Automating Network Diagrams for A Complete View of All Active and Passive Components

Accurately tracking how data center devices are connected—across switches, patch panels, structured cabling, and more—is essential for efficient data center operations. But for many teams, documentation still lives in static diagrams or outdated spreadsheets, requiring extensive manual effort. This is time-consuming and leads to inaccuracies that can cause delays in planning or troubleshooting and unnecessary risk.

Sunbird DCIM changes that. By automating network diagramming and integrating with tools like NetBox, NetBrain, and Cisco ACI, Sunbird delivers a real-time, comprehensive view of the physical connectivity in your environment.

The Problem with Traditional Network Diagrams

Documenting physical network connectivity has traditionally relied on Excel spreadsheets, Visio diagrams, and other static tools. While these methods may have worked in smaller, less dynamic environments, they fall short in today’s fast-paced, complex data centers.

Some of the biggest issues include:

• Manual effort and human error. Every move, add, and change must be updated by hand, increasing the likelihood of mistakes and consuming valuable time.
• Outdated information. Diagrams can quickly become inaccurate as changes occur, making them unreliable for planning or troubleshooting.
• Limited visibility. Traditional diagrams rarely account for both active and passive components, leaving gaps in the full picture of what’s connected to what.

These limitations can impact operational efficiency, increase the risk of downtime, and lead to stranded capacity.

Why Automate Network Diagrams?

Manually maintaining network documentation simply doesn’t scale. As data centers grow more complex, automation becomes essential for enabling accurate, up-to-date documentation and faster, more informed decision-making.

Sunbird DCIM eliminates the manual burden by automatically generating network diagrams based on the circuit documentation you already have in the tool.

The benefits include:

• Real-time accuracy. Diagrams are always current, so you can trust the data for troubleshooting and planning.
• Faster troubleshooting. Visualize complete network paths instantly to identify and resolve issues without manual tracing.
• Improved planning. Make smarter decisions around capacity and changes with a complete view of your network infrastructure.

How Sunbird DCIM Simplifies Network Diagramming

Sunbird DCIM’s automated network diagramming tools are designed to tackle real-world challenges faced by data center teams every day.

Here’s how Sunbird makes network diagramming easy:

• Automatically generated. Diagrams are created for each data center location based on the items and circuit documentation already in your database.
• Interactive visualization. Clickable diagrams let you drill down into any device to view detailed asset information.
• Customizable views. Display nodes as device images, shapes, or icons to match your preferences or use case.
• Items list. A complete list of all items included in the diagram provides context and easy navigation.
• Flexible layout options. Visualize devices by core, distribution, and access layers—or switch to a mesh view—to manage complexity and better understand network hierarchy.

With Sunbird, your network diagrams are more complete, interactive, and purpose-built for modern data center operations.

Active and Passive Network Components in a Single Pane of Glass

Most tools stop at tracking active network devices like switches, routers, and firewalls. But in a modern data center, passive components such as patch panels and structured cabling are just as important for understanding how your infrastructure is connected.

Sunbird DCIM provides complete network diagrams with visibility into both:

• Active components. Devices that require power and manage network traffic. Sunbird tracks details like their location, ports, and physical connectivity for better planning and troubleshooting.
• Passive components. Physical infrastructure that transmits data without processing it such as patch panels and structured cabling. Sunbird lets you document and manage these elements with the same level of detail as active components.

By integrating active and passive elements into a single pane of glass, Sunbird helps you eliminate blind spots, reduce errors, and manage your entire network infrastructure more effectively.

Integrate with Your Existing Network Management Tools

At Sunbird, “automation via integration” is a key pillar of our vision for second-generation DCIM. That’s why we provide out-of-the-box connectors and fully documented APIs that make it easy to integrate with your network management tools and eliminate data silos. The result is less manual effort, more complete network documentation, and better coordination between network and data center teams.

Sunbird DCIM can integrate with virtually any system that provides data about assets, virtual machines, data ports, power ports, or circuits, and exposes that data via RESTful API.

Popular integrations with network management tools include:

• Cisco ACI
• NetBox
• NetBrain
• Arista CloudVision

These integrations enable you to automatically pull in key network attributes such as:

• Port status
• Port description
• Port alias
• Port type
• MAC address
• IP address
• Up/down status
• Switching status (enabled/disabled)
• Fabric, tenant, spine, and leaf information

By enriching your data center infrastructure information through integrations with your existing network management tools, Sunbird enables you to have more accurate and complete network diagrams and documentation in a single pane of glass. This eliminates redundant data entry and improves collaboration across data center operations, IT, facilities, and network teams.

Simplify and Automate Data Center Connectivity Management

In addition to automatic network diagrams, Sunbird DCIM offers many capabilities that simplify how you manage your physical network infrastructure.

With Sunbird, you can:

• Remotely visualize your physical connectivity. Easily visualize all network assets and connections in 3D, helping you understand physical layouts and plan deployments.
• Perform impact analysis. Quickly map device relationships and identify upstream and downstream impacts when issues arise, reducing troubleshooting time and minimizing downtime.
• Simplify work orders with clear instructions. Create precise port-to-port connection details on work orders to eliminate guesswork during moves, adds, and changes which reduces errors and rework.
• Understand port capacity. Know your available and utilized port capacity by type through zero-configuration dashboard charts so you can efficiently allocate resources and avoid stranded capacity.
• Validate connections before deployment. Confirm that available physical connections are compatible with new equipment, preventing costly installation delays.
• Measure cable lengths remotely. Accurately measure cable lengths before you purchase cables, saving money and reducing wasted cable.

Want to see how Sunbird DCIM software automates network diagrams and dramatically simplifies management of physical network infrastructure. Get your free test drive now!