What Is Network Mapping? Definition, Process, Importance, and Best Practices for 2022

Network mapping is defined as the process of discovering all the entities linked to a network. Network mapping solutions visualize physical and virtual networks and provide in-depth visibility into enterprise IT infrastructure. This article explains the definition, process, importance, and best practices of network mapping.

What Is Network Mapping?

Network mapping is the process of discovering all entities linked to a network. Network mapping solutions visualize physical and virtual networks and provide in-depth visibility into enterprise IT infrastructure. Organizations use network mapping to simplify network monitoring and swiftly pinpoint network faults with network mapping tools.

Network mapping helps IT teams discover and visualize network connectivity by generating a network map. This map contains network diagrams, flowcharts, device inventories, and topology detection. These visual aids and materials are helpful for numerous purposes, including network security and maintenance.

As complex, dynamic networks become more commonplace, thanks to the advent of cloud computing and globalization, network mapping has become an essential process for enterprises in 2022.

Network administrators use network mapping to visualize and categorize complex networks into smaller, more manageable portions. This allows for easy analysis and monitoring of the network, troubleshooting connection errors, and collecting information that enables relatively straightforward root cause analysis in case of a network issue.

The use of active monitoring features in mapping systems allows administrators to track changes in real-time. Network providers, internet service providers, and corporations with complex networks can significantly benefit from network mapping solutions.

It is important to remember that network mapping is a continuous process. While it would be theoretically possible to map an entire network manually, the dynamic nature of present-day enterprise networks would quickly make any such map obsolete. Network mapping solutions enable real-time, hassle-free detection of changes in the network through the automatic generation and display of up-to-date network maps. These maps are generated using simple graphics tools such as Spiceworks Network Monitor and ManageEngine OpManager.

Today, computer networks are larger and more complex than ever before, especially in the post-pandemic corporate world. With remote work becoming the norm globally, devices and networks are no longer confined to a specific building or even a single city. Some networks span across several continents. Imagine a portion of such an intercontinental network was facing downtime. Without a dedicated solution, it could take hours or even days to detect and rectify the issue.

With network mapping tools, enterprises can easily manage such vast networks and resolve downtime issues. This is because network mapping enables granular visibility into company networks and generates actionable insights to help IT teams detect problems in real-time. Network mapping allows automatic visualization of the connections between different endpoints, servers, networking equipment, and how they function together.

See More: What Is Network Traffic Analysis? Definition, Importance, Implementation, and Best Practices

How Does Network Mapping Work?

Network mapping solutions gather and interpret data using easy-to-read visualizations that accurately reflect the status of the enterprise network and all linked devices. Alerts are generated to notify IT personnel of network problems such as excess traffic or abnormal behavior. Simply checking the map allows IT teams to spot devices exhibiting problems and gain additional context-driven data to help figure out the cause of the issue quickly. The metrics gauged by network mapping tools include latency, bandwidth, and throughput.

Network mapping solutions leverage an active probing methodology to collect network data. This method relies on probe packets sent from node to node to collect IP addresses and other technical information. In larger networks, such probing activity may simply gather general, non-confidential node data to provide a less-detailed overview of network operations. However, more advanced network mapping software allows tech teams to gain in-depth insights into the workings of any device on the network by clicking on the map. Such solutions are more resource-intensive in terms of processing power and storage.

Network mapping solutions generally use simple network management protocol (SNMP) to discover and map network objects automatically. SNMP works by exposing technical data as variables on the managed systems. These variables are organized in a management information base (MIB) that describes the configuration and status of the system. Managing applications can remotely query and sometimes even manipulate these variables. 

Network mapping solutions leverage SNMP to determine the type of device and collect associated information from all entities on a network. This data is then automatically used to create an object in the map diagram.

At the most superficial level, network mapping works because every network is a massive cache of data simply waiting to be tapped. Network mapping tools use MIB via SNMP to collect details that are part of open standards and information specific to the device and vendor. This gives IT teams access to advanced device information such as the number of active ports, the device’s power draw, and even the temperature value.

Network mapping solutions allow enterprises to easily track what’s on the network, automatically gather information about all the devices, and monitor how the entities are linked together.

See More: What Is Network Access Control? Definition, Key Components, and Best Practices

Importance of Network Mapping for Network Performance

As more and more organizations move to permanent remote or hybrid work or hybrid work, networks in 2022 have become more widespread and complex than ever before. This makes top-tier network performance a necessity in the post-pandemic world.

