What is a network map?

The network map is a computer network diagram. These maps are made to find narrow places in network systems or in places that need to be redirected. The network map is one of the most basic tools in a network designer tool. The physical distribution of the network and information on its use provides a large amount of information that would be difficult to obtain by other means. These days the technology was behind the network in its infancy. It was not uncommon for large networks to have only one or two individuals who fully understood their scope. These maps were used to help those who are less familiar with systems, found the information they needed for layouts and repairs. These tools have given hard numbers related to the use and latency of network connections. When this information was combined with Stanramd network map, designers could see the real effects of their changes. Small changes in the network design have been found to have the main impact on network use formulas.

In the first days, most of these maps were made manually. Later, automatic network monitoring programs came to the market. These programs would work through whole network spaces and locate all endpoints, terminals and intersections. This information would return to the main program and create a system map. These maps differed from the standard network map in that they showed interactivity between parts, but rarely the real map of the plan style.

There are three basic methods of creating a network map outside simply drawing; Simple network management protocol (SNMP), active test and route analysis. SNMP is a standard industry standard protocol and was originally developed as a method of localization of hardware failure. Thanks to this method, it uses software to map links to the location of the hardware that it is already aware of. Then he asks those hardware pieces about those they know and eventually pull oute the whole net.

The active probe network map takes a more aggressive approach. He calls the net with a special type of information packet. These packets talk to the system hardware and report to the program. Based on the information they get and how long it took to load it, the program can create a basic hardware map.

Analytics is the latest of three forms and is the only explicit network mapping. These programs imitate some tendencies of the network router, often acting as a clone of an existing piece of hardware. They monitor the information passing through the system, cataloging addresses and times. Finally, they get enough information to connect the basic network map - the longer the program runs, the more accurate.