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Good Networking Diagram Program?

C

cpals

Diamond Member
What do you guys use to diagram large networks in a way that makes it easy and also can get detailed?

Right now I'm using Visio, but find it a little cumbersome to manage... I'd like to be able to have layers in the diagram so I could turn on/off sections of the layout while still keeping it all on one page. Right now, if I wanted to break the large layout into smaller pieces I'd have multiple places to update every time something changed.

Thanks!
 
i have always just used visio; its very cumbersome, but ive yet to find an alternate solution that produces attractive, scalable drawings. Solarwinds LANsurveyor has the capabilities to discover and export in visio format, although i have no experience with it.
 
I too am looking for something easier than Visio, but unfortunately that's all I've attempted to use to date. I have tested ConceptDraw Pro in the past, and it was OK as well (very similar to Visio with more pre-built icons).

I participated in a survey from Solar Winds a few months back and was eligible for a free copy of LANsurveyor Express (stripped down version of LANsurveyor). I didn't use it that much, but it worked pretty well when I tested it. Our network recently went through a rearchitecure, so I'll be trying it again shortly and let you know well it works for mapping an entire network.
 
I've used about every tool there is (even some super expensive ones). I always go back to visio - you just have to know how to use it. Layers aren't problem with it. Knowing how to work with connection points/adding them, using snap/glue settings, grouping and shape/text properties along with layers gives very good diagrams.

Visio is only cumbersome if you don't take advantage of those features. Pick up a good book on it and get to work.

-edit-
What I'm trying to say is that is what I am most proficient and productive with. Not that it's "the best". If you want to click some buttons and have a quality network diagram it just isn't going to happen...it doesn't exist. You can have a quality ROUTING diagram with the $50,000+ tools and do simulations and what-ifs. But unless you're designing large scale (5,000 routers+) networks it's not necessary.
 
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