Network Topology
Display your network topology easily with out-of-the-box layouts
With SolarWinds® Network Topology Mapper (NTM), displaying your network topology is easy. With several out-of-the-box layouts, NTM offers a flexible solution to your device mapping process, without the need for manual effort. Preconfigured layouts help you establish the right layout quickly. As auto-discovery continues to detect new devices and discover network topology more accurately, NTM can update your layout and show side-by-side performance metrics.
Choose from among multiple types of network topology diagrams for custom visualization
Topology maps can be divided into three general types: physical maps, logical maps, and functional maps. Each type of topology diagram offers unique benefits for network performance monitoring. Using the right visualization for network configuration can help you to monitor more efficiently, identify changes faster, and view your network in a way that makes the most sense.
For many types of visualization, NTM offers multi-layer visibility for an integrated insight into OSI layers 2 and 3, so you can leverage a complete image of your network layout.
Automate your network topology mapping with automatic discovery and diagramming
An efficient network topology diagramming software will automate as much of your mapping as possible. Network Topology Mapper allows you to establish a topology map, using auto-discovery and consistent network scanning features to help ensure the map accommodates new devices. For LAN and WAN networks, NTM offers a variety of discovery approaches including SNMP (v1-v3), ICMP, VMware WMI, and more. Although NTM uses automated discovery tools, you can manually adjust nodes and connections as you see fit.
Scan your network at regular intervals to maintain an updated topology map
Once you’ve discovered devices and established your network topology diagram, NTM uses automated scanning to continually update your network map. You can easily customize the schedule for how NTM scans your network. Don’t worry about missing changes—NTM is built to instantly detect when changes occur to your configuration or when unknown devices enter your network. With each scan, you can automatically collect metrics and ID new devices.
Create detailed network topology reports to comply with industry audits
IT network topology mapping is an important feature of a network security plan, but it can also be a compliance requirement. Multiple regulatory agencies require your network to establish and maintain a detailed network topology map to protect against unknown devices and potential security breaches.
To make your audit as smooth as possible, SolarWinds NTM allows you to generate topology reports designed to help you demonstrate compliance with a variety of industry standards, including HIPAA, SOX, PC DSSI, and FIPS 140-2.
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What is network topology?
Network topology provides a spatial and logical understanding of your network configuration. It refers to the arrangement and relationships of links and nodes on a network. Common network topology examples include star, bus, ring, tree, mesh, and hybrid forms.
In a network topology diagram, each device in your network is manifested as a unique node, and the relationships between devices are documented and updated as they change. Topology mapping allows you to more easily identify the operating devices within your network, and to understand their relationships across physical distance and OSI layers. A topology map helps answer the questions: “What devices are in my network? How do these devices interact?”
To monitor network topology, you must first visualize network nodes and their relationships. This is where network topology mapping comes in. Network topology mapping produces a diagram representative of your network device configuration. Various line types can indicate connections and relationships between devices, and symbols are used at each node to represent different types of devices.
While you can manually determine your network topology, topology mapping software can allow you to save time and improve accuracy by automatically discovering and mapping devices. With SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper, you can monitor device metrics, identify and flag unknown devices, and collect device information for each new discoverable node.
What are examples of network topology?
The most common network topology examples include star topology as well as bus, ring, tree, mesh, and hybrid forms:
Star: Star topology describes where nodes are connected to a central hub that manages how data is transmitted. Data sent between nodes must pass through this central hub to help prevent data loss.
Bus: The bus topology, sometimes called the link or backbone topology, organizes nodes along a single line or cable, allowing data to flow in one direction. This can be a simple and cost-effective solution for small networks and allows you to more easily add additional nodes. However, relying on one line can limit bandwidth. And if this central cable fails, it impacts the entire network.Ring: In a ring topology, nodes are arranged in a circular fashion where data can travel in either direction. Data travels through neighbor nodes to reach its destination, and only one node can send data at a time. This is typically effective, but node failure can take down the entire network.
Tree: In a tree topology, a central hub connects to secondary hubs, which have a linear connection to other nodes. This is a common topology for wide area networks with many devices to support.
Mesh: A mesh topology is a complicated structure where nodes are arranged in a ring, but with additional links reaching “across” the ring, allowing for faster data routing.
Hybrid: A hybrid topology combines any of the other types of network topologies—for instance, a network might potentially connect a star and ring topology through a central hub.
What is the most common network topology?
Using a star topology is a common because it allows for centralized control and ensures nodes operate independently, so failure of one device won’t affect the others. On the other hand, if the central hub fails, it impacts the entire network. The hub can also limit performance if not properly configured.
What is network illustration?
Network topology illustration is the visual component of a network topology map. A network illustration refers specifically to the graphical display, with different possible design styles from which to choose. To understand a network topology setup, you need a visual component that’s easy to understand, accurate in its representation of the network environment, and can be exported in the proper format to support activities like security audits and demonstrating compliance.
