Discussion on:

Create effective Visio diagrams for network documentation

I like the article, and the information is helpful. I am the rare IT professional that actually enjoys documenting. I would like to see more of what Visio (or other tools) offer. I would enjoy seeing an article that documents a network in this manner. This would give a little more depth to the information, which is very intriguing.

Hi I am a Network Tech I work for the school district in my area. I have been using Visio for about a year and a half and its great for simple illustrations. There are these things in Visio called stencils and they are like little icons of real equipment, ranging from Cisco, Microsoft, 3com, well you get the idea. Anyways you can show how your network is setup, what type of Internet connection is coming into to you network, to what equipment. Its really a great tool for simply showing what equipment you have in you network, your topology, good for future designs. I really like working with Visio its a great solution for network maps that you don't have to spend alot of time drawing out. If you need a little more information email me.-Andrew Mitchell

I've ben using this tool since 1997. It's great. It allows you to layer you network diagrams, with the ability to test device connectivity etc.

I have used Visio to document in the past and have changed to a product called netviz. www.netviz.com
This is a database driven fully searchable documentation tool. the issue we had with visio is when you document an entire network it is hard to find anything. This tool makes that very easy. We now web publish the drawing and our on call groups use it for support. They can see where everything connects and what everything does.

I looked at the NetViz demo on their Website (don't enter www.netvis.com). It looks like what I have been dreaming of. I am downloading the demo now. I just hope it isn't priced outrageously.

I recently interned at a research center's network department. They purchased netViz and never got around to using it, which is why they hired me as their intern. The software is so easy to use and it is so rich with functionality as compared to Visio. All diagrams can be interconnected, the graphic repository is a lot larger than Visio and as stated before, projects are fully searchable. They can be database driven or even driven by an Excel spreadsheet, which is the way i accomplished the task. I only used the spreadsheet because this is how their network was originally documented (use a database if you are starting from scratch!!). I can't say enough about this tool and I encourage every network admin to give it a try.

I am in IT for 12 years, never seen diagraming tool more powerfull than Visio. We have now access database with info about every single component of all workstations, printers, switches and servers and it is pefectly linked to Visio diagram. Whenever you change visio diagram- it automatically updates database. Later on we will put it on SQL server. There is thousands on stencils available for Visio. You can upload your diagram onto web site and so on.

Folks:

Glad to discover this DOCUMENTATION forum. it does not appear as if many people are passionate about this CRITICAL discipline.

To create very effective Network Documentation, the documentation must be LAYERED. One reason for creating LAYERED DOCUMENTATION is simply because different people (Engineers, Managers, Operators, Designers, Developers, Etc) need to see different things whenever they check network ocumentation.

Recently I have been reading www.pmg.com. The layering concept/methodology is discussed at this web site.

I would appreciate links or references to the LAYERED Network Documentation concept. Thanks in advance.

**************************************************

I am interested in LAYERED NETWORK DOCUMENTATION using Microsoft Visio. As far as I know, there are ONLY two companies that offer this kind of
training:

* Pine Mountain Group www.pmg.com DocuNet
* Innovative Designs Online www.ido.net IDO.DOC

These courses are offered once per year in California & Oregon. These courses are NOT available on CD or DVD

Just wondering if anyone in this forum would like to swap/trade their DocuNet (from Pine Mountain Group) or IDO.DOC (from Innovative Designs Online) for my Network Analysis Video Library (38
Video Tapes Training course from Pine Mountain Group).

Here is a list of the training topics covered by the videos. Thanks in advance.

**************************************************
The video titles of my Network Analysis Video Library are:

* TCP/IP Tools, RMON, SNMP & DNS
* Client Server Analysis
* IP Operation & Analysis (Part A)
* IP Operation & Analysis (Part B)
* Application Analysis & Preparation of an "Application Network Impact
Statement (Part A)
* Application Analysis & Preparation of an "Application Network Impact
Statement (Part B)
* Application Analysis & Preparation of an "Application Network Impact
Statement (Part C)
* Application Analysis & Preparation of an "Application Network Impact
Statement (Part D)
* LLC2, NETBIOS & SMB (Part A)
* LLC2, NETBIOS & SMB (Part B)
* Microsoft TCP/IP Implementation & Analysis (Part A)
* Microsoft TCP/IP Implementation & Analysis (Part B)
* Microsoft's use of: IP, IPX, NETBIOS
* DNS & DHCP
* Establishing a minimum essential baseline
* Network Architecture & Documentation
* SNMP & RMON OPERATION
* Network Analysis Essentials (Part A)
* Network Analysis Essentials (Part B)
* Network Analysis Essentials (Part C)
* Network Analysis Essentials (Part D)
* IPX Troubleshooting Methods & Case Study
* IPX, RIP, SAP, & NETWARE Protocols
* Switched Network Analysis & VLANS (Part A)
* Switched Network Analysis & VLANS (Part B)
* Switched Network Analysis & VLANS (Part C)
* Ethernet Operation & Analysis (Part A)
* Ethernet Operation & Analysis (Part B)
* Ethernet Troubleshooting Methods & Practices
* High Speed Media - ATM & FDDI (Part A)
* High Speed Media - ATM & FDDI (Part B)
* WAN, HDLC, & FRAME RELAY (Part A)
* WAN, HDLC, & FRAME RELAY (Part B)
* TCP/IP TROUBLESHOOTING
* Packet Burst & TCP Sliding Window Operation
* Throughput & Latency Analysis (Part A)
* Throughput & Latency Analysis (Part B)
* Link State Protocol Analysis
******************************************************************
Have entire package wrapped up neatly and ready to ship.
There is also a CD with PDF files containing text material for the above
videos
There is also a book titled; NETALALYST REFERENCE GUIDE - The Definitive
Resource for the Network Analyst


Thanks,
John.

how long does TR store their articles on their site before cleaning out old ones? Are my favorites going to hold up over along period of time?

Thanks.

Any articles I want to make sure a available long term, I save locally. If you choose "Print" at the bottom of the article, a new browser opens with just the article and images (no headers/sidebars). Then I use IE's built-in capability of saving the HTML and associated images to keep a copy on my intranet. As I add articles, I also update an index so I can see at a glance what I have.

-Jeff

check AdRem NetCrunch at:

http://www.adremsoft.com/netcrunch/index.php

enjoy,

Liz

Take a look at NetBrain - create Visio diagram from configure files.

There is a free version as well.