Visualizing Your Global Network with AWS Network Manager - Centralized Topology and Health Management
Learn how to visualize the topology of your global network including Transit Gateways and VPNs, and verify connectivity with route analysis.
Overview of Network Manager
Network Manager is a service for centrally managing the topology and health of your global network. It provides visual insight into the connectivity relationships of Transit Gateways, Site-to-Site VPNs, and Direct Connect, and automatically detects network change events. Route analysis proactively identifies connectivity issues, and integration with Cloud WAN enables policy-based network management.
Topology and Route Analysis
When you create a global network and register a Transit Gateway, the connectivity relationships of attached VPCs, VPN connections, and Direct Connect are automatically displayed on the topology map. Route analysis simulates packet paths by specifying a source and destination, detecting route table misconfigurations and security group blocks. Network events automatically detect VPN tunnel state changes, BGP peer disconnections, and Transit Gateway attachment changes, sending notifications via EventBridge.
Integration with CloudWAN
Integrating AWS Cloud WAN with Network Manager enables centralized management of global network segmentation and routing through core network policies. Attachments (VPCs, VPNs, Direct Connect) are assigned to segments on a policy basis, controlling inter-segment communication permissions. The Network Manager dashboard provides real-time visualization of Cloud WAN core network topology, traffic volume per segment, and connection health. Network changes (new VPC attachments, route additions) are published as EventBridge events, serving as an audit trail for change management. Combined with Reachability Analyzer, you can pre-verify reachability from a specific source to a destination, preventing routing configuration errors. To comprehensively learn about network management configuration patterns, refer to technical books (Amazon).
Network Manager Pricing
Network Manager itself is free to use. Costs depend on the managed resources (Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, VPN). When using Cloud WAN, charges are based on the number of core network edge attachments and data processing volume. Peering attachments incur inter-region data transfer charges, so it is important to estimate inter-region traffic volume in advance. Network Manager's route analysis and topology visualization are available at no additional charge, directly contributing to network operations efficiency.
Summary
Network Manager is particularly effective in multi-region environments using Transit Gateways or VPNs. The topology map visualizes the overall connectivity picture, and route analysis detects unintended routing. By integrating with Cloud WAN and transitioning to policy-based network management, you can declaratively manage routing configurations and evaluate the impact of network changes in advance. Since it is free to use, it is recommended for all environments operating networks across multiple regions.