Visually documenting a network

[rivan]

It's all in the title. Is there a standard layout or symbology used for visual network mapping?

I'm supposed to document a portion of our stuff here and don't know where to start.

Buying software to do it is out of the question; I'll be doing this from notes/memory and using Adobe Illustrator to draw the map.

 

[jlazzaro]

you should really be doing it in Visio...Illustrator will be painful, especially trying to keep it updated. Visio has all of the standard symbols built in.

you can find product specific symbols by searching for additional VSD stencils. For instance, Cisco Visio Stencils

if you have no way of using Visio and need a jumping off point, try Google Image Search for some examples.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: jlazzaro
you should really be doing it in Visio...Illustrator will be painful, especially trying to keep it updated. Visio has all of the standard symbols built in.

you can find product specific symbols by searching for additional VSD stencils. For instance, Cisco Visio Stencils

Visio's not an option, and it's really only a grouping of 7 machines, how they interact and where they are in relation to the rest of our network. They're a very, very small subset of our corporate network. I'm looking for standards to use indicate SMTP & SQL connections, how to indicate physical location, etc.

If those things only really exist in a non-standard formats or only in apps like visio, then I'll just have to wing it. I'm primarily an art guy, so there'd be a learning curve with Visio anyway.

I'm out of a job on the 23rd and I'm trying to document as much as I can for the person picking up my responsibilities.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: jlazzaro
if you have no way of using Visio and need a jumping off point, try Google Image Search for some examples.

Thanks 🙂

 

[JackMDS]

This is simple, but free Diagraming program, http://www.snapfiles.com/get/diagramdesigner.html

In the middle of this page there is Cisco basic symbols for it, http://d16912502.u227.surftown...ramDesigner/Templates/

 

[SammySnood]

I tried Network Notepad while I was still running Windows on my admin systems. For smaller networks I actually preferred it to Visio Pro, and it's free.

 

[Czar]

I have used Dia for some drawings at work, see http://live.gnome.org/Dia , comes with some basic shapes but loads and loads of cisco shapes.

 

[SammySnood]

Originally posted by: Czar
I have used Dia for some drawings at work, see http://live.gnome.org/Dia , comes with some basic shapes but loads and loads of cisco shapes.

Okay, that makes me a moron. I've been using Dia for the purpose ever since switching to Linux. I forgot that there was a Windows version! :laugh:

 

[Czar]

Originally posted by: SammySnood

Originally posted by: Czar
I have used Dia for some drawings at work, see http://live.gnome.org/Dia , comes with some basic shapes but loads and loads of cisco shapes.

Okay, that makes me a moron. I've been using Dia for the purpose ever since switching to Linux. I forgot that there was a Windows version! :laugh:

hahh 😀