10 Unique Ways to Leverage Dynamic Maps

by Valerie DiMartino Feb 2, 2025

Static network diagrams are a relic of the past. If they’re even created, they’re outdated immediately and offer limited value in today’s complex network environments. What network engineers need are dynamic, interactive maps that reflect the real-time state and configs of their hybrid networks.

Ditch the Static Diagrams: How Dynamic Maps Help Network Engineers

Network engineers need dynamic, interactive maps that reflect the real-time state of their network and drive automation. We’ve built our maps into our visibility and observability platform for network automation in all aspects: a single source of truth, troubleshooting, assessing, and making safer network changes.

You could say we’re obsessed with making powerful yet easy-to-use automation to accelerate critical operational workflows. We haven’t lost sight that Dynamic Maps are fundamental to that. Here are 10 ways they’ll transform your workflows (and supercharge your automation efforts):

1. Map an End-to-End Path Across the Network (for Targeted Automation): Don’t just see the path – use it to automate. Dynamic maps pinpoint bottlenecks and routing decisions so you can target automation scripts precisely, avoiding unintended consequences.
   
2. Check Configuration Drift (Prevent Problems): Discover configuration drift before outages hit the live network. Then, auto-remediate the configurations in one click.
   
3. Network Design Validation (Continuous Assessment): Ensure your network design is solid continuously. Dynamic Maps reveal design flaws, so your automation builds on a strong foundation, Day 1 and beyond.
   
4. Single Pane of Glass for 3^rd-Party Tool Integration (Automated Workflows, Simplified): Consolidate data from all your tools into one view. Dynamic maps become your automation dashboard, streamlining complex, multi-tool workflows.
5. With AI Assistance (GenAI Bot): Ask GenAI to create maps in plain language, add diagnostics, and analyze them for anomalies and insights. Use natural language to explore your network and automate routine tasks. AI makes your entire team smarter.
   
6. A Portal for Team Collaboration (Automate Together): Share Dynamic Maps in an interactive portal with your team. Plan and execute automation projects together, improving communication and speeding up implementation.
   
7. Automated Assessments (Schedule Continuous Observability): Get proactive and assess post-mortem issues across your entire network automatically. Schedule regular network assessments to proactively identify key results of automation aspects in summary observability dashboards. Hierarchical dashboards with Geo Location layer tailored, map-based device visibility onto summary network dashboards across organizational levels — company-wide, regional, and senior management. Clear red/green indicators for network health and direct auto-remediation capabilities help streamline decision-making and enhance operational efficiency.
   
8. Change Management (Automate Changes Safely): Plan, execute, and validate design changes safely and with confidence. Dynamic maps provide real-time feedback, ensuring your automation scripts work flawlessly.
   
9. Triggered Map Creation (Visibility for Auto-Diagnosis): Let the platform use machine technology to instantly create and update maps based on external events and tickets before a human starts evaluating.
   
10. Hybrid-Cloud Application Path Monitoring (End-to-End Traffic Flow): Build Golden Paths for each application and automatically monitor against the live paths to detect any deviations. Protect QoS and extend visibility into the cloud. Compare live paths against historic paths and view the automation results of all hops in summary dashboards.
    

Dynamic Maps: The Foundation for Network Automation

Dynamic maps aren’t just for inventory; they’re the foundation for successful network automation. They provide the visibility, context, and insights you need to automate effectively, efficiently, and safely. NetBrain has already built Dynamic Maps into its automation and AI functionality so you can auto-discover your network and accelerate your automation journey.

Ready to unlock the power of Dynamic Mapping and no-code network automation with AI? Explore NetBrain and see the many use cases for Dynamic Maps.