I always use draw.io
this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
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I forget about draw.io, then search for something like this, find draw.io, and then find my old drawings.
Me too. I also selfhost an instance of it, although really it’s almost entirely client side.
It is just a imprecise bunch of JavaScript. There is no need to host it, you just need to get into your browser.
It's also available as a standalone desktop application, which work perfectly even when you're offline
Netbox is a good start if you can deal with the device-front port-rear port-rear port-front port-device horseshittery. For auto discovery I would look at LibreNMS it pulls data from LLDP, CDP, and Mac tables to map out a network.
draw.io for diagrams, netbox for cables and IP addresses, and mediawiki for notes and guides on how it all works.
Thanks, but I'm looking for something else. I know about draw.io, but it's just a drawing tool. I can use 10 different tools for that. I'm looking for something more advanced than that.
Netbox is ok, but I’m looking for something more visual.
Netbox was a total game changer for me, both at work and at home. It's overkill for a homelab, sure, but its still an incredibly valuable tool. I highly recommend giving it a chance.
There are also a couple plugins available that will auto-generate interactive diagrams that you can tweak before exporting, which should scratch that visual itch.
I would look for something that can generate your diagram from text. There are several.
Also you should probably have some kind orchestration layer so that your architecture as text feeds both diagram and operational automation (say, ansible).
The hard part with diagrams is keeping it up to date. So if you can generate a diagram from something that MUST be up to date, it’s a 2-fer (or if your diagram can be used to generate say an ansible inventory).
I am using https://silverbullet.md as a self hosted wiki/doco source. It's very easy to setup and used, but also a bit bare-bones
I use bookstack to document everything about my setup. I dont have any diagrams yet, but it has drawing tool built in