Systems and Network Documentation Software

Moltuae

Rest In Peace
Reaction score
3,671
Location
Lancs, UK
I've always 'manually' documented my installations, using a combination of spreadsheets and Corel Draw illustrations, but recently I've been working on some larger installations with VLANs, multiple subnets and multiple servers, and I'm beginning to think it's about time I learned to use something more efficient and professional that would allow me to more easily document everything, especially network connectivity.

I don't really need network simulation features, but it would be good to have some software that made making changes easier, allowing the effects to cascade throughout the documentation automatically.

So what does everyone else use?
 
Used to add into the notes section in our N-Central server...since we'll have an object for switches, routers, etc. Been moving more detailed notes to the FAQs section in our HelpDeskManager now....like creating a Wiki under each client.
 
So what does everyone else use?

Most of our customers are SMB, with a max of 10-15 PCs in a peer-to-peer layout.

I've been using simple Powerpoint and it's done what I needed. Back when I worked at IBM, our network people used Visio and I looked into using that instead of Powerpoint, but Visio was overkill for what I needed.

Here's a quick example:
 

Attachments

Thanks for the info guys. Much appreciated!

Frick, BizDox does look pretty slick, but yeah, probably a bit overkill for my needs and it also appears to be subscription/cloud based. While I don't mind paying for the right software, I prefer to buy it outright rather than commit to a monthly ongoing fee.

Stonecat, sounds like a good solution. Does that provide detailed and illustrative information, suitable for presenting to the customer, or is this something used more as notational reference info for yourself?

glricht, nice illustration. That's very similar to my own network diagrams (though I usually use Corel Draw) as part of a document package, including things like floor plans and switch port allocation illustrations. Ideally, I guess I'd like to be able to streamline the process with some software that is able to generate various documents and illustrations automatically from a simple object-based click and drag connectivity diagram.

Andy, I think Solarwinds' Network Topology Mapper is probably closer to what I'm looking for. I did look at that briefly a while ago, along with a few others like SmartDraw and Edraw. I think I probably just need to find the time to test out a few of these. I suppose I was hoping to be told that there's some industry standard software that everyone uses or recommends.
 
Stonecat, sounds like a good solution. Does that provide detailed and illustrative information, suitable for presenting to the customer, or is this something used more as notational reference info for yourself?.

For us...our own reference. If I work colleague of mine has to cover one of my clients...he can have a reference to how the network is laid out, like a blueprint. Example....within N-Able, for that clients SO, I'll have an object in there for each managed switch. In the notes section there I'll have details on what may be plugged into each port...for example. Or for the edge device...like Untangle, I'll have notes under that detailing what each interface has for settings and what for.

So if I get hit by a bus, some other computer guy can be able to support the network with the help of these notes.
 
I moved my drawings from SmartDraw ($600 and they STILL bombard me with ads! (in the system tray, no less)) to Google Docs / Google Draw. The ability to access drawings while in the field and send them to electricians etc. is very powerful.

Google Sheets is amazing and has changed how we collate our data. Worth a look.
 
We also take pictures of all core network equipment every 3 months during a site visit, is a massive help for techs who have never been to site
 
We also take pictures of all core network equipment every 3 months during a site visit, is a massive help for techs who have never been to site

YES!

We upload them right into each client's folder on Google Drive.... wow, having the ability to refresh your memory, or if you are troubleshooting with someone on-site, having the option of saying, "there is a YELLOW cable going into the port marked W A N on the black box with the Motorola logo... are the lights blinking green?" is so valuable.

And having others who have never been on-site be able to follow along saves us so much time.
 
I have been doing the same network documentation for the past couple months in Evernote and also include photos in there also. Has been working very well but make sure that you use 2 factor authentication along with password protected app usage.
 
a few well-drawn power point slides outlines the hundreds of connected ports by slot/port on our Cisco 6500 (4 ea 48 port 10/100/1000) plus a few 10G slots, two supervisors, two 2800 watt power supplies), plus a few of 48 port switches feeding to it, plus a handful of 48 port IO LANS handling serial terminal traffic ) and a simple doc or spreadsheet outlines by server/workstation name all hard assigned IP addresses. (As we have a mixture of different levels of security classification on the same aircraft, where things are cabled is critical)

We also have 3 each 64 port Avocent switches for keyboard/monitor switching, and a few 4 port KVM switches to route/view/separate keyboard/mouse input to different levels of classified info...
 
