What is Network Visualization?

This video explains what network visualization is. If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected] or +1 (801) 901-0825. Download UVexplorer Now: https://www.uvexplorer.com/uvexplorer/ Transcript: Thank you for watching our video on Network Visualization. Network visualization refers to the process of producing and showcasing graphical representations of network devices, connections, and device details. Numerous forms of network visualization exist, including network maps, graphs, charts, and matrices. If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation where sharing your screen was the easiest way to communicate your point, you’ll appreciate the benefits of network visualization. Network visualization embodies the sentiment, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Network visualization enables administrators to rapidly and intuitively assimilate extensive information about the network’s state. For instance, a network map can deliver a comprehensive topology overview, elucidating both physical and logical data flows. Charts and graphs that depict network data over time are instrumental in identifying trends and facilitating capacity planning. Matrices and network topology maps can unveil dependencies crucial for troubleshooting and resolving outages or bottlenecks. Let’s delve deeper into the core benefits of network visualization: Network topology maps offer complete visibility into your entire network, enabling you to comprehend the network architecture and device dependencies intricately. Dynamic network maps, unlike their static counterparts, automatically update when changes occur. Without visibility, problem-solving becomes an uphill battle. Network visualization techniques, like maps and performance graphs, provide the necessary visibility to streamline troubleshooting and root cause analysis efforts. When you understand your current network dependencies, inventory, and resource utilization trends, planning for network upgrades and refreshes becomes simpler. Speed and understanding new scenarios are two key components to effective onboarding in network roles. An accurate network topology map can expedite the process by providing a new network engineer with a comprehensive view of the network, detailing device and cable connections, both logical and physical. Accurately and succinctly conveying complex information in a manner that customers, managers, and engineers can understand and act upon is a formidable challenge. The appropriate visuals can substantially enhance clarity, enabling you to address specific problems effectively. Network visualization can take many forms. In this section, we will discuss charts and graphs, dashboards, and network maps. Charts and graphs excel at visualizing trends and comparing data sets. In terms of network visualization, there’s a plethora of charts and graphs that can aid in comprehending your network’s health. Metrics such as interface utilization, bandwidth, and packet loss can be graphed over time, while charts can compare metrics between devices, interfaces, or time periods. To transform useful information into actionable insights, it must be easily accessible and digestible. While not a distinct type of network visualization, dashboards aggregate crucial data on a single page, simplifying the consumption of important information. A custom-designed dashboard should be information-rich yet intuitive, allowing for a swift understanding of vital data. A default dashboard should provide information on open alerts, detected misconfigurations, and a graph of top device utilization among other metrics. Network maps remain one of the most favored types of network visualization, and rightly so. Network maps include physical and logical connections, rack locations, and floor plans and are categorized into two types: static network maps and dynamic network maps. Also known as network diagrams, static maps can be created by hand using tools like Visio, or LucidChart. Static network maps can also be automatically generated by software tools like U V explorer. Coupling network discovery with network mapping presents the advantage of creating snapshots of a network’s actual state. Dynamic network maps incorporate real-time data on network changes. Dynamic network maps are interactive, allowing a drill-down to view specific metrics on connections, devices, and traffic flows. Given the automation of the discovery and visualization processes, dynamic network maps tend to offer a lot of detail. Thank you for watching our video on network Visualization. For more information on network visualization and U V explorer, visit U V explorer dot com.