Network illustrations aim to deliver legible, accurate network topology diagrams to determine device locations, relationships, statuses, and other defining factors. To achieve this, there are three main types of network topology illustrations: manual illustrations, semi-automated illustrations, and automated illustrations.
- Manual network illustrations are by far the most time-consuming and least dynamic type of network illustration. With a manual network design, hand-crafted maps typically are made using your existing knowledge about the network details. A hand-crafted map is often an inefficient process, with a higher potential for human error than automated designs.
- As with manual network illustrations, semi-automated illustrations offer some software-driven network topology discovery, but it remains up to you to represent device details, relationships, and other characteristics of the network.
- Automated network illustrations—like the diagrams generated with SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper—offer the best option by automating each part of the network illustration to create an accurate, detailed, and dynamic network illustration that updates over time and as devices enter and leave the network.
Why is network topology important?
Network topology can offer valuable insights for network management, security, and troubleshooting.
Mapping network topology benefits your troubleshooting efforts by providing deeper insights into network devices and relationships. Whenever you detect a performance issue in one of your devices, topology mapping can provide an intuitive view into each device, including multi-layer interactions. Visualizing network relationships allows you to more quickly trace performance issues back to the source, so you can more easily identify and resolve root cause issues.
Insights gained with network topology can also support your network security efforts. Each time a new device enters your network layout, topology mapping software can scan and quickly detect an unknown device, determine what it is, and provide visualizations to help you better assess its potential impact on other network devices. Using network layout software can help you more easily identify potential threats before they cause harm.
While an accurate network topology diagram is a helpful component of a robust network management strategy, it can also be used to demonstrate compliance. Regulations such as PCI require maintaining up-to-date network diagrams. To demonstrate compliance, you may need to generate network topology diagrams for regulations like PCI, SOX, HIPAA, and FIPS 140-2.
What does network topology software do?
Network topology software aims to automate the topology mapping and diagramming process, so you can improve accuracy and efficiency in your topology map. Manual topology mapping can be a time-consuming task, especially for large networks with complex relationships among devices. With regular network scans and auto-generated topology diagrams, network topology software can allow you to eliminate the hassle and time of manually identifying or mapping network devices.
How does network topology work in Network Topology Mapper?
SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper (NTM) offers a detailed topology mapping solution with automated mapping and scans.
Whether you’re using a WAN or a LAN, SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is designed to help eliminate human error and can identify new network devices in real time. For a customizable network diagram, NTM network topology software uses a discovery protocol (like SNMP or ICMP) to automatically identify devices on a regular schedule. However, NTM topology software is also designed to automatically identify the function of new devices within the network by integrating OSI Layer 2 and Layer 3 data to more accurately identify the services and relationships of your devices across multiple levels to support more efficient troubleshooting.
Once devices are discovered, NTM network topology software continuously scans the network for new devices to provide a regularly updated network topology diagram. The topology diagram offers a visualization of network paths, geographic locations, device details, dependencies, and other logical relationships among devices. When you need to share a diagram for a security audit, NTM topology software can export maps to a variety of display formats.
While NTM is designed to be an automated solution for network topology, you can also customize many aspects of your topology mapping process. NTM allows you to customize the visual interface of your topology map, and manually add or remove devices when desired. You can also customize your network scan by excluding individual devices, and even identifying specific subnets to scan. Using the SolarWinds Network Discovery Scan Wizard, you can set a specific schedule for network scans, or conduct a one-time scan whenever necessary.
To streamline your security audit, SolarWinds NTM also provides easy export of topology diagrams in several formats. To save and share the results of your network scan, you can export diagrams to Microsoft Visio, PNG, PDF, and Orion Network Atlas. NTM is also designed to help you more easily demonstrate compliance with a variety of regulations, including HIPAA, PCI, FIPS 140-2, and more.
What is network topology?
Network topology provides a spatial and logical understanding of your network configuration. It refers to the arrangement and relationships of links and nodes on a network. Common network topology examples include star, bus, ring, tree, mesh, and hybrid forms.
In a network topology diagram, each device in your network is manifested as a unique node, and the relationships between devices are documented and updated as they change. Topology mapping allows you to more easily identify the operating devices within your network, and to understand their relationships across physical distance and OSI layers. A topology map helps answer the questions: “What devices are in my network? How do these devices interact?”
To monitor network topology, you must first visualize network nodes and their relationships. This is where network topology mapping comes in. Network topology mapping produces a diagram representative of your network device configuration. Various line types can indicate connections and relationships between devices, and symbols are used at each node to represent different types of devices.
While you can manually determine your network topology, topology mapping software can allow you to save time and improve accuracy by automatically discovering and mapping devices. With SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper, you can monitor device metrics, identify and flag unknown devices, and collect device information for each new discoverable node.
Automatic discovery and mapping for efficient and versatile network topology
Network Topology Mapper
- Scan your network and discover new devices without manual configuration.
- Display network topology diagrams with your choice of out-of-the-box layouts and customization options.
- Export maps to Microsoft Visio and other user-friendly formats.
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