What is the most common network topology?

Using a star topology is common because it allows for centralized control and ensures that nodes operate independently, so the failure of one device does not affect the others.

What is network illustration?

Network topology illustration is the visual component of a network topology map, referring specifically to the graphical display.

Why is network topology important?

Network topology can offer valuable insights for network management, security, and troubleshooting.

What does network topology software do?

Network topology software aims to provide an automated network mapping and diagramming process, so you can improve accuracy and efficiency in your topology map.

Network Topology Software

Q: What are examples of network topology?

The most common network topology examples include star, bus, ring, tree, mesh, and hybrid forms.

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Display 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 and efficiently. 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.

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Choose from among multiple types of network topology diagrams for custom visualization

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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, streamline optimization workflows by identifying changes faster, and view your network infrastructure 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.

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Automate your network topology mapping with automatic discovery and diagramming

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An efficient network topology diagramming software will automate as much of your mapping as possible. Network Topology Mapper enables you to create a topology map using auto-discovery and consistent network scanning features to ensure the map remains up-to-date with new devices. For LAN and WAN networks, NTM offers a variety of discovery approaches, including SNMP (v1-v3), ICMP, VMware WMI, VLANs, and more. Although NTM uses automated discovery tools, you can manually adjust nodes and connections as you see fit.

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Scan your network at regular intervals to maintain an updated topology map

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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.

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Create detailed network topology reports to comply with industry audits

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IT network topology mapping is a crucial component of a network security plan, and 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 enables you to generate topology reports and dashboards designed to help you demonstrate compliance with various industry standards, including HIPAA, SOX, PC DSSI, and FIPS 140-2.

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Get More on Network Topology

Some common FAQs are…

What is network topology?
What are examples of network topology?
What is the most common network topology?
What is network illustration?
Why is network topology important?
What does network topology software do?
How does network topology work in Network Topology Mapper?

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.

SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper (NTM) provides a comprehensive topology mapping feature, featuring automated mapping and scanning capabilities.

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 utilizes a discovery protocol (such as 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, allowing to more accurate identification of services and relationships 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 provides a visual representation 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 various display formats.

While NTM is designed to be an automated network mapping tool for network topology, you can also customize many aspects of your topology mapping process. NTM enables you to customize the visual interface of your topology map and manually add or remove devices as needed. 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 IT teams’ 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 various regulations, including HIPAA, PCI, FIPS 140-2, and others.

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.
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, accurately represents the network environment, and can be exported in the proper format to support activities such as 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, semi-automated, 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, handcrafted maps are typically created using your existing knowledge of 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—such as 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 diagram that updates in real-time as devices enter and leave the network.

Automatic discovery and mapping for efficient and versatile network topology

Network Topology Mapper

Comprehensive network monitoring allows you to 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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