Network Mapping — How to Map a Network for Your Enterprise
Entuity Software
BY: MICHAEL WARDALE
Network mapping is crucial for the effectiveness of your organization. It provides crucial information to network managers about traffic metrics, device condition, logical and physical connections, and more. Additionally, it streamlines network troubleshooting and increases uptime for your company.
What Is Network Mapping?
The act of locating logical and physical interconnection inside your network is known as network mapping. Networks may be mapped using both physical and virtual components. They also use firewalls, routers, switches, access points, and ethernet hubs.
Network Mapping vs. Network Topology Mapping
The visual representation of the network’s physical nodes and components is known as network topology mapping.
However, network mapping provides more useful information about devices. This is advantageous for network administrators since it allows you to monitor the logical and physical interfaces, CPU utilization, bandwidth use, traffic metrics, etc. Instead of focusing on how gadgets appear, it helps you grasp what they’re actually doing.
Four Benefits of Mapping a Network
For network administrators to comprehend topology, network infrastructure, and interdependencies, network mapping is a crucial tool. Network mapping aids businesses in performance, management, optimization, and security.
1. Encourage Real-time Network Discovery & Monitoring
The ICMP, SNMP, and SSH protocols are used for this advantage. These protocols assist in identifying which devices are connected to the network and react immediately to new devices joining the network rather than waiting for an issue to develop.
It would take an extremely long time to manually check for changes to a /16 subnet, which has around 30,000 devices. You may set your tool to automatically detect changes by utilizing network discovery and monitoring. You may also detect newly installed network devices and eliminate ones that are no longer present by setting your schedule to a daily refresh.
2. Accelerate Network Issue Diagnosis
A network infrastructure map’s insights simplify troubleshooting. You can use a network mapping exercise to determine whether and when devices are affected. You can then use your connection to the corrupted devices to start the service-restoration process. As a result, your team can provide the services you need while cutting down on network downtime.
3. Improve Capacity Planning
Using SNMP offers information about port capacity, how it is used by devices, and whether a bandwidth problem exists. You may use these insights to decide which devices require greater capacity and use by using them to guide your selections. For instance, if your 24-port switch only has 23 ports available, you’ll need to increase capacity if you want to expand the network. This makes it easier for network managers to control traffic and better prepare for network capacity.
4. Provide Visibility for Better Network Control
NetFlow employs flow diagrams to provide information about the origin and destination of traffic. If something goes wrong along the way, NetFlow data can assist you in choosing the optimal rerouting approach to keep the network up and running while you work on the problematic component.
Network Map Examples and Types
Network administrators can effectively use networking maps. These maps aid companies in understanding a network’s structure and functioning. Each network is represented by a variety of network maps, and the one you select will depend on your organization’s requirements. Several types of network maps are illustrated below.
Physical Network Maps
This map, often known as a “rack diagram,” depicts the physical layer of a network. Physical network maps often show the precise location of network devices, their method of connection, and the nature of those connections. These maps can be produced manually or automatically by specialized software that scans and catalogs your network devices.
Network Path Mapping
This form of mapping demonstrates the path that data takes across our networks and the nodes that make up the logical or physical path.
The traffic must pass through this virtual channel, which includes virtualized intrusion prevention systems. Cisco ASA serves as an illustration of this as it makes use of FirePOWER and routes traffic through this module without the need for physical connectivity. To determine if anything is violating security regulations, the traffic is compared to a collection of signatures.
Layer 2 Network Maps
Devices like switches will be displayed in Layer 2 Network Maps when they comply with Layer 2 protocol requirements like Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). The key advantage of a Layer 2 map is that it lets you know which direction the traffic flows through its spanning tree priority when tracing the data stream across a diagram.
Layer 3 Network Maps
Routers, firewalls, load balancers, IP addressing, route data, and layer segments that dangle off each network link are all included in Layer 3 Network Maps. The advantage in this case is being able to trace a data flow from its source all the way to its destination and knowing which direction it would go. When it comes to troubleshooting, this is a lifesaver.
How to Map a Network
Although network mapping has numerous advantages, it may also be a challenging operation that requires a wide range of tools. Some of the primary methods for mapping a network are the ones listed below. Every illustration of network mapping employs a distinct protocol that is discussed in further detail.
SNMP-driven Network Maps
A robust and well-liked monitoring protocol is SNMP. It is dependent on management information bases (MIB) made available by suppliers. A network’s topology, including linked network devices, port status, serial numbers, and more, may be learned by SNMP servers.
There are three SNMP versions:
Version 1 is now out of date.
Community string is used with version 2c.
A username, password, and security group are provided in version 3, which is a more secure version.
LLDP Protocol
The Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP), a market standard for discovering what network devices are linked to the opposite side, may also provide information to SNMP. In other words, LLDP shows the “neighbors” of a network device.
CDP Protocol
The Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) is a proprietary protocol created by Cisco. This aids in giving Cisco devices a topological picture of the network. However, CDP is not just for Cisco hardware.
One is that VMware makes use of both LLDP and CDP. Additionally, HP added CDP to phone systems so they can cooperate with Cisco. In actuality, when Cisco started producing their own servers, HP began producing their own network equipment. For Cisco engineers, certain HP command lines even include Cisco commands.
NetFlow-driven Network Maps
Cisco developed NetFlow (as in the protocol), but it is also supported by a number of other companies, including Palo Alto, Fortinet, HP, and others. A chart provided by NetFlow displays the kind of network traffic (HTTP, HTTPS), its source, destination, and usage. Additionally, it aids in creating a picture of the network, identifying the typical baseline traffic, and revealing any anomalies.
For instance, if a new URL starts consuming bandwidth and no one knows what it is, you may start by checking to see if you are being attacked or if a user is acting inappropriately. You may create your firewall policies with the aid of this network traffic map’s insights.
ICMP Network Mapping
Another well-liked kind of network monitoring protocol is called Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). ICMP can determine what is online on the network by using Ping. If there are no security restrictions preventing the ping request, the host will answer when it is online. This is useful for tracking which addresses are in use and for maintaining a current list of IP-connected devices.
However, the absence of an ICMP response does not imply that the IP address is not assigned to the host or that it is not in use. Remember that your firewall settings may prevent pings. However, using ICMP instead of manually checking your devices makes maintaining IP monitoring much simpler.
Common Network Mapping Tools
An SNMP server is a standard tool for network mapping. A community string is connected to by this server for SNMP clients. It enables network administrators to compile data on the functionality, condition, and health of network devices. The majority of operating systems and suppliers support SNMP.
Windows Remote Management (WinRM), a protocol utility provided by Microsoft, is another option. WinRM may exchange OS data in the Microsoft environment, including CPU memory, services, and disk space. This makes remote automation and administration safe and effective.
Simplify Your Network Mapping Today
Network mapping does not have to be a demanding process for your company. You may manage your storage, server, and network devices with the aid of ParkView Managed Services, a collection of managed IT infrastructure services. Automated health checks, configuration management, patch management, firmware management, device provisioning, DHCP & DNS management, and more are all available as part of our specialist network management as a service offering.
Entuity Software, a business network monitoring program from Park Place Technologies, enables you to manage your network the way you see fit. With capabilities like network detection, network topology mapping, application path monitoring, and more, this all-in-one solution offers you total network awareness. Find out more about this business tool right now!
