ApexDiagram vs Visio, Lucidchart, draw.io and the discovery tools
Where the drawing tools and the discovery tools are stronger, where they fall short for network documentation, and what only ApexDiagram does.
ApexDiagram4 min read
ApexDiagram Blog
Network documentation that stays current: practical guides, compliance diagrams, honest comparisons, and help for students and homelabs.
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CMMC and NIST 800-171: the network diagram your System Security Plan needs
What a CMMC Level 2 assessor expects from your network and CUI data-flow diagrams, how to scope the CUI boundary, and how to keep the diagrams accurate between assessments.
ApexDiagram3 min read
Homelab network diagram examples: three setups, from starter to study lab
Three homelab network diagrams with their VLANs, addresses and hardware: a segmented home network, a self-hosting lab with a DMZ, and a two-site routing lab.
ApexDiagram3 min read
How to turn an nmap scan into a network diagram
Run one nmap command, drop the XML file into ApexDiagram, and get every live host as a device with its address, vendor and a guessed type. Then add the cables.
ApexDiagram2 min read
IEC 62443 zones and conduits, with an example diagram
How IEC 62443-3-2 zones and conduits work, how they relate to the Purdue levels, and a worked example: a water treatment works in seven zones with target security levels.
ApexDiagram4 min read
Let your AI assistant read your network: ApexDiagram's MCP server
Connect Claude, Cursor or any MCP client to ApexDiagram and ask questions about your network in plain language, or have the assistant draft changes for you to approve.
ApexDiagram3 min read
Meraki topology to a network diagram you can edit
Pull Meraki devices and clients from the Dashboard API, import them into ApexDiagram, and get an editable diagram with every MX, MS and MR and their clients.
ApexDiagram2 min read
Network documentation template for a small business (checklist)
The twelve things a small business's network documentation should hold, as a checklist you can copy, with what each item is for and how to keep it current.
ApexDiagram4 min read
Physical vs logical network diagram: what each one shows, with examples
A physical diagram shows where things are and how they are cabled. A logical one shows how traffic moves. What goes on each, and why you need both.
ApexDiagram3 min read
The outage that started with an old network diagram
A composite story of a small-office outage: a static IP inside the DHCP pool, a diagram that was two years behind, and the four hours it cost. What would have caught it.
ApexDiagram3 min read
The Purdue model explained, with an example diagram
The Purdue model's levels from 0 to 5 and the DMZ between IT and OT, explained with a worked example of a small plant and the rules that keep it segmented.
ApexDiagram3 min read
Turn an LLDP or CDP neighbour table into a network map
Your switches already know what is plugged into them. Export the LLDP or CDP neighbour table as a CSV and turn it into a cabled network map in one import.
ApexDiagram2 min read
UniFi network map: export your UniFi topology to a real diagram
The UniFi topology view is good for a glance but hard to share or document. How to export UniFi devices and clients as JSON and turn them into an editable diagram.
ApexDiagram2 min read
Visualise NetBox: network diagrams from your source of truth
NetBox holds the facts but does not draw them. How to turn NetBox devices, cables and prefixes into physical, network and data views that stay in step.
ApexDiagram3 min read
VLSM subnetting, step by step, with a worked example
How to split one address block into right-sized subnets with VLSM: the method, a full worked example on 192.168.10.0/24, and the mistakes that cost marks.
ApexDiagram3 min read
What belongs in an MSP network handover pack
Whether you are taking on a client or handing one over, these are the documents that make the first week painless, as a checklist with what each one is for.
ApexDiagram3 min read
A network design assignment, graded as you draw
Guided mode turns the usual course deliverables into eight steps on one diagram, checked live, with a VLSM planner and a Containerlab export at the end.
ApexDiagram2 min read
From a pfSense or OPNsense backup to a network diagram in one drop
Your firewall already knows every VLAN, subnet and DHCP reservation. Import config.xml and get a Logical view and IPAM page from it.
ApexDiagram2 min read
Nine devices, two ways: Visio, then ApexDiagram
The same small-office network documented step by step in Visio, about two hours, and in ApexDiagram, about fifteen minutes.
ApexDiagram5 min read
PCI DSS 4.0 wants two accurate diagrams. Here is how to keep them accurate
Requirements 1.2.3 and 1.2.4 ask for a current network diagram and a data-flow diagram. Tag the cardholder data environment once and let the diagram work out the boundary.
ApexDiagram2 min read
Seventeen network mistakes a drawing tool will never catch
Duplicate IPs, cables past their reach, rack overlaps, Purdue zone crossings and more: what ApexDiagram's diagram assistant checks, and why a picture cannot.
ApexDiagram2 min read
SolarWinds NTM is end of life. Bring your Visio exports with you
Import the Visio files Network Topology Mapper left behind, get five views and a linter, and replace the scan with files from nmap, LLDP, UniFi, Meraki or NetBox.
ApexDiagram2 min read
Welcome to the ApexDiagram blog
Who ApexDiagram is for, what it does, and what this blog will cover: practical guides, compliance, honest comparisons and help for students and homelabs.
ApexDiagram2 min read
Why ApexDiagram: five things it does that drawing tools cannot
One record with five views, a linter, imports from the tools you already have, deliverables from the same data, and an API your team and assistants can use.
ApexDiagram2 min read
Your network diagram is already wrong
Six things that go wrong with network diagrams drawn in Visio, Lucidchart or draw.io, and what a diagram that is a record instead of a picture does about each.
ApexDiagram4 min read
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