Prescilla...My opinions/suggestions
All of the earlier suggestions are good as well (Visio, Netviz, etc.), but I
also really like the Cisco Network Designer (CND), produced by Netformx
(www.netformx.com).
Like an earlier respondent stated, this is a high performance app that is
CPU, memory and disk space intensive, BUT here are a few reasons why I like
it for predominantly Cisco networks:
1. It is the standardized network diagraming tool used by the internal
Cisco engineering staff.
2. It includes an active (updatable) database of EVERY currently available
Cisco platform and all componentry. In fact it includes complete databases
of over 70 other vendor products and options as well (from 3Com through
Zircom; PCs, OSs, hubs, switches, routers, add-ons, etc.). You pay for the
weekly update service.
3. The internal logic is AI, rules based and can recognize chassis,
accessories, modules, blades, IOS version, memory configurations, as well as
data link and IP addresses. Autodiscovery can generate a logical (Layer 3)
network diagram of any SNMP compliant device (any included vendor). The
report generator can produce an asset list in several forms, including by
device type, vendor, or drawing level, and display model number, MAC
address, and IP address(es)--great for a preliminary network audit survey or
design upgrade project. Will tell you where the obsolete devices or even
obsolete blades are located. You can design the network from the ground up,
or capture the existing network and upgrade it. The key advantage to CND
(over other apps) is that the AI configuration wizard recognizes physical
configuration mistakes (wrong IOS feature set, not enough DRAM or FLASH, no
compatible interface, etc.) while you are building the network, and based on
the latest available components.
4. Graphics can be exported to HTML, Visio, or even bit-mapped. Text and
tabular data can be exported to ASCII, Word, Excel etc. Legacy Vision
diagrams can be imported to CND. Exports lose the AI logic, but imports can
gain it if the device is recognized within the extensive object library.
5. As a Cisco instructor, I have used CND to document student networks in
the lab, in order to verify IP configurations, and I generally recommend it
as a tool option to Design class students. (I actually taught the CND
Orientation class to partners during the initial worldwide deployment last
year--now the classes are on-line or delivered through Cisco field offices.)
6. The price range is compatible with Netviz if all options are purchased
(weekly updating and Enterprise level autodiscovery), but even without the
enterprise level discovery it is comparable to Visio on steroids. The
included local autodiscovery is acually more suitable for modular
compilation of large networks.
Lastly, I must add a kudo for your book "Top-Down Network Design" which I
reference in virtually all of my classes, especially DCN--it is a classic
and well written!!
(BTW, A trial version of Designer can be gotten from Netformx or maybe from
Cisco directly).
Cheers...
Dennis Griffin
(PSC->Geotrain->Global Knowledge)
Message Posted at:
http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=9360&t=9199
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