Last Updated or created 2022-09-16

I used to draw my network using inkscape, or graphviz. But the last years i’ve been using DrawIO. A friend is drawing his. So i posted some tips.

When using inkscape, i liked the way that i could view more or less details using layers. But editing was hard.

Getting DrawIO:

There is a online version: https://app.diagrams.net/
You can download a AppImage
And .. install it in your nextcloud, which is the way i’m using it.
(Login as admin, click Apps and search for draw.io)

Some tips on using images ..
Below is a example of a Mikrotik switch with connector points.

Use a search engine to look for images, the ones with front facing connectors are easier to use.
I always look for images which have a transparent background.
Using google you can use below ‘trick’
google > images > tools > color > transparent
Just copy-paste into your DrawIO document, it is better to have a large picture which you can resize as the other way around.

Adding connection points:

Left click the image in DrawIO, right mouse and Edit connection points

Now you can place/remove edit connection points.

Due to security reasons i won’t be posting my complete network image ..

Another tip:

Device is not straight, so its harder to get the connections right. Besides that, the lines are below the device. Click line and select bring to front.