Tools for Building Professional Cloud Architecture Diagrams
I’m frequently asked about templates, stencils and shapes that are available for documenting the architecture of cloud-based solutions on Microsoft Azure, Azure Pack and Office 365. Using the tools described in this article, you can quickly build professional architecture diagrams for cloud scenarios. These tools are also useful when creating presentation decks, training materials, whitepapers and infographics.
Sample LOB App Architecture on Azure IaaS
Several completed examples using these tools are available on the MSDN Azure Architecture Blueprints page, such as the Line of Business Applications IaaS diagram above (click on it to zoom in).
Microsoft Azure Symbol Sets
Azure symbol/icon/shape sets are available for download in PowerPoint, Visio and PNG formats.
Official Microsoft Azure Symbol Sets
Office 365 Visio Stencil
Visio shapes for documenting Office 365, Exchange Server 2013, SharePoint Server 2013 and Lync Server 2013 deployments are also available as a free download. This set of stencils includes more than 300 icons and shapes.
Office Visio Stencil for Office 365, Exchange 2013, SharePoint 2013 and Lync 2013
Additional Shapes for Azure Pack and System Center
In addition to the “official” templates above, Microsoft MVP Kevin Greene has done an outstanding job in building an “unofficial” set of Visio stencils for System Center and Azure Pack. These stencils are super-useful when documenting Private Cloud and Hybrid Cloud architectures.
Have you found additional templates and tools?
Have you found additional templates, shapes and tools that you use when documenting the architecture of cloud solutions? Feel free to share any tools that you’ve found helpful in the Comments area below!