How To Install Nmap on openSUSE

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Nmap on openSUSE. Network Mapper, more commonly known as Nmap, is a powerful tool used for network discovery and security auditing. It’s an open-source utility that network administrators use to identify devices running on their system, discover open ports, manage service upgrade schedules, and monitor host or service uptime.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Nmap network scanner on openSUSE.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: openSUSE.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• You will need access to the terminal to execute commands. openSUSE provides the Terminal application for this purpose. It can be found in your Applications menu.
• You’ll need an active internet connection to download Nmap and its dependencies.
• You’ll need administrative (root) access or a user account with sudo privileges.

Install Nmap on openSUSE

Step 1. Before embarking on the installation journey, it’s essential to ensure your system meets the necessary requirements. Nmap can be installed on various versions of openSUSE, including Tumbleweed and Leap. However, it’s always a good practice to keep your system up-to-date. This can be achieved by running the following commands in the terminal:

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update

These commands will refresh your system’s package list and upgrade all your system’s packages, ensuring you’re working with the latest and most secure versions.

Step 2. Installing Nmap on openSUSE.

The first step in the installation process is to add the necessary repository. Open your terminal and enter the following command:

sudo zypper addrepo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/network:utilities/openSUSE_Leap_15.3/network:utilities.repo

After adding the repository, you need to refresh it to ensure your system recognizes the new additions. Use the following command:

sudo zypper refresh

Now that the repository is set up and refreshed, you can install Nmap. Enter the following command:

sudo zypper install nmap

To verify that Nmap has been successfully installed, use the following command:

nmap --version

Step 3. Basic Usage of Nmap.

Nmap is a versatile tool with a wide range of commands. Let’s start with some basic commands.

• Scanning for Open Ports

One of the most common uses of Nmap is to scan for open ports on a host. The following command scans for open ports on the host with the IP address 192.168.1.1:

nmap 192.168.1.1

• Identifying Hostnames

Nmap can also be used to identify hostnames. The following command identifies the hostname of the host with the IP address 192.168.1.1:

nmap -sL 192.168.1.1

• Scanning from a File

If you have a list of hosts that you want to scan, you can use Nmap to scan from a file. The following command scans the hosts listed in the file ‘hostfile.txt‘:

nmap -iL hostfile.txt

• OS Detection

Nmap can be used to detect the operating system of a host. The following command detects the operating system of the host with the IP address 192.168.1.1:

nmap -O 192.168.1.1

• TCP SYN Scan

One of the most powerful features of Nmap is the TCP SYN scan, which is used to determine which ports are open on a host. The following command performs a TCP SYN scan on the host with the IP address 192.168.1.1:

nmap -sS 192.168.1.1

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Nmap. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the Nmap network scanner on your openSUSE system. For additional or useful information, we recommend you check the official Nmap website.