Here are the top five reasons to consider a network mapping solution for your organization in 2022.

1. Visualizes your entire network

A network map makes viewing the entire network and related information as simple as browsing an actual online map. Every device connected to the network is displayed in an easy-to-understand graphical representation using network mapping software. Visualizing the complete network and all connected devices in real-time enables you to spot minor problems before they develop into threats or larger issues.

Without a network mapping solution, it can be nearly impossible to picture an entire enterprise network today. This is because networks are no longer largely predictable entities limited to the office floor. Instead, enterprise networks in a remote work setting are frequently accessed from several locations, through different internet connections, and by different devices.

Network mapping solutions plot every linked device in real-time, accounting for new connections and alerting the IT team in case of suspicious activity. Every device connected to the network will be represented visually, and its vital statistics can be accessed with just a few clicks. Network mapping tools create maps automatically using the data gathered from periodic scans, which keeps the visualization up to date. Some network mapping solutions even allow users to customize the appearance of the network map.

Network visualization using a network mapping tool has several advantages over static network maps created manually. For instance, it is nearly impossible to represent changes as they occur without dedicating IT resources to the task round the clock. This is a needlessly expensive endeavor, and your IT team would be better occupied addressing actual network problems or focusing on other higher-value tasks.

2. Allows rapid diagnosis of network issues

Issues such as latency and unresponsive entities constantly crop up in enterprise networks. The larger and more complex the network, the more frequent the issues. A network mapping tool can help your IT team instantly pinpoint the devices exhibiting problems, allowing them to locate and address the root cause swiftly. A real-time network map makes the difference between swift and accurate resolution of network problems and hours of tinkering and guesswork.

Network maps send out detailed alerts with contextual information whenever issues such as excess traffic or sudden downtime occur. Taking a close look at the map will allow the team to instantly detect the devices from where the problem is originating, the affected entities, and what can be done to resolve it. Some cutting-edge mapping tools even come with automation features that can instantly address some common network problems.

3. Enables hassle-free device monitoring

Monitoring employee endpoints, routers, servers, and other devices to ensure smooth and secure operations can be an uphill task once the network expands beyond a certain point. Network mapping solutions effectively address this issue by showing the IT team the point of origin for specific network problems, such as latency. By constantly gathering and interpreting data and updating the visualizations to reflect the collected information, network mapping makes device monitoring a breeze. For instance, devices facing response time issues will be visualized differently than devices responding at optimal levels.

Additionally, simply clicking on the image of a device on the map will show you all the relevant details, such as IP address, serial number, and bandwidth usage. This enables convenient viewing of the details of any device that needs to be closely monitored. Any problem areas can be further examined after a cursory glance at the device cluster on the map, thus saving time if the problem isn’t originating in the suspected network area.

4. Improves planning and forecasting

Gaining a graphical overview of your network helps locate enterprise infrastructure that needs to be upgraded. Network mapping solutions highlight potential bottlenecks and chokepoints by thoroughly analyzing all the devices and the links between them. Their findings are then reported using a convenient visual representation that is updated in real-time.

By mapping and identifying the relationships between nodes and providing an overview of network connectivity across devices, network mapping tools generate reports containing the latest status of the network. These reports provide an overview of network performance, highlight inefficiencies, and display previously hidden network entities and relationships. These up-to-date metrics enable more informed decision-making regarding capacity planning, upgrade implementation, and optimizations for existing enterprise networks.

5. Enhances network control and security

Finally, network maps serve as a robust security tool, allowing network administrators to understand how different devices interact and use this information to spot suspicious nodes and links. The live feedback provided by network maps gives an overview of all the connected wired and wireless devices at any given moment. This simplifies the identification of unknown devices and other threats.

Network mapping solutions also help set a baseline for ‘normal’ network activities, allowing IT personnel to detect abnormal activities faster. For instance, if a particular endpoint is downloading a lot more data than it typically does, your IT team would be able to spot this by looking at the network map and taking appropriate remedial action.

Additionally, network mapping enables more granular control over devices and links by providing detailed information on every aspect of the network. This helps avoid issues and counter problems such as downtime before they become a major hassle. With network mapping, IT personnel can respond swiftly and repair devices and connections before the enterprise faces significant damage.

Having more information at your disposal is the key to staying on top of the health and security of your network. With the data provided by network mapping, it’s easier to control a network by pinpointing and resolving minor problems before they become larger issues.

