Comparison of network diagram software

Network Mapping and Drawing Software

A number of software tools exist to design computer network diagrams. Broadly, there are two types of software tools:-

Network Mapping Software

Drawing Tools

Network maps support IT systems managers to understand what hardware and software services are on the network and how they are interconnected so that they may better manage the system’s uptime, performance, security risk and support to changes.

List of Network Mapping Software

Name	License	Deployment	Platforms
10SCAPE^[1]	Free & Proprietary	Desktop	Windows
10-Strike^[2]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows
Docusnap^[3]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows
Graphical Networks^[4]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows
Manage Engine^[5]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows
MaSSHandra^[6]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows, Linux, OS X
Netbrain Tech^[7]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows
Solarwinds^[8]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows
Spiceworks^[9]	Free	Desktop	Windows
The Dude^[10]	Free	Desktop	Windows, Linux
Whatsupgold^[11]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows

List of Drawing Tools

Name	License	Deployment	Platforms
ConceptDraw PRO^[12]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows, OS X
Creately^[13]	Proprietary	Desktop	Cross Platform
Microsoft Visio^[14]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows
SmartDraw^[15]	Proprietary	Desktop	Windows
Lucidchart^[16]	Proprietary	SaaS	Linux, OS X, Windows
Gliffy^[17]	Proprietary	SaaS	Linux, OS X, Windows

Network Mapping Features

Features	10SCAPE	10-Strike	Docusnap	Graphical Networks	Manage Engine	Masshandra	Netbrain Tech	Solarwinds	Whats up gold	Spiceworks	The Dude
Map Accuracy
View network Devices	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
View ports/interfaces	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
View physical connections by port/interface	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
View VLANS	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
View virtual server and clusters	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	No	No	No	No
View physical servers	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
View storage clusters, arrays, pools	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
View racks, chassis and blades	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Import Data
Add/update data from manual entry	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	No	Yes
Add/update data from spreadsheet / XML	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	No
Add/update from network configuration files	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	?	No	?	No
Network Scanning & Discovery
Scan networking devices (switches, routers, etc.)	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Scan network ports / interface details	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No
Scan physical connection details (speed, protocol, etc.)	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Scan windows & unix servers	No	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Scan virtual server hosts & virtual machines	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Scan storage devices	No	No	Yes	?	No	No	?	No	No	Yes	No
Scan telecommunications devices	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	?	No	Yes	Yes	No
Scan peripherals (desktops, printers, etc.)	No	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Scheduled scans	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
View Routing & Information Flow
Open service ports (TCP/UDP)	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	?	No	No	No
Information/Data flow	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
VPN	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Routes by firewall rules and NAT	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Routes by protocol (e.g. MPLS VRF, multicasting)	No	No	No	?	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Manage change
View current state	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
View planned additions & removals	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
View asset changes & history	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	Yes	No	No
Compare maps, identify changes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Exports & Output
Export data to spreadsheet / XML	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Export to Image / PDF	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Export to document (reports)	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Export to Visio	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No

Drawing Features

Features	10-Strike	Cacoo	Cade	Concept Draw Pro	Creately	Dia	draw.io	Edraw	Gliffy	grafShare	LanFlow	Microsoft Visio	Network Notepad	SmartDraw	Lucidchart
Rack icons	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Physical Servers icons	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Virtual Servers icons	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Storage icons	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
General network icons	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cisco network icons	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Network Services (e.g. Email Server icons)	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Peripheral icons (e.g. desktop, printers)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Telecommunications icons	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes
Isometric 3D icons	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Amazon cloud (AWS) icons	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes

References

↑ "10SCAPE Network Mapping Software". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "10-Strike Network Diagram". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Docusnap IT Documentation". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "netTerrain Network Documentation". Retrieved 12 October 2014.
↑ "Manage Engine Network Mapping". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "MaSSHandra 3D Network Diagram Editor". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Netbrain Tech Automated Documentation". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Solarwinds network topology mapper". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Spiceworks Network Mapping Software". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "The Dude network diagrams". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Whatsup gold network mapping visio". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Concept Draw Pro Drawing Tool". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Creately drawing". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Microsoft Visio network diagramming". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Smart Draw network diagramming". Retrieved 26 July 2014.
↑ "Lucidchart network diagramming". Retrieved 6 Aug 2014.
↑ "Gliffy network diagrams". Retrieved 9 Oct 2014.