Network Mapping Tools: The Best Free and Paid Solutions

Departmental map using IntermapperDepartmental map using Intermapper

If your network has grown in a way that you cannot remember how things are connected, where is such switch, and so on, I have news for you: It is time to map your network, either manually using diagram tools or using automated network mapping tools.

Many organizations create their network maps using drawing tools like Microsoft Visio, SmartDraw, etc. However, these diagrams and charts should be maintained and updated manually. We are looking for network mapping tools that automatically graph a visual map of the network. The benefit of using a network mapping tool is that it automatically updates the map whenever a change is done in the network.

The internet has many tools to help you do it. However, we want to make this easy for you and give you the most affordable and even free choices on network mapping tools. We will also give you tips on how to easily prepare and create your network map.

How to choose the best network mapping tool?

What Is A CRDOWNLOAD File And How T...
What Is A CRDOWNLOAD File And How To Open It

While you may encounter many different networks, mapping tools on the internet not all of them might fit your needs or those of your organization. This article should help you gather an idea of what to look for without the need to set up a VM and try each tool yourself.

The first thing to do is to think about your requirements, even if you choose a free tool take into account the following steps:

  • Jot down all of the things you and your organization expect to get from the mapping tool you will choose. Things like the number of devices to map out, the type of equipment you have and unique features such as remote administration that you might need.
  • At a minimum, the tool you choose should offer some degree of automation. Although you might have to tweak a few aspects of the mapping, there is no point if you will have to do the entire job yourself.
  • Stay on budget; there are plenty of tools for both free and paid flavors. Make sure you obtain a tool that will help you do the job, and stay away from mapping tools that may offer the functionality you do not need.

Best free network mapping software

Spiceworks Network Mapping

Spiceworks Network Mapping Software
Spiceworks Network Mapping Software

Spiceworks offers many tools for IT Admins. Their Network Mapping tool is one of the best free options available nowadays. It auto-discovers your network, and alerts you of any changes or errors within it. Spiceworks Network Mapping allows you to create a map, see bandwidth usage, diagnose issues, and drill down on network node details.

Bandwidth monitoring using Spiceworks
Bandwidth monitoring using Spiceworks

Pros: Free, easy to install, easy to manage.

Cons: Some ads, you might have to re-map your network after the changes.

Download Spiceworks

NMap

NMap
NMap

NMap, short for “Network Mapper”, is a widely used network-mapping tool. It has been around for over 17 years. Most IT pros that use this tool identify potential security threats through network and vulnerability scanning. You can map and scan your entire network, but you will need to do some tinkering. Although it might seem a bit complicated, you will find NMap to cater to your needs.

Network topology using NMap
Network topology using NMap

Pros: Free, reliable, outstanding open source community support; you can create your scripts to automate various network tasks.

Cons: Not as user-friendly, scripts are written in LUA.

Download NMap

Best paid network mapping tools

PRTG Network Monitor

PRTG Mapping SNMP Devices
PRTG Mapping SNMP Devices

PRTG Network Monitor is a robust monitoring and mapping solution. It takes seconds to install, and it is easy to set up. This software has a few hundred sensors that allow you to monitor and map different aspects of your network. Its rich web interface has everything you need. Paessler’s PRTG is an excellent choice for SMBs, as it presents everything they need about their network in a well-designed and intuitive console. It’s excellent value, too, with a 500-sensor license and a one-year maintenance contract costing a shade over a grand.

PRTG Maps Designer
PRTG Maps Designer

Pros: Easy to use and setup, a wide variety of licenses, a great reporting tool.

Cons: Paid, only 100 sensors free, links can be a bit overwhelming.

Download PRTG

Device42

Physical Rack Mapping using Device42
Physical Rack Mapping using Device42

Device42’s strength is its agentless auto discovery. The tool allows you to integrate with services such as JIRA and ServiceNow, but it does not offer service management or a ticketing system. In a single console, you can manage your Data Center information (DCIM), IP addresses (IPAM) and passwords, as well as ITAM and CDMB. Device42 offers many integrations with monitoring and ticketing tools using REST APIs.

Searching Mapped Devices in Device42
Search for Mapped Devices in Device42

Pros: Over the top customer service, easy to use, lots of functionality, it is regularly updated about once a month.

Cons: Paid, a bit expensive, might have to do some tweaking to fit your needs.

Intermapper

Network Diagram using Intermapper
Network Diagramusing Intermapper

InterMapper provides a real-time and dynamic visualization of your network. It will automatically detect your network and create maps with all your devices. It will then determine how those devices inter-connect. Although its interface might look simplistic, it offers great maps and reports.

Departmental map using Intermapper
Departmental map using Intermapper

Pros: Very efficient monitoring, simple interface

Cons: Paid, limited trial to 10 devices, might fail to identify all MAC addresses, could be challenging to configure SNMP devices.

Download Intermapper Free Version

Something to remember when choosing the right tool is that most commercial NMS packages focus on layer3, the mapping based primarily on IP data. Unfortunately, it does not necessarily help network engineers check where something is plugged in. NMS, however, will allow you to see when something fails. Another essential functionality is the ability to receive SNMP traps.

Now, when choosing between free and paid solutions, the main difference is that free solutions support is usually limited to the community, while paid solutions provide you with specific support. Also, open source could offer you deep customization, but that could be time-consuming. Choosing a free solution could be appropriate when budgets are tight, your network is small, and you already have some monitoring or management software. Whether you want a free or paid solution, do your research using this guide, and then choose a solution that best fits your needs, budget, and requirements.

What network mapping tool do you use?

5 comments

  • Matt

    Do these tools only use SNMP to detect devices on the network? or are there any other techniques which are used for discovery purpose?

  • FrozenFace
    FrozenFace

    And if you are looking for a Microsoft solution for network mapping, you may check out Active Directory Topology Mapper which will automatically create Visio diagrams for you. But it only works if you have Active Directory installed in your network

  • FrozenFace
    FrozenFace

    Device42 looks very interesting otherwise all other software will only create a logical network mapping diagram while Device42 seems to take care of the physical mapping side of things too. For SMBs, an Excel sheet or draw.io would be enough I think?

    • Tom Brownie
      Tom Brownie

      Yes these tools are more like network diagram tools. The benefit of using these tools is automation. Automatic network diagram tools can be good but since we have a small one site network, we use Google Sheets to map, administer and even monitor our network configuration. Very easy for our team as all can open and live edit changes in Google Docs.

    • Augusto Santa Cruz
      Augusto Santa Cruz

      Frozenface, you are quite right about the Active Directory Topology Mapper but as you said AD is a reqirement to use that one. About SMBs, I think that to start planning and setting things up is always good to start with paper and maybe Excel. However, as you go further along things can get quite hectic, as tech changes and so does our needs. Moving away from Excel to keep track of things is possible as there are some good free tools to help.

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