Importance of Network Documentation

Information from network documentation is crucial to the success of any networking project. It is essential for everyone involved in the project to understand and adhere to the requirements.  Without this understanding, it will be difficult for them to come up with a viable design. Network documentation should also:

• Explains how the two networks are connected together and what services are provided on these connections.
• List all the devices that are making up the network.
• Identify all network infrastructure elements such as routers, switches, firewalls, etc. As well as their configuration.

Key network elements may have configuration files, so it is important to identify what needs to be backed up and where the information is located. Therefore, network documentation will provide a basis for:

• Ensuring that all stakeholders are informed.
• Identify the information required to recover from a disaster.
• Tracking changes in the network over time.

Network documentation should be live and updated regularly. Any changes in the configuration of routers, switches, patch panels, hubs, or servers should be captured and included in this document. Although there may be other documents residing on servers or backup tapes that contain similar information, this should not replace a good guide that covers every aspect of your network infrastructure.

Common Network Documentation:

• A network diagram, which most networks have. A diagram is useful because it identifies components like servers and hubs, switches, and patch panels. These components should be justified in a network diagram. If a server is configured in a way that is not performing its intended function, those changes should be documented as well.
• A list of all network devices with their IP addresses, hostnames, and physical locations. It is very helpful when performing audits or maintenance on the network to have this information readily available.
• List of software licenses, phone extensions, and hardware inventory. This list should be maintained regularly because it is helpful in maintaining your license compliance and for disaster recovery purposes.
• A network simulator lets you reproduce the traffic on a computer network; it does not require real computers or software to do so. Once you have established the configuration of your physical layer, you can make changes to the simulated layer without any impact on your physical equipment (i.e., routers).

Features:

• A network simulator is a computer program that simulates the operation of a computer network.
• Network simulators allow you to experiment with the effects of altering some aspects of the simulation and then examining the results.
• Once you have established the configuration of your physical layer, you can make changes to the simulated layer without any impact on your hardware (i.e., routers).
• Network simulators are useful when testing new network hardware and software installations, performance tuning, security testing, or designing complex networks.

Within an enterprise, network simulations may be restricted to specific domains; individual computers may be assigned to domains that in turn provide additional security or reliability mechanisms. The initial network diagram should be done with the physical layout of the network in mind. The layout is similar to the physical layout (in terms of cabling), but it is not always ideal to have a star or hub-and-spoke design. We do not recommend connecting all switches to a single switch fabric. It is better to use more than one switch, and that way all devices on the same wire (or port) will be able to receive/transmit data in parallel, thereby exchanging data faster. For example, two switches connected by two cables could be used instead of one very large switch with multiple connections.

Usage of Network Diagrams:

• They help keep track of what’s going on within the network.
• They identify critical resources (routers, switches, etc.) in a way that is easy to comprehend.
• They provide direction by indicating the physical layout and location of components.
• Network diagrams can be used to plan, monitor, troubleshoot, and analyze problems in a wide range of networks.

Conclusion:

The creation and maintenance of network diagrams is a good idea because they can help you organize your network, identify critical components, and graphically show the physical layout of your network. This is the first step to creating a basic diagram for the network. It consists of a list of devices (being either servers or workstations) that are compatible with existing protocols. This can help in identifying whether to use different devices for different clients or on the same server/workstation. Windows may also display connectivity information as to which workstations can communicate with other workstations and also how many ports are available on each router/switch (ports being local or remote).