Is your network documented ?

[blackcat]

Just wondered if all those network settings are recorded somewhere, so that when you leave, somebody has a reference why a feature is enabled or set the way it is, e.g. students may be limited to the amount of recipients they can send to - is it recorded ?

[maniac]

At my previous job I spent the last 4 weeks of my employment producing detailed documentation, ended up about 150 pages long with all settings, IP addresses, cabling map, server explanations and maps of shares including security permissions etc. in it.

 

Alas at my current job no such documentation exists, although things like fixed IP numbers and passwords are documented, and the cabling and switches are labelled well where I've made changes to it (e.g trunked ports etc.) I would like to produce detailed documentation for this network, but it's just too big, and changes so regulalry I'd never keep the documentation up to date.

 

Mike.

[FN-GM]

In my new job everything is documented

[ChrisH]

I am currently converting all my documentation in word/excel files to a wiki. I am also expanding on it as I go.

[Zorro_Slot]

I would love to document my network, but have zero time to do it in.

[plexer]

I use a mediawiki install for this as it's easy enough to update it wherever you are.

 

Ben

[Domino]

hmmm, not the network settings, but I do run a Help wiki for the staff (cheers to Tony S. for that idea!)

[ICT_GUY]

Yes, with lots of printouts and passwords, ipconfigs, spiceworks reports ect.

[webman]

Getting there

[Guest richard]

Nothing here apart from a list of ip addresses. The school won't give me the time to do it as its not "essential"

[Geoff]

We have a course on our Moodle VLE containing documentation such as this.

[Guest richard]

This is something you have to make time to do, even if it's done out of hours. It's part of your job as a network manager to keep accurate records of the system.

 

You can't expect management to say, "forget about all the work people need doing, take a few days off to write some documents" but you need to find a way of doing it.

 

I work part time at this school and am expected to do the work of a full time person. I refuse to do work outside of hours as the school will not pay me to that. I work contracted hours and that is it.

[chall]

This is something you have to make time to do, even if it's done out of hours. It's part of your job as a network manager to keep accurate records of the system.

 

You can't expect management to say, "forget about all the work people need doing, take a few days off to write some documents" but you need to find a way of doing it.

 

Hm, why don't we just all work for free? We get paid crap money as it is, let alone spending our evening documenting a network.

[enjay]

This is something you have to make time to do, even if it's done out of hours. It's part of your job as a network manager to keep accurate records of the system.

If it is part of our job, why should we do it outside hours?!

 

I'm working through documenting the network, configurations and procedures here. It is not my highest priority (although I'll wish it were if anything goes 'pop'!) but it is something which needs doing, so I take little nibbles at it whenever I have a half-hour or so with no vital jobs outstanding, or for whatever reason I need to remain office-based for a little while.

[enjay]

You shoudn't ideally, but if you're not able to make time for it, it's the sort of thing that could be written up after hours.

I make time for it - I have a set number of hours which I work, and I do what I can in that time. If this means that some jobs don't get finished until tomorrow or the next day, then so be it.

 

I'm anything but a jobsworth, but I do also have a life outside of work and I need time to devote to that, too.

[projector1]

been working on this since i started, (well since i managed to grasp how big the network was compared to my last place! 50 users & 50 pcs)

all data is recorded in excel sheets.

 

I have just started on the DRP. Justa a case of having the time!

[localzuk]

I've started documenting things here whenever I have a few minutes. Ideally I would have some time set aside each week for admin type tasks but this is never going to happen.

 

And yes, whilst it is part of my job, so are many other things which take priority - like maintaining the network from day to day and enabling teachers to run their lessons as planned. If these other tasks take up so much time as to not allow for me to write documentation then that isn't my failure - it is the failure of the school for inadequate staffing. I will do some after hours work, but nothing as routine as documentation.

 

Not that there are currently any staffing or time issues here at the moment of course!

[kestrel1]

Wish I had the time to even think about documenting the network. What with me being the onlt one to look after the whole schools network, servers, client machines etc. etc. The list goes on.

I do to much work out of hours anyway. I may start to think about it & it may be a good idea, as my memory aint what it used to be. I think they call it old age

Maybe I can do it when I am meant to be sleeping (all of about 4 hours, five if I am lucky)

Must admit, this topic has got me actually thinking about documenting the network, if nothing else.

[webman]

@kestrel1: As they say... it's the thought that counts

[sidewinder]

My documentation is fairly good, the main document with all the domain and server info is a bit out of date but I have all switch settings, cabling information, fibre runs etc mostly documented

I would go mad if it wasnt all done, I remember a lot but I still need to refer to these things to remember how I set something up a year ago etc

 

maybe Im just lucky because there is a fairly large IT team here, but I dont have much problem finding time to do it - most days there is an hour or so where nothing much needs attending to

[Guest salan]

I have just (September) taken over this job, and although there is a list of passwords and PC serial numbers, that is it!

There was a two foot high pile of notes when I arrived, but they were all 'hand written cryptic notes' that mean nothing to anyone else.

We are having network problem at the moment (loopbacks) and no one knows just what the layout of the network is.

I have a firm comming in this week to do a network audit. So hopefully next week, I should know a bit more about what we have.

The previous guy has used scripts, ranger and then 2003 pols to set things and not all are documented (in fact the majority are not). After two months of pure fire fighting, I am now at the point where I might get a couple of hours a week where I can start trying to document things better and amalgomate all the 'notes' into a coherent Document.

Alan

[Pottsey]

Only the basics are recorded. The only time I do a full map/document is when I leave.

[enjay]

Only the basics are recorded. The only time I do a full map/document is when I leave.

What if you are off ill long-term, or (heaven forbid) get hit by a bus? The school would need adequate documentation to be able to continue working. Disaster recovery is all well and good, but you need to remember to cater for the possibility of your death/unexpected absence being the disaster.

 

I'll admit that my documentation is also nowhere near that level, but it should be.

[blackcat]

Interesting answers - time and a lack of priority seems a big factor. I guess there is no concept of installation handing a job over to maintenance as you are all the same multi-skilled people doing both jobs. When I used to maintain electronic and pre-electronic networks, maintenance wouldn't agree to accept a network from installation people unless they were fully documented. Just a different way of working !

[enjay]

I guess there is no concept of installation handing a job over to maintenance as you are all the same multi-skilled people doing both jobs.

We have documentation from the network installation people, saying which rooms they put ports in and such like, but it doesn't go as far as saying which switch they run back to, which are live, what is on them, and so on.

 

Also, no level of hand-over would document how the backups are run, how the server's disk is configured, what IPs everything else, etc, etc, etc. Also remember that this is a constantly-changing animal, so even the documentation you do have soon enough becomes outdated.