Topology mapping program?

Noods

Im looking to map out the topology for my network, and Im looking for a more robust way to do it then pen/paper. Im sure there is a program out there that is used for this. A program with drill down options would be awesome. Does anyone know of such a program?

TeKniques

A lot of people use Visio. It's actually the only one I've used so I would have to recommend that.

Webmaster

MS Visio is probably still one of the best available and it's format is widely used. I used to use www.smartdraw.com sometimes, there's still a free version I think.

Noods

Thanks, this is exactly what I was looking for! Are there any differences between the two programs? Would there be any reason (other then cost) that I would choose one over the other?

Thanks again!

Webmaster

I haven't checked the latest version of either, but I assume Visio is still more advanced and complete.

JDMurray

Are there any network topology scanners that will produce a map for you? I know the expensive ones like HP OpenView will do this, but how about inexpensive or free ones, like SuperScan 4?

Webmaster

The Visio Enterprise Network Tools add-on for Visio 2002 included an autodiscovery feature, but has been removed in version 2003.

LAN MapShot is a third-party add-on for Visio 2003, was actually, cause "LAN MapShot has been discontinued."
www.flukenetworks.com/lanmapshot/
Version 2.0 is part of the "Microsoft Office Visio 2003 Resource Kit for IT Professionals".

There are plenty of other tools that can map a network infrastructure, but I don't know if the produce editable maps such as in visio.

Other rather expensive solutions are:
- What's up gold from www.ipswitch.com (30 days trial)
- Network Supervisor from 3com. Also discontinued but there's still a 60-day free trial available for download.
- www.adremsoft.com/netcrunch free trial.
- www.optrics.com/neon_software/lansurveyor.htm free trial.

Chivalry1

I actually use MS Visio Xp version. I cant say I like the 2003 version. But either will get the job done. I especially like the feature of exporting to a HTML doc. Which is convient for placing these files on a local intranet.

silence782

I also got to recommed Visio. I used it for a networing project and got an A. The newest version I've used is Visio 2002. But there might be something newer by now.