For example, each operation centre can be summarised at the internet/intranet facing routers, only providing details about the amount of traffic, saturation and errors and QoS data. GIS tools need to operate at multiple level of abstractions. GIS mapping tools allow network administrators to create high-level maps for each geographical location and see the configuration with other operation centres. Mapping IT Assets on a Large Geographical Scaleįor organisations which span over a wide geographic area, such as supermarket chains, datacentre providers or international corporations, a GIS asset management tool can be the best resource. Afterwards, you can automatically assign your IT assets to a specific location on the map and even create subsets for each congregation of devices. This application enables you to upload your own blueprint or map in a variety of formats. In case you already have a set of network diagrams which you would like to convert into an interactive and dynamic format, you can use a tool such as Lansweeper. Manually Mapping Multiple Assets to a LAN Network Blueprint
#Lansweeper report number of assets per subnet windows
This setup is simple in any kind of operating system as long as the device is connected to the respective IT network and the user has the required permissions.įor example, to connect a user device running Windows OS to a network drive, all you need to do is to click on the ‘Map network drive’ button within a file explorer window, type in the path of the folder or computer that you want to connect to, and press OK. Typically, when it comes to adding an individual asset to an IT network, you will most likely need to connect a user device to an organisational network.
This type of map is useful for systems administrators who are concerned with end-user experience and less useful for network engineers who are looking at the details of the low-level communication.Īdding IT Assets and Generating Topology Maps Manually Mapping an Individual Asset to the Network At this point, the map is only concerned with the way application traffic flows through an environment, straying away from the physical infrastructure setup. The highest level of mapping abstraction will render a functional map.
This is the layer where virtualised elements on the same host device appear as separate entities even though they are physically operating on the same machine. It focuses on the movement of data across the estate while keeping an accurate rendition of the assets’ location and configuration. It looks at the way the network behaves rather than just its physical configuration. This is the most common type of map used nowadays. However, you can get to such a low-level of physical details that they stop being useful in a real-world environment. You can include hardware information about the assets, including location, address and technical specifications. If two computers are connected together through a copper wire, a physical map will simply reflect the connection. These are the most straightforward and easy to understand the types of maps. Even if a ‘real’ physical asset such as a router is simple, abstracting its functionality into Virtual Routing and Forwarding can make the system more complex and less intuitive.
IT networks generally operate at multiple levels of abstraction.