Visualize AWS Transit Gateways with Network Manager

AWS Network Manager helps you visualize and manage your Transit Gateway networks. Here's what you need to know:

• Network Manager provides a central dashboard for your entire network
• It helps track performance, spot issues, and make data-driven decisions
• You can see your network layout, including Transit Gateways, VPCs, and subnets

To get started:

1. Set up your AWS account and ensure you have Transit Gateways
2. Create a Global Network in Network Manager
3. Link your Transit Gateways to the Global Network
4. Use the dashboard to view your network topology and details

Key features:

By using Network Manager, you can effectively visualize, monitor, and manage your AWS Transit Gateway networks.

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Before you start

To use AWS Network Manager with Transit Gateways, make sure you have everything ready.

Set up your AWS account

1. Sign in to AWS
2. Go to IAM (Identity and Access Management)
3. Add a new user:
   • Choose a username
   • Select both "Programmatic Access" and "AWS Management Console Access"
   • Set permissions (add to group, copy from existing user, or attach policies)
   • Add optional tags
   • Review and create user
   • Save the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key

Check for Transit Gateways

Make sure you have Transit Gateways in your AWS setup. If not:

1. Go to the VPC Dashboard
2. Click "Transit Gateways"
3. Click "Create transit gateway"
4. Fill in the details
5. Click "Create transit gateway"

Know the basics

You should understand these AWS networking ideas:

If these terms are new to you, learn about them before going further.

Set up AWS Network Manager

Follow these steps to start using AWS Network Manager for viewing your Transit Gateways:

Log in to AWS Management Console

1. Open the AWS Management Console
2. Sign in with your AWS account
3. If you have multiple accounts, pick the right one from the dropdown menu

Find Network Manager service

Create a Global Network

1. In Network Manager, click Create a global network
2. Fill in these details:
   • Name
   • Description
   • AWS Regions
3. Click Create global network

Link Transit Gateways

1. Go to Transit Gateways in Network Manager
2. Click Link Transit Gateway
3. Pick the Transit Gateway you want to add
4. Choose your Global Network
5. Click Link Transit Gateway

View Transit Gateway Networks

Open Network Manager Dashboard

To see your Transit Gateway networks:

1. Go to the AWS Management Console
2. Choose Network Manager from the services list
3. Click on "Global Networks" tab
4. Select your global network

The dashboard shows your network layout, including Transit Gateways, VPCs, and subnets. Use it to see your network, check its health, and fix problems.

Read network topology view

The network topology view shows a map of your network. It includes:

• Nodes (Transit Gateways, VPCs, subnets)
• Connections between nodes

This view helps you see how your network parts connect and spot issues.

Understand node and connection details

To learn more about a node or connection:

1. Click on it in the topology view
2. Look at the details panel

For example, clicking a Transit Gateway shows:

Use filters and search

To find specific parts of your network:

1. Use filters to narrow down the view
2. Use the search bar to find items by name or description

Filter options:

These tools help you quickly find what you need in your network.

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Check network health and performance

Look at network metrics

Network Manager shows key metrics to help you spot issues in your Transit Gateway networks:

To see these metrics:

1. Open the Network Manager dashboard
2. Click the "Metrics" tab
3. Pick the metric you want to view

Spot network problems

By looking at these metrics, you can find possible network issues:

When you spot these issues, try to find the cause and fix it.

Set up alerts

Network Manager lets you create alerts for network issues. Here's how:

1. Go to the Network Manager dashboard
2. Click the "Alerts" tab
3. Click "Create alert"
4. Choose what to alert on
5. Set the alert level
6. Add how you want to be notified

For example, you could set an alert for when packet loss goes above a certain level.

Fix common visualization issues

Handle missing information

When using Network Manager to view Transit Gateways, you might not see all the network details. Here's how to fix this:

1. Check your data: Make sure all your network info is in Network Manager and up-to-date.
2. Look at settings: Check that Network Manager is set up right.
3. Check your access: Make sure you have the right permissions to see everything.

These steps will help you find and fix issues with missing information.

Solve permission problems

If you can't see Transit Gateways in Network Manager, you might have permission issues. Here's what to do:

Following these steps will help you fix permission problems and see your Transit Gateways.

Address data sync delays

Sometimes, there's a delay in updating data between Network Manager and your AWS resources. To fix this:

1. Check data collection settings: Make sure Network Manager is set to collect data often enough.
2. Look at network connection: Check that your network is working well between Network Manager and AWS resources.
3. Use AWS CloudWatch: This tool can help you spot and fix sync delays.

Tips for better network visualization

Organize network resources

To make your network easier to see and manage, keep your AWS resources tidy. This helps you spot links between different parts and fix problems faster.

Here's how to organize your network resources:

Use tags effectively

Tags help you manage and view your AWS resources better. Good tag use lets you sort, find, and group resources in ways that work for you.

Tips for using tags well:

Keep network docs up to date

Keeping your network information current is key for good network viewing. This means tracking changes to your network parts, like new Transit Gateways or security groups.

Ways to keep your network info fresh:

Extra Network Manager features

Set up network sites

Network Manager lets you create and manage multiple network sites. This helps you organize and see your network better. A network site can be a data center, office, or cloud setup. Setting up network sites helps you:

• Group related network parts
• See how your network is set up and connected
• Check how well your network is working across sites

To set up a network site:

1. Log in to AWS
2. Go to Network Manager
3. Click "Network sites"
4. Click "Create network site"
5. Fill in the details
6. Click "Create network site"

You can also bring in sites from AWS Organizations or set them up using AWS tools.

Use AWS CloudWatch

CloudWatch helps you keep an eye on your AWS setup. When you use it with Network Manager, you can:

• Collect network data
• Set up alerts for network problems
• See network information in charts

To use CloudWatch with Network Manager:

1. Log in to AWS
2. Go to CloudWatch
3. Click "Metrics"
4. Pick "Network Manager"
5. Choose what you want to see
6. Make a chart to show the data

You can also use CloudWatch to collect and look at network logs.

Work with Network Manager APIs

Network Manager has tools (APIs) to help you do network tasks automatically. With these tools, you can:

• Set up and manage network parts without manual work
• Connect Network Manager to other AWS services
• Set up your network automatically

The API works with AWS tools and lets you manage your network. You can use it to:

• Set up network sites and parts
• Get network data and logs
• Change network settings

To start using the API:

1. Log in to AWS
2. Go to API Gateway
3. Click "APIs"
4. Pick "Network Manager"
5. Click "Create API key"
6. Use this key to connect to Network Manager

Wrap-up

Key takeaways

This guide showed you how to use AWS Network Manager to see your Transit Gateways. You learned to:

• Set up Network Manager
• Connect Transit Gateways
• Look at your network layout
• Check how well your network is working
• Fix common viewing problems
• Use extra Network Manager tools

Keep an eye on your network

It's important to check your network often. Here's why:

Use what you've learned to:

• Look at your Transit Gateways regularly
• Check network health and speed
• Make your network better over time

Related posts

• AWS Transit Gateway Route Tables Explained
• AWS Config: Resource Inventory, Change Tracking Guide
• AWS Transit Gateway: Scalability & Limits Explained
• AWS VPC Guide: Configuration Essentials