We’ve come a long way from hand-drawn network diagrams. Advancements in diagramming software have allowed engineers to spend less time documenting their network and more time performing important network management tasks. Unfortunately, too many networks are still documented with outdated techniques.

Three Generations of Diagramming Software

1st

Static Diagrams
with Visio

Neatly drawn but cumbersome to create and update.

2nd

Static Diagrams
with Auto-Discovery

Difficult to scale and overly complex to setup.

3rd

Dynamic Diagrams

Highly scalable, built on-demand, and always up-to-date.

Dynamic Network Diagrams

Dynamic network diagram technology was designed to overcome the challenges of previous diagramming software. Dynamic diagrams are created on-demand, instantly. Because they are data-driven from the live network, they are always up-to-date. Through this approach, there’s no need to create and maintain a database of drawings.

Instantly Build Dynamic Network Diagram

On-Demand Mapping

On-demand mapping allows engineers to create a network diagram customized to the task at-hand. For example, to instantly diagram the path of an application, users can just enter the source and destination addresses. In this fashion, a dynamic diagram is like GPS for the network - instead of an atlas of maps, users can get a customized map from simple input.

See more network diagram examples

Dynamic Network Diagram of Slow Application Path

Dynamic Diagram of Application Path

Data-Driven Mapping

Traditional network diagrams are icon-driven so only a static image identifies each device. In a dynamic network diagram, every element correlates to a mathematical model. As a result, users can interact with the data behind the map, diagrams can auto-update, and information can be dynamically displayed or hidden by zooming in.

Learn more about Dynamic Network Diagram

Interact with Network Data Directly from the Map

Zoom In to See Network Data

Manage the Entire Network with Dynamic Diagrams

A dynamic diagram is much more than a topology map. Engineers can interact with it for troubleshooting and change management, providing an end-to-end network management solution.

End-to-End Troubleshooting

Instead of using the CLI to interact with devices one at a time, users can interact with their network through a visual environment instead. This map-driven approach accelerates troubleshooting by allowing engineers to monitor performance data, analyze historical changes, and automate troubleshooting logic.

Learn more about Visual Troubleshooting

'Map-Driven PHD' Troubleshooting Methodology

'Map-Driven CAD' Change Management Methodology

Map-Driven Change Management

Network changes can be both risky and manual. To minimize outages, network changes can be defined with a dynamic diagram. Through this environment, configuration updates can be pushed automatically and the impact can be instantly analyzed and documented.

Learn more about Map-Driven Change Management

Compare Three Generations of Network Diagrams

1st Generation
( Static Diagrams )

2nd Generation
( Batch Static Diagrams )

3rd Generation
( Dynamic Diagrams )

Examples of Software	Microsoft Visio	NetMapper LAN Surveyor	NetBrain
Network Topology Data	Yes	Yes	Yes
Device & Interface Labels	Icon-Driven	Icon-Driven	Data-Driven
Embedded config/design data	No	No	Yes
Powered by Auto-Discovery	No	Yes	Yes
Created Automatically	No	Half Credit	Yes
On-Demand Mapping	No	No	Yes
Auto-updating	No	Half Credit	Yes
Network Management Platform	No	No	Yes
Easy to Use	No	No	Yes

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