Freedom251 › Network Vulnerability Scanners
Qualys Scanner Appliance
What Qualys Scanner Appliance is
Qualys Scanner Appliance scans internal and internet-facing network assets for vulnerabilities and compliance issues. It brings the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform into on-premises environments, where it can assess networked systems and devices, including IoT. Scan options include VM, PC, WAS, network mapping, and PCI compliance; the product also supports credentialed and agent-based scanning, compliance checks, and network discovery. Its IP-based coverage includes on-premises, cloud, and hybrid assets, with IPv6 support.
Organizations can use physical, virtual, cloud, container, offline, or Qualys-managed perimeter scanner options. Virtual distributions are available for a range of virtualization and cloud platforms, subject to qualified platform and version support. Each virtual scanner license permits one active appliance, and the virtual scanner extends an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription rather than working as a standalone product. Scanner appliances connect to the Qualys Cloud Platform for central management, reporting, and analysis, and receive automatic updates. Offline appliances can run vulnerability management, policy compliance, and network mapping scans in disconnected environments; results upload when scanning finishes. The appliance stores customer data on an encrypted filesystem and cleans up scan data after completion.
Who it suits
Qualys presents Scanner Appliance for organizations with large network infrastructure or regulatory needs for internal scanning. It suits teams assessing on-premises, cloud, or hybrid IP-based assets, including IoT devices.
What it does well
- Supports VM, PC, WAS, network mapping, and PCI compliance scans.
- Covers IP-based assets across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
- Offers offline scanning for disconnected or air-gapped environments.
- Receives automatic updates to signatures, checks, and patches.
- Encrypted filesystem stores customer data; scan data is cleaned up after completion.
What to know first
- Virtual appliances require an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription.
- Each virtual scanner license allows one active appliance.
- ARM-based infrastructure, including Apple M1 and M2 products, is unsupported.
- Appliances need outbound HTTPS on port 443 to the managing platform.
Limits
A virtual scanner is an extension of an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription, and each purchased virtual scanner license permits one active appliance. ARM-based infrastructure, including Apple products with M1 and M2 chipsets, is not supported; full platform support is limited to qualified platforms and versions.
Getting started
- Review the Qualys Scanner onboarding documentation.
- Choose a physical, virtual, cloud, container, offline, or Qualys-managed perimeter deployment.
- For a virtual scanner, confirm you have an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription and a license for one active appliance.
- Select a qualified supported platform and version for a virtual deployment.
- Allow outbound HTTPS on port 443 for communication with the managing Qualys Cloud Platform.
Verdict
Choose Qualys Scanner Appliance if your organization needs internal network scanning across on-premises, cloud, or hybrid assets, or offline scanning for disconnected environments. The main consideration is that virtual scanners extend an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription and do not operate independently.
Questions
How is Qualys Scanner Appliance priced?
Pricing is on request.
Can I use the virtual scanner as a standalone product?
No. It extends an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription.
Which platforms does it support?
It is listed for self-hosted and web use. Virtual distributions include platforms such as VMware, Hyper-V, OpenStack, KVM, Proxmox, and cloud providers, with full support limited to qualified platforms and versions.
Does it support offline scanning?
Yes. Offline appliances support vulnerability management, policy compliance, and network mapping in disconnected or air-gapped mode. Results upload after a scan finishes.
Which vaults and security integrations are listed?
The scanner overview lists Secret Server, CyberArk, Azure Key Vault, Thales HSM, HashiCorp, and BeyondTrust PBPS.
Does it support ARM-based systems?
No. ARM-based infrastructure, including Apple products with M1 and M2 chipsets, is unsupported.
Facts from Qualys Scanner Appliance's own pages
- Asset coverage
- It supports IP-based assets across on-premises, cloud, and data-center environments, including databases, IP phones, and IoT devices. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Data protection
- The appliance stores customer data on an encrypted filesystem, and scan data is cleaned up after completion and sent to the cloud platform for processing. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Scanner options include physical, virtual, containerized, offline, and Qualys-managed perimeter scanners. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Deployment options
- Qualys offers physical, virtual, cloud, and container scanner appliance environments. · docs.qualys.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Environments
- It extends the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform into on-premises environments and assesses systems and devices on the network, including IoT devices. · docs.qualys.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 1999 · docs.qualys.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Headquarters
- Foster City, California, USA · docs.qualys.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Integrations
- The scanner overview lists support for vaults including Secret Server, CyberArk, and Azure Key Vault, and for Thales HSM, HashiCorp, and BeyondTrust PBPS. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Management integration
- Scanner appliances integrate with the Qualys Cloud Platform for centralized management, reporting, and scan-result analysis. · docs.qualys.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Network requirement
- Physical and virtual appliances need outbound HTTPS on port 443 to communicate with their managing Qualys Cloud Platform. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Offline scanning
- Offline appliances support vulnerability management, policy compliance, and network mapping scans in disconnected or air-gapped mode; results upload after a scan finishes. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Platform limitation
- Scanner Appliance does not support ARM-based infrastructure, including Apple products with M1 and M2 chipsets. · docs.qualys.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Platform support
- Virtual scanner distributions are available for platforms including VMware, Hyper-V, OpenStack, KVM, Proxmox, and cloud providers; full support is limited to qualified platforms and versions. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- The appliance scans assets on internal or internet-facing networks for vulnerabilities and compliance issues. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Scan types
- Supported scan types include vulnerability management, policy compliance, web application scanning, network mapping, and PCI compliance. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Security
- The scanner initiates outbound HTTPS communication to Qualys platform endpoints and has no listening TCP ports or inbound internet connection requirement. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Subscription requirement
- The virtual scanner is an extension of an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription and is not a standalone solution; each license allows one active virtual scanner appliance. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Support
- The documentation directs users to Qualys Support for information about perimeter scanner subscription details. · docs.qualys.com, 3 Oct 2026
- Supported virtualization
- Virtual scanner distributions are listed for platforms including VMware, Hyper-V, OpenStack, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Nutanix, KVM, Proxmox, and OpenShift. · docs.qualys.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Updates
- The product page says scanner appliances receive automatic updates to vulnerability signatures, security checks, and patches. · docs.qualys.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Virtual appliance licensing
- Each purchased virtual scanner license allows one active appliance, and the appliance extends an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription rather than operating as a standalone solution. · docs.qualys.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Who it is for
- Qualys describes the solution as suitable for organizations with large network infrastructure or regulatory requirements for internal scanning. · docs.qualys.com, 2 Oct 2026
Where Qualys Scanner Appliance stands on Freedom251
- Network Vulnerability Scanners#17 of 23