Meraki Network Topology for Documentation and Non Cisco Switches' Visibility on Meraki Toplogy

[Nazeem93]

Hi ,

I need a guidance on couple of things :

1. What are the pros / cons of the Meraki Dashboard's In-built Network Topology upon comparing with LucidChart ?

2. Is it possible to have Non-Meraki / Non-Cisco Switches to be shown on Meraki's Network Topology ?

Thanks ,

Nazeem 

[RWelch]

> Is it possible to have Non-Meraki / Non-Cisco Switches to be shown on Meraki's Network Topology ?

Yes.

Non-Meraki equipment is also detected if it is one hop away (and will appear as an empty diamond); depending on the protocols supported by a non-Meraki device, the topology view may be able to discern LLDP data like model type, IP, and manufacturer. Meraki devices in a different network will be denoted by blue diamonds.

Network Topology 

[Nazeem93]

Thanks @RWelch for the reply .

But , the blue diamond is still not visible under the Topology even the Non- Meraki switche are just a hop away . I'll try to check with the switch manufacturer's forum if there is any solution .

Thanks .

[alemabrahao]

I don't know LucidChart but I can give you some impressions about Meraki.

Pros:

Integrated with Meraki Devices
Ease of Use
Device Status and Alerts

Cons:

Limited to Meraki Ecosystem
Less Customization.

Non-Meraki devices may appear with limited information, often represented as empty diamonds in the topology view.

https://documentation.meraki.com/MS/Monitoring_and_Reporting/Network_Topology

What is a Network Diagram | Lucidchart

[Nazeem93]

Thank you for your Inputs @alemabrahao  . The listed Pros and Cons are informative .

[GreenMan]

The only key points that haven't really been made here, so far:

The topology in the Meraki Dashboard is dynamically created and (with a bit of time lag) self-updating;   if someone changes something in the topology, the topology gets updated, with no input required from the admin - provided the devices remain connected, of course.

While you can download the created topologies as .svg files, I'd be surprised if anyone uses that feature very much;   why create static content, when you can just look in the Dashboard for what's actually there?

Hence I don't think the Topology tool and Lucid Chart (or Visio, for that matter) are greatly comparable.   You couldn't use the Meraki Dashboard to create a design schematic, for example.

[PhilipDAth]

>why create static content, when you can just look in the Dashboard for what's actually there?

As-built documentation.  🙂

[Nazeem93]

Thanks @GreenMan for giving some essential insights .

Actually , I have been asked to produce a Network Documentation Diagram for all of our 75 networks . Earlier I used to work on Lucid but as I've been suggested from my peer to work on Meraki Topology from the Dashboard itself instead of going with the third party . 

Thanks

[GreenMan]

It depends then on how good they need to be / what info they need to include.

Whether you could, for example, export SVGs from Dashboard, then import them into LucidChart (or similar) for further embellishment..?

[PhilipDAth]

LucidChart is a general-purpose diagram tool.  I use this myself.  You can draw diagrams of anything you want.  For example, I can draw a network diagram of a proposed change.

The Meraki Dashboard topology tool shows the network as it is "right now".  You can't add extra notes, information, or non-network related information (perhaps you want to document a data flow, network access requirements, etc).

This is like comparing Microsoft Word to a screenshot.