End Structure


    Public Class DeviceInfo
        Public Property Name As String
        Public Property Category As String
    End Class

    Dim devices As New List(Of DeviceInfo)()

    Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click

        ' shell:NetworkPlacesFolder

        Dim pDesktopFolder As IShellFolder = Nothing
        Dim hr As HRESULT = SHGetDesktopFolder(pDesktopFolder)
        Dim pidlNetwork As IntPtr = IntPtr.Zero
        hr = SHGetKnownFolderIDList(FOLDERID_NetworkFolder, 0, IntPtr.Zero, pidlNetwork)
        If (hr = HRESULT.S_OK) Then
            Dim ObjNetwork As Object = Nothing
            hr = pDesktopFolder.BindToObject(pidlNetwork, IntPtr.Zero, GetType(IShellFolder).GUID, ObjNetwork)
            If (hr = HRESULT.S_OK) Then
                Dim pNetworkFolder As IShellFolder = DirectCast(ObjNetwork, IShellFolder)

                ' Printer not displayed the first time ?
                Dim task As Task = Task.Run(Sub()
                                                For i As Integer = 1 To 5
                                                    EnumDevices(pNetworkFolder)
                                                Next
                                            End Sub)
                task.Wait()
                Marshal.ReleaseComObject(pNetworkFolder)
                For Each device In devices
                    Debug.WriteLine($"Name: {device.Name}, Category: {device.Category}")
                Next
            End If
        End If
        Marshal.ReleaseComObject(pDesktopFolder)
    End Sub

    Private Sub EnumDevices(pNetworkFolder As IShellFolder)
        Dim pEnum As IEnumIDList = Nothing
        'Dim hr As HRESULT = pNetworkFolder.EnumObjects(IntPtr.Zero, SHCONTF.SHCONTF_ENABLE_ASYNC Or SHCONTF.SHCONTF_FLATLIST Or SHCONTF.SHCONTF_FOLDERS Or SHCONTF.SHCONTF_INCLUDEHIDDEN Or SHCONTF.SHCONTF_NONFOLDERS, pEnum)
        Dim hr As HRESULT = pNetworkFolder.EnumObjects(IntPtr.Zero, SHCONTF.SHCONTF_FLATLIST Or SHCONTF.SHCONTF_FOLDERS Or SHCONTF.SHCONTF_INCLUDEHIDDEN Or SHCONTF.SHCONTF_NONFOLDERS, pEnum)
        If (hr = HRESULT.S_OK) Then
            Dim pidlChild As IntPtr = IntPtr.Zero
            Dim celtFetched As Integer = 0
            While (pEnum.Next(1, pidlChild, celtFetched) = HRESULT.S_OK AndAlso celtFetched = 1)
                Dim strretFolderName As STRRET
                hr = pNetworkFolder.GetDisplayNameOf(pidlChild, SHGDNF.SHGDN_INFOLDER, strretFolderName)
                Dim sDisplayName As String = Nothing
                Dim sbDisplayName As New StringBuilder(256)
                StrRetToBuf(strretFolderName, pidlChild, sbDisplayName, sbDisplayName.Capacity)
                sDisplayName = sbDisplayName.ToString()

                Dim pNetworkFolder2 As IShellFolder2 = DirectCast(pNetworkFolder, IShellFolder)
                Dim vVariantCategory As Object = Nothing
                Dim pkCategory As PROPERTYKEY = PROPERTYKEY.PKEY_Category

                Dim sCategoryFull As String = Nothing
                '0x80070648 ERROR_UNKNOWN_PROPERTY
                hr = pNetworkFolder2.GetDetailsEx(pidlChild, pkCategory, vVariantCategory)
                If (hr = HRESULT.S_OK) Then
                    If TypeOf vVariantCategory Is Array Then
                        Dim stringArray As String() = TryCast(vVariantCategory, String())
                        If stringArray IsNot Nothing Then
                            For Each str As String In stringArray
                                If (sCategoryFull = Nothing) Then sCategoryFull = str Else sCategoryFull += "; " + str
                            Next
                        End If
                    End If
                End If               
                Dim device As New DeviceInfo() With {
                    .Name = sDisplayName,
                    .Category = sCategoryFull
                }
                If Not devices.Any(Function(d) d.Name = device.Name AndAlso d.Category = device.Category) Then
                    devices.Add(device)
                End If
            End While
            Marshal.ReleaseComObject(pEnum)
        End If
    End Sub
End Class

Answer

Hi @Apostolos Doudakmanis ,

Use the System.Net.NetworkInformation namespace to scan for devices on the network.

Then use the System.Management namespace to query device properties via WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation).

Imports System.Net.NetworkInformation
Imports System.Management

Module Module1
    Sub Main()
        Dim devices As List(Of String) = ScanNetwork()
        For Each device In devices
            Dim deviceType As String = GetDeviceType(device)
            Console.WriteLine($"Device: {device}, Type: {deviceType}")
        Next
    End Sub

    Function ScanNetwork() As List(Of String)
        Dim devices As New List(Of String)
        For Each ni As NetworkInterface In NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces()
            If ni.OperationalStatus = OperationalStatus.Up Then
                Dim properties As IPInterfaceProperties = ni.GetIPProperties()
                For Each address As UnicastIPAddressInformation In properties.UnicastAddresses
                    devices.Add(address.Address.ToString())
                Next
            End If
        Next
        Return devices
    End Function

    Function GetDeviceType(ipAddress As String) As String
        Dim searcher As New ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WHERE IPEnabled = True")
        For Each obj As ManagementObject In searcher.Get()
            Dim addresses As String() = CType(obj("IPAddress"), String())
            If addresses IsNot Nothing AndAlso addresses.Contains(ipAddress) Then
                Dim description As String = obj("Description").ToString()
                If description.Contains("Printer") Then
                    Return "Printer"
                ElseIf description.Contains("Mobile") Then
                    Return "Mobile Phone"
                ElseIf description.Contains("Computer") Then
                    Return "Computer"
                ElseIf description.Contains("Scanner") Then
                    Return "Scanner"
                ElseIf description.Contains("TV") Then
                    Return "Smart TV"
                End If
            End If
        Next
        Return "Unknown"
    End Function
End Module

Best Regards.

Jiachen Li

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Answer

in File Explorer when you select Network, it displays all network devices next to each other with the corresponding icons and separated by device type like the photo I show you below

network

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Network device detection in vb.net

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