Priscilla,
I completely agree with John Neiberger's post. We have used NetViz as
our documentation package for the last 6 years and are very happy with it.
The program lets us graphically represent the networks, plus it allows the
addition of embedded data within the diagrams. There are also hooks for Data
Bases or spread sheets to automatically fill selected fields in the
drawings. I have been trying to work with Tcl/Tk and Scotty to automate
changes in the drawings. Long term I want it set up so I can do SNMP queries
for specific OID information, populate a table with the responses and hook
into NetViz to automate documentation for a majority of the moves, adds,
changes and re-configurations.
The documents can remain in NetViz format or be exported as Web pages,
Visio drawings, Power Point etc.
Probably the biggest problem we have is the number of people that can
perform a change to the network at any given time. NetViz can be run over
the network to allow easy access to all the technicians and engineers, so
any individual making a change can automatically update the documentation at
the same time (this can be more of a policy issue for an organization than a
technical one).
There is an auto-discovery feature but I wouldn't recommend it for
larger networks. Seems like the auto discover on all the products we have
used tries to lump 2000 nodes into a single page etc.
I haven't worked with Visio that much since the mid 90's. But I would
imagine they have many of the same features and possibly add some additional
ones. There is another product I saw at Interop a couple of years ago that
looked promising, but I haven't really followed it's progress. I still have
an eval copy at work somewhere. I'll try to send the name to you tomorrow.
Shawn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Priscilla Oppenheimer"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2001 6:07 AM
Subject: network map for campus-size network [7:9199]
> Hello,
>
> What product and processes would you recommend for documenting a campus
> network. I'm looking for advice on products, tools, and best practices for
> keeping a network map reasonably up-to-date. By campus network I mean a
> large set of LANs with maybe one or two WANs.
>
> I saw the info on NetCool, but it seems like overkill -- maybe more for
> large enterprises and service providers and more of an umbrella network
> management system rather than just solving the network map problem.
>
> I realize a lot of people let their network maps get out of date! But any
> advice from people who don't do that? ;-)
>
> Thanks
>
> Priscilla
>
> ________________________
>
> Priscilla Oppenheimer
> http://www.priscilla.com
Message Posted at:
http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=9288&t=9199
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