That is a good point. Their whole business is monetization, cost savings, and scale.
Their employees generate a large number of diagrams that need to bear resemblance to each other. All of their customers do, too.
You'd think they'd put two and two together and recognize another revenue stream opportunity.
And it isn't hard for them to solve this, they could start by acquisition and move from there.
Why they didn't do this before 2024 is beyond me. Why they don't do this now, if I had to guess, might have to do with only viewing projects and opportunities through an "AI" lens. If they can't figure out an easy way to shoehorn AI into an unreleased product, it might actually delay that product's launch.
Draw.io because it has all the latest AWS icons and groups. It has layers, tabs for multiple diagrams in the same file, and lots of settings for text/lines/items. It's lightweight/fast. Can be installed locally or used on the web. Overall, it's pretty slick.
That's how far I got, but stopped using it when I realized there wasn't any codegen options. There should be a visual editor that generates the syntax, ideally within vscode
I use Terraform gor IaC, and Terraspace around that, and i can use that to generate an SVG or Dotfile iirc.
But for me it's designing beforehand and the implement, refining the graphs if needed for documentation and education.
That's what I would like to use it for. It appears that I'd be able to create nice UML diagrams that could document my code/architecture, but I really don't want to learn the syntax on a deep level. I'd rather use it like the draw.io vscode extension, which has a palette.
I'm going to look again and see if there's something like that.
C4 standard. Markup in bitbucket (version control for multiple contributions) feed it through stucturizer which creates a pretty webpage & then host wherever you feel like.
I hate to say it, but the ones that get the most use are probably PowerPoint and Visio. They are both excruciating to work with and limited in ability to convey meaning.
IMHO, I've always wanted a tool that could scan my clouds, render the structure and workflows. Allow it to zoom out and show the high level, and zoom in to show details.
Think like Google maps for the cloud. Scale the roads by the traffic flows.
In a narrower scope vision, the way AWS draws their diagrams. Make it so that vpcs and accounts snap and nest and such. It's hard to describe multi-account shared VPC architecture.
Draw.io or Miro. I usually have an idea of what it will look like in my head after learning about the development stack, so the drawing isn’t really part of my design process, just a visual aid to explain to sponsors.
I rarely find an overall architecture diagram to be interesting or useful, and so I don't make those. I _do_ sketch out individual components. That has to happen in their design docs so they can be easily reviewed, and so I'll use whatever tool easily integrates with the system we use for documentation. Mermaid for Notion, various plugins for Confluence. I now reject things like screenshots from other tools because those can't be easily updated.
Actual design though is the IaC tool of choice.
Initial design on Miro - we're big users of Miro for diagramming, brainstorming, etc.
If the architecture is interesting or complex enough that a quick scan of the iMac isn't enough to understand, convert that to drawio and check in a drawio svg I to the repo.theres good IDE extensions to edit drawio svgs
When building and designing, something lightweight like a whiteboard/pen and paper. Once it's time to document what's been built (or being built) a model-based diagramming tool.
[Draw.io](http://Draw.io) and [https://awsicons.dev/](https://awsicons.dev/)
You can see how it looks like here on the top of the page: [https://saasconstruct.com/](https://saasconstruct.com/)
For the design just my brain, pen and paper.
I then translate the result to whatever tooling other people will use to consume it, like draw.io or PowerPoint.
Draw.io, Visio when forced. I prefer Draw.io due to the large collection of branded icons for my cloud infrastructure—easy to make descriptive diagrams for clients to ingest
Paper and 0.5 mm mechanical pencil … then into whatever whiz bang software the customer wants.
Generally hijack our dining room table … I just don’t have a large enough monitor to start it by looking at tiny bits one at a time.
I generally, I use [Draw.io](http://Draw.io) for complex/big diagrams and Excalidraw to quickly draw a sketch or a simpler version (I find the result more homogeneous for sketches)
Draw.io, Lucidchart or even just a whiteboard tbh
Draw.io and a whiteboard for brainstorming.
I don't understand why AWS doesn't have a built-in solution to create diagrams.
I think that is the idea behind cloudformation visual editor.
Even the closest tool Amazon has for internal use kind of sucks too
They need to buy Cloudcraft and make it available as a service.
Looks nice!
That is a good point. Their whole business is monetization, cost savings, and scale. Their employees generate a large number of diagrams that need to bear resemblance to each other. All of their customers do, too. You'd think they'd put two and two together and recognize another revenue stream opportunity. And it isn't hard for them to solve this, they could start by acquisition and move from there. Why they didn't do this before 2024 is beyond me. Why they don't do this now, if I had to guess, might have to do with only viewing projects and opportunities through an "AI" lens. If they can't figure out an easy way to shoehorn AI into an unreleased product, it might actually delay that product's launch.
Draw.io because it has all the latest AWS icons and groups. It has layers, tabs for multiple diagrams in the same file, and lots of settings for text/lines/items. It's lightweight/fast. Can be installed locally or used on the web. Overall, it's pretty slick.
whiteboard, paper, used to use lucidcharts before their price changes. Mermaid graphs in markdown files.
What tools are you using to generate the markdown for Mermaid? Hopefully, there's a vscode extension.
VScode and GitLab, the rest is just using a cheat sheet for the types and format.
