As a software vendor that makes network documentation software (netTerrain), I spend a good deal of time discussing the many merits of automatic network diagrams. For many organizations, these diagrams have become essential to daily work. For many others, however, IT teams simply don’t have any network diagrams or have outdated and impossible-to-keep-updated network diagrams.
If you are reading this, chances are you think you may need some automated diagrams to make network management easier. The most important factor in determining if you need network diagrams or not is….pain.
1. You Probably Need Network Diagrams If…Troubleshooting is Driving You Batty
When something goes down, how do you fix it? Do you know what’s impacted — and what it’s all connected to? How can you troubleshoot your network if you don’t know what is connected in your network?
If you have that one person that knows everything about the network and he or she happens to be on vacation or left the company, what now? Manually draw out the network, do site surveys on the fly, track existing spreadsheets or Visio diagrams and hope they are up to date?
Automated Network diagrams, such as those which netTerrain generates, can help solve the issue on what’s on your network, in real-time!
Detailed Network Diagrams Show You Exactly What’s Connected to What
2. You Probably Need Network Diagrams If…IT Costs are Skyrocketing
As your IT infrastructure grows in size and complexity, IT costs naturally increase. Without a way to document what you already have, and where it is, you can end up with devices and links that take up space and draw power without performing any functions. Proper diagrams and documentation can help you combat this.
How can you keep a handle on your IT hardware costs? One way is to run a network discovery and see what is connected to your network. netTerrain, for example, has SNMP network discovery to help you easily discover your network assets. It takes it up a notch by providing link connections (not an extra charge) using LLDP, and CDP.
Run asset reports, connection reports, see how many ports are free, used, and get a picture of what you have in your IT infrastructure.
Asset & Connectivity Reports are a Powerful Management Tool
3. You Probably Need Network Diagrams If…You’ve Got Too Many Tools & Not Enough Information
When I ask organizations about the types of data sources and applications they run as part of managing the network, I hear a variety of answers, from using Visio, spreadsheets, to having a CMDB like ServiceNow, or network monitoring tools like Observium, Solarwinds, and Spectrum. Then, of course, there are your Cloud and virtual platforms, such as AWS, Azure, and vCenter.
Is it time to create a visual umbrella to tie all of your different siloed applications into one easy to understand platform? Why is this important to bring in data into one centralized repository?
The above-mentioned tools have a poor way of visualizing the relationship of IT to the business and people. For example, when an alarm is activated from a network management tool, software like netTerrain can help you not only find the exact physical location of the problem, but also which other business entities will get affected, who needs to be notified, what changes have been made to the asset attributes and how the asset is related to the rest of the environment. Furthermore, procedures and processes can be documented and embedded in netTerrain diagrams, so that even when the person responsible is out, the next person can easily follow the directions and resolve the problem.
Another reason is to help you standardize processes and procedures to ensure that documentation templates include data consistency for all devices and objects, as well as graphic symbology, across the entire organization.
netTerrain can provide a single “visual pane of glass”, from gathering data from multiple sources, its network discovery, to map out the IT infrastructure, your decision makers gain access to a set of real-time diagrams and reports that help reduce costs, improve service levels, mitigate risks and ultimately align IT investments with business objectives. If you’d like to test drive netTerrain for free (no credit card info needed, no sales tactics) or would like to get a demo, click here to schedule a time for a brief 15-minute discovery call to get started.