When conducting scans, how many Nessus scanners are needed for every 500 hosts?

The correct answer is one Nessus scanner for every 500 hosts when conducting scans, which reflects the typical capacity and usage guidelines for Nessus in a large environment. This recommendation is based on the performance capabilities of Nessus scanners, which can effectively manage the scanning of a significant number of hosts within that threshold.

By utilizing a single scanner for every 500 hosts, organizations can ensure efficient resource allocation, as each scanner is designed to handle a specific load without compromising the speed and accuracy of the scans. This balance helps maintain network performance while ensuring that vulnerabilities are properly identified and assessed.

In practice, if more hosts are present than can be efficiently managed by one scanner, it may lead to performance issues, such as time delays in scanning and challenges in processing the scan results. This approach allows security teams to effectively schedule scans, comply with operational constraints, and manage their scanning resources effectively.