See More: Top 10 Network Access Control Software Solutions in 2021

How to Map a Network Drive: Best Practices for 2022

Many enterprises rely on shared folders for day-to-day business activities. If your organization uses shared folders, mapping network drives will allow your employees to access them more efficiently. Mapping a network drive assigns a ‘drive letter’ to the shared folder, allowing it to be accessed as a local drive.

Outlined below are the best practices for setting up a network drive for a Windows platform in 2022, thus enabling shared folders to be accessed without users having to browse the network every single time.

Mapping a network drive using group policy

Some organizations still rely on login scripts to map network drives. However, this mapping methodology requires scripting knowledge and may even lead to performance issues on specific network setups. Since it was introduced in Windows Server 2008, IT teams have rapidly adopted group policy for mapping network drives with greater ease. Using group policy to map drives needs no scripting and can help speed up user access.

Using group policy to map network drives has a few distinct advantages:

• Ease of use: The process is noticeably more straightforward than using logon scripts, as it primarily consists of checkboxes and drop-down lists and has no need for scripting knowledge.
• Scalability: As your active directory expands, you can continue to use group policy to accommodate the new devices and links without any problems.
• Flexibility: Group policy enables item-level targeting, thus allowing the IT team to target specific users, groups, operating systems, and other network assets.

Mapping a network drive for an entire department

Let’s say you want to map a network drive for the entire engineering department. Begin by using item-level targeting only to map the drive for employees in the engineering vertical. A security group can be used to select a specific group of users, thus mapping the network drive to allow only the engineering department to access it.

Step 1: Create and link a new group policy object (GPO)

1. Begin by opening the ‘Group Policy Management Console.’
2. Right-click and choose ‘Create a GPO in This Domain, and Link it Here.’ Link the GPO to a network location that targets the intended user group, as this step will create a user-based GPO.
3. Give the new GPO a name. This name should reflect its purpose and make it easy to identify.

Step 2: Set the GPO configuration

Once the GPO is named, right-click on it, choose ‘Edit’, and follow the steps outlined below.

Step 3: Reboot the target computer to enable the GPO

Once the steps shown above are completed successfully, the machines that need access to the mapped drive must be rebooted. Another option is to run Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt and use the gpupdate/force command, after which a reboot will be necessary. Once the reboot is completed and users from the engineering department log in, they will access the mapped drive.

To enable all the users from the engineering team to view the mapped drive, make sure they are correctly grouped in the engineering organization unit. Alternatively, you can grant access to a user group by creating a security group instead of an organization unit.

Mapping a network drive for individual users

Sometimes, individual users require a mapped drive to save files and access them from other systems. To map a network drive for individual users, either a new GPO can be created, or an addition can be made to the existing GPO.

A folder that matches the employee’s username must be set up to complete this process. Once this is done, modify the NTFS permissions of the folder to enable only the individual user to access and alter this network drive.

The majority of the process is similar to mapping a network drive for an entire department, as outlined above. However, specific fields will have to be modified if the network drive is being mapped for an individual user.

Here, %username% is a variable that should match the employee’s username. Ensure that the folder is set up on a shared network that matches the employee’s location and username.

Best practices to simplify network drive mapping

You do not need to assign the same network drive letters to every computer on the network. For instance, if a network drive is assigned the drive letter H on one user’s computer, the letter K can be set on another user’s computer. In such a scenario, drive H on the first computer and drive K on the second computer will lead to the same shared folder. Such an arrangement can be helpful in cases where a specific drive letter is not available on a particular computer.

Using mapped network drives to access shared network folders is faster than browsing the network every time. Windows systems must scan the whole network and create a list of all the available servers whenever the network is explored. This step is skipped when a network drive is mapped, thus saving time.

Choosing the “Reconnect at Sign-in” option for mapped drives can lead to a warning if the drive is unavailable after signing in. This problem typically arises when the computer cannot connect to the server. Checking all network connections using a network mapping tool can help pinpoint the reason for this error.

See More: What Is Network Security? Definition, Types, and Best Practices

Takeaway

Network mapping solutions simplify network administration by enabling IT personnel to analyze all aspects of the enterprise network visually. Network maps enable staff to single out problematic devices and links on the network in real-time, eliminate operational bottlenecks, and ensure hassle-free functioning. Using the group policy method to map a network drive helps ensure swift setup for teams and individual employees.

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