As others have mentioned pictures are very valuable. I really think the RMM/CRM tools that we use need to incorporate a built-in network map tool. Something simple. In fact, I've been trialing a bunch of solutions lately and am not happy with the document/information storage of any of them. I would think a simple network map would be included in all of them!
 
We still manually document sites as each one is bespoke.

Spreadsheet with network details, such as VLAN, WAN settings, VPN details etc.
Document for passwords, keys, permissions, etc.
Visio for network diagrams and topology.
Photos of anything 'unusal' or for items that the client might need to interact with, so that clear instruction can be given.
 
I always like to mention my size and needs when replying to posts like this because what works well for one company will be hopelessly inadequate for another. I work for a very small company, and most of my clients don't have VLANs (in fact, most don't even have managed switches) so I don't need anything too fancy.

I used to use Word documents in the past (along with some photos on a network share), which worked well for my simple needs. These days I need access when I'm out and about so I've changed to Confluence (a wiki). When I add a new customer I just create a new space from a template and fill in the details. You can define common blocks of text (like contact details for companies) and include them in your pages, so you don't need to do a whole lot of copying and pasting when you make changes.

The table support in Confluence is pretty good (although you don't get anything fancy like formula's). Confluence lets you add attachments to pages so I use it as the central spot for other stuff too (quotes, project documentation and notes, photos, client documentation - like how to set up their iPhone with their Exchange account etc). I've set it up with WebDAV so I can map a drive letter to get to all of these files, and can access them from an app on my phone. It also versions everything (pages, and attachments) which is important.

A lot of the online diagramming tools (like Gliffy, LucidChart, Draw.io and Creately) integrate with Confluence. You just insert a diagram where you want it in your documentation and you're taken to the online tool. Hit 'Save' and your diagram is saved automatically to Confluence (along with an 'Edit' button so you can make changes again in the future without mucking around in an 'edit, save to desktop, upload new version' cycle).

There's a plugin that lets you define some text that only appears when you click a link to expose it. I haven't decided yet, but I may well use this to avoid the issue of people looking over my shoulder if I look up some documentation when at a client site.

It's not perfect. For example I create new documentation from a template, but if I change the template in the future I have to manually go and make the change to all existing documents. (Apparently there's a plugin that does this but I haven't tested it out yet). As far as I'm aware Confluence doesn't have integration with any RMM or discovery tools, so you'll have to grab the information you need yourself and manually type it in.

I wanted to go with very cheap tools and if you have fewer than 10 techs that need edit permissions then this fits the bill. If you host it yourself Confluence is $10 (once-off). Draw.io and Creately looked to have the best network diagram features and they are also $10 for perpetual licenses. Pretty good value for money!
 
Ha, writing my last post got me onto looking at Confluence plugins again.
The scaffolding plugin is the one I was thinking of that lets you define template and have them auto-update.

I've also just found there's a SQL for Confluence plugin (https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/org.swift.confluence.sqlexpress). That let's you save a SQL query that will run and the data returned will be displayed in the page. Endless possibilities there - love the idea of use SQL to store customer data and Confluence to display it. It's again $10 for up to ten users.
 
Ha, writing my last post got me onto looking at Confluence plugins again.
The scaffolding plugin is the one I was thinking of that lets you define template and have them auto-update.

I've also just found there's a SQL for Confluence plugin (https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/org.swift.confluence.sqlexpress). That let's you save a SQL query that will run and the data returned will be displayed in the page. Endless possibilities there - love the idea of use SQL to store customer data and Confluence to display it. It's again $10 for up to ten users.

Confluence sounds ideal. Is there a feature or plugin, that will allow the creation of a portal for each client to access their respective information. Of course this would be information that I give them permission to access. I don't know how many times i've inherited a client and they don't have any information about the network or passwords or whatever they have is completely out of date. I'd like to keep my client informed with up to date documentation when I can.
 
There's no client portal. You can set permissions per page in Confluence but:
a) You would consume one 'user' per client which would cost more; and
b) It would be far too easy to forget to change permission on a page and accidentally allow all your customers to view the documentation of another!

So not worth doing in my opinion (unless you have some very large customers that would regularly log in).

Personally, I print and bind the documentation each year and hand it to the client. Only cost $5 and a bit of time and it looks great. It also shows the customer that we take time to document things properly and that we're not tryng to lock them in by hiding their information. (I don't print passwords obviously - we have a separate page for all passwords that doesn't get printed).
 
Back
Top