Draw.io Professional Design

🎨 Introduction to Draw.io

Draw.io (now called diagrams.net) is a powerful online diagramming tool that is completely free and requires no registration. It provides a rich graphics library and professional drawing features, suitable for creating various complex professional diagrams.

Core Advantages

• Completely Free: All features are free to use, no paywall
• No Registration Required: Open and use, protects privacy
• Multi-platform Support: Web, desktop, VS Code plugin
• Rich Templates: Built-in numerous professional templates
• Multi-format Export: Supports PNG, SVG, PDF, XML, and other formats
• Real-time Collaboration: Supports team collaborative editing

🚀 Quick Start

Access Methods

🌐 Online Version

Visit app.diagrams.net

Features: No installation needed, cloud storage

💻 Desktop Application

Download Desktop Version

Features: Offline use, better performance

🔧 VS Code Plugin

Extension name: Draw.io Integration

Features: Integrated development environment

📐 Interface Introduction

Workspace Layout

1. Shapes Panel (Left)

• Basic shapes
• Advanced graphics library
• Custom shapes
• Search function

2. Canvas Area (Center)

• Main drawing area
• Grid and alignment guides
• Zoom and pan
• Page management

3. Format Panel (Right)

• Style settings
• Text formatting
• Arrange and align
• Layer management

🏗️ System Architecture Diagram Creation

Microservices Architecture Diagram

Design Points

Architecture Diagram Design Principles

1. Clear Hierarchy: Use different colors and areas to divide layers
2. Clear Connections: Use different line types to represent different communication methods
3. Unified Icons: Use consistent icon styles
4. Complete Annotations: Add necessary text descriptions

Recommended Color Schemes

API Gateway

Business Services

Data Layer

Message Queue

Component Checklist

You: Help me list the components needed in a microservices architecture diagram

Gemini: I'll organize the core components of microservices architecture for you:

🏗️ Architecture Component Checklist:

1. Client Layer
 □ Web application
 □ Mobile application
 □ Third-party applications

2. Gateway Layer
 □ API Gateway (Kong/Nginx)
 □ Load balancer
 □ Authentication & authorization

3. Service Layer
 □ User service
 □ Order service
 □ Payment service
 □ Inventory service
 □ Notification service

4. Service Governance
 □ Service registry (Consul/Eureka)
 □ Configuration center (Config Server)
 □ Distributed tracing (Zipkin)
 □ Circuit breaker (Hystrix)

5. Data Layer
 □ MySQL cluster
 □ Redis cache
 □ MongoDB
 □ Elasticsearch

6. Message Middleware
 □ RabbitMQ/Kafka
 □ Event bus

7. Monitoring & Operations
 □ Prometheus
 □ Grafana
 □ ELK Stack

Drawing Tips

Draw.io Drawing Tips

1. Use Container Grouping

   • Put related components in containers
   • Set container background color to distinguish layers
   • Enable container collapse feature

2. Alignment and Distribution

   • Use Arrange → Align to align elements
   • Use Distribute to evenly space elements
   • Enable grid snapping

3. Connection Line Optimization

   • Use right-angle connectors
   • Add connection point anchors
   • Set line jumps to avoid crossings

4. Shortcuts

   • Ctrl+D: Duplicate element
   • Ctrl+G: Group elements
   • Ctrl+Shift+G: Ungroup
   • Alt+Shift+Arrow keys: Precise movement

🌐 Network Topology Diagram

Enterprise Network Architecture

Design Elements

🖥️ Network Devices

• Routers
• Switches
• Firewalls
• Load balancers

🔒 Security Zones

• DMZ zone
• Internal network
• Core zone
• Management zone

📡 Connection Types

• Fiber connection
• Ethernet
• Wireless connection
• VPN tunnel

AI-Assisted Design

Use Gemini CLI to generate network topology design solutions:

You: Help me design a network topology structure for a medium-sized enterprise

Gemini: I'll design a medium-sized enterprise network topology for you:

🌐 Network Architecture Design:

1. Internet Access Layer
 - Dual ISP access (primary/backup redundancy)
 - Border routers × 2
 - DDoS protection devices

2. DMZ Zone
 - Web server cluster
 - Mail server
 - FTP server
 - Reverse proxy

3. Core Layer
 - Core switches (dual hot standby)
 - VRRP/HSRP configuration
 - 10G backbone network

4. Aggregation Layer
 - Department aggregation switches
 - VLAN segmentation
 - QoS policies

5. Access Layer
 - Access switches
 - Wireless APs
 - IP phones

6. Server Zone
 - Application servers
 - Database servers
 - File servers
 - Backup servers

7. Security Devices
 - Next-generation firewall
 - IDS/IPS
 - Bastion host
 - Log auditing

IP Address Planning:
- DMZ: 192.168.100.0/24
- Servers: 192.168.10.0/24
- Office network: 192.168.20.0/23
- Guest network: 192.168.200.0/24

📋 UML Diagrams

Use Case Diagram

Drawing Steps

1. Add Actors: Drag Actor from UML graphics library
2. Create Use Cases: Use ellipse to represent use cases
3. Establish Associations: Connect actors and use cases
4. Add Relationships: include, extend, generalization

Activity Diagram

Key Elements

• Start Node: Filled circle
• Activity Node: Rounded rectangle
• Decision Node: Diamond
• Parallel Processing: Fork/join bars
• End Node: Double circle

🎨 Style and Theme Customization

Create Custom Styles

Color Schemes

Professional Color Templates

Technical Documentation

#1e3a8a#3b82f6#93c5fd#dbeafe

Business Presentation

#059669#10b981#fbbf24#f3f4f6

Shape Library

Create Custom Shape Library

1. Select Basic Shape
2. Customize Style
3. Save as Library: File → New Library
4. Import and Use: File → Open Library

Recommended Shape Libraries

• AWS Architecture Icons
• Azure Icons
• Google Cloud Icons
• Network Diagram Icons
• BPMN 2.0

Template Management

Save and Use Templates

1. Create Template

   • Design basic framework
   • Define style specifications
   • Add placeholders

2. Save Template

   • File → Save as Template
   • Name and categorize
   • Add description

3. Apply Template

   • File → New from Template
   • Select appropriate template
   • Customize content

🔄 Collaboration Features

Team Collaboration

🔗 Share Links

Generate read-only or editable links

💾 Version Control

Integration with GitHub/GitLab

📝 Comment Feature

Add annotations and feedback

🔄 Real-time Sync

Multiple people editing simultaneously

📤 Export and Integration

Export Formats

Image Formats

• PNG (transparent background)
• JPG (compressed image)
• SVG (vector graphics)
• WebP (web-optimized)

Document Formats

• PDF (printing)
• HTML (web embedding)
• XML (source file)
• VSDX (Visio)

Integration Methods

<!-- Embed Draw.io diagram in webpage -->
<iframe
src="https://viewer.diagrams.net/?highlight=0000ff&edit=_blank&layers=1&nav=1&title=diagram.drawio#Uhttps%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F..."
width="100%"
height="600">
</iframe>

💡 Professional Tips

⚡ Improve Efficiency

• Master keyboard shortcuts
• Use search function to quickly find shapes
• Create commonly used element libraries
• Batch operation techniques

🎯 Maintain Consistency

• Define color specifications
• Unify font sizes
• Keep spacing consistent
• Use style copying

📐 Professional Layout

• Use grid alignment
• Maintain golden ratio
• The art of whitespace
• Visual hierarchy design

🚀 Next Steps

After mastering Draw.io, continue learning:

Scenario Application Guide →

AI-Assisted Creation →