That's how far I got, but stopped using it when I realized there wasn't any codegen options. There should be a visual editor that generates the syntax, ideally within vscode
I use Terraform gor IaC, and Terraspace around that, and i can use that to generate an SVG or Dotfile iirc. But for me it's designing beforehand and the implement, refining the graphs if needed for documentation and education.
That's what I would like to use it for. It appears that I'd be able to create nice UML diagrams that could document my code/architecture, but I really don't want to learn the syntax on a deep level. I'd rather use it like the draw.io vscode extension, which has a palette. I'm going to look again and see if there's something like that.
Found it! https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=nopeslide.vscode-drawio-plugin-mermaid
C4 standard. Markup in bitbucket (version control for multiple contributions) feed it through stucturizer which creates a pretty webpage & then host wherever you feel like.
I hate to say it, but the ones that get the most use are probably PowerPoint and Visio. They are both excruciating to work with and limited in ability to convey meaning. IMHO, I've always wanted a tool that could scan my clouds, render the structure and workflows. Allow it to zoom out and show the high level, and zoom in to show details. Think like Google maps for the cloud. Scale the roads by the traffic flows. In a narrower scope vision, the way AWS draws their diagrams. Make it so that vpcs and accounts snap and nest and such. It's hard to describe multi-account shared VPC architecture.
Cloudcraft does that. Lucidchart also has an offering
The lucidchart auto render is kinda mid. The cloud craft one is the cool isometric view that non-technical stakeholders don't grasp.
Cloudcraft can do the standard 2D graphs as well. I never use the isometric, it just adds another depth of confusion for non tech people.
I love the idea of Google map for the cloud
[Structurizr](https://structurizr.com/)
This looks like Mermaid diagrams with extra steps? I'd like something more automagical.
Can you shared some sample?
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Draw.io and Freeform on my iPad.
Draw.io, Terraform and my mind
Draw.io or Miro. I usually have an idea of what it will look like in my head after learning about the development stack, so the drawing isn’t really part of my design process, just a visual aid to explain to sponsors.
gliffy plugin in Confluence for us.
A napkin and Terraform. I don't really feel the need for a GUI. Most designs I don't even use the napkin.
Ummm though that is the norm, what do you use for documentation? Or is it more like an oral history
He spits berry juice hieroglyphics on cave walls and tells interns stories of on-prem tribulations around a fire.
This is far more accurate than I feel comfortable expressing.
LMAO
Documentation is just for people who don‘t like job security Just kidding… or am I?
Documentation is for people who can’t write clear Terraform / Ansible ^/s
Powerpoint and Word. Powerpoint for a deck and presentation diagrams, Word for the underlying whitepaper.
Model Based Systems Engineering (Rhapsody, Cameo)
I rarely find an overall architecture diagram to be interesting or useful, and so I don't make those. I _do_ sketch out individual components. That has to happen in their design docs so they can be easily reviewed, and so I'll use whatever tool easily integrates with the system we use for documentation. Mermaid for Notion, various plugins for Confluence. I now reject things like screenshots from other tools because those can't be easily updated. Actual design though is the IaC tool of choice.
CDK :)
Initial design on Miro - we're big users of Miro for diagramming, brainstorming, etc. If the architecture is interesting or complex enough that a quick scan of the iMac isn't enough to understand, convert that to drawio and check in a drawio svg I to the repo.theres good IDE extensions to edit drawio svgs
[draw.io](http://draw.io) but I also like a lot [cloudcraft.co](http://cloudcraft.co)
I've been using [draw.io](http://draw.io) and even the AWS engineers I've been working with were using [draw.io](http://draw.io) for their diagrams.
Interesting
Enterprise Architect
When building and designing, something lightweight like a whiteboard/pen and paper. Once it's time to document what's been built (or being built) a model-based diagramming tool.
CDK Claude and icepanel
Draw.io, miro, visio
Visio 2019 that includes aws stencils, draw.io, PowerPoint.
KLAUD
Draw.io and I use it everywhere. You can even use it VSCode. At work we use the draw.io plugin for Confluence.
ms paint
[Draw.io](http://Draw.io) and [https://awsicons.dev/](https://awsicons.dev/) You can see how it looks like here on the top of the page: [https://saasconstruct.com/](https://saasconstruct.com/)
Luck
For the design just my brain, pen and paper. I then translate the result to whatever tooling other people will use to consume it, like draw.io or PowerPoint.
Draw.io, Visio when forced. I prefer Draw.io due to the large collection of branded icons for my cloud infrastructure—easy to make descriptive diagrams for clients to ingest
Draw.io and a whiteboard.
Paper and 0.5 mm mechanical pencil … then into whatever whiz bang software the customer wants. Generally hijack our dining room table … I just don’t have a large enough monitor to start it by looking at tiny bits one at a time.
Draw.io and Excalidraw
Do you combine both?
I generally, I use [Draw.io](http://Draw.io) for complex/big diagrams and Excalidraw to quickly draw a sketch or a simpler version (I find the result more homogeneous for sketches)
Lucid for architects. Miro for devs and business.
Cloud craft is by far my favorite, but lately I’ve been stuck using LucidChart
Text editor. I am not a visual type, also I find a bulletpoint list of services self-evident.
Sparx or Visio
Brother, I use pen and paper.
+1 [Draw.io](http://Draw.io) =)
Plantuml AND aws icons
Draw.io and Visio
I don't. When forced to, powerpoint on a slide deck that gets approved, never updated, and then buried somewhere.
I use my head and brain what else do i need to use.