IOS Documentation [7:41577]
I have recently been asked to document the various IOS images used within our network to be used as a baseline. Has anyone had experience in putting together this kind of document? Many thanks in advance Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7i=41577t=41577 -- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: IOS Documentation [7:41577]
I have done this. In a large network CiscoWorks 2000 Resource Manager Essentials is invaluable. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Tim Champion Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 5:40 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: IOS Documentation [7:41577] I have recently been asked to document the various IOS images used within our network to be used as a baseline. Has anyone had experience in putting together this kind of document? Many thanks in advance Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7i=41600t=41577 -- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: IOS Documentation [7:41577]
Tim Champion wrote: I have recently been asked to document the various IOS images used within our network to be used as a baseline. Has anyone had experience in putting together this kind of document? Good question. I hope someone takes the time to answer. Documentation is one of the most important, and most neglected, aspects of the networking profession. Establishing a baseline is a good start. It includes not only traffic statistics but also configurations, cabling, logical and physical topologies, and anything else that might make the job of maintaining and troubleshooting a network an enjoyable challenge instead of the headache it can be without documentation. I have a potential customer who refuses to acknowledge the need for documentation. He's got an AVVID network that works just fine without having to hire a consultant to draw a bunch of diagrams as he puts it. The guy who installed it told him it was zero maintenance, and nothing I've said thus far can convince him otherwise. So I'm preparing a slideshow about network documentation and baselining. I'd appreciate any suggestions, horror stories, success stories, etc. My philosophy is: Plan for failure. I don't mean that in a pessimistic way. It's just that, given enough time, all networks fail in one way or another. Some events are disasters, others only an inconvenience that can be worked around and coped with by non-technical users. But in the long run, something serious will happen, It's our job to be prepared for that and to reduce the negative impact as much as possible. How do we convince clients to invest in baselining, contingency plans and the like? Does anyone have a good book on this? other than the usual ones, like the CIT cert exam preps and Semester 8 from the CNAP curriculum? Is there any specific book or chapter or website that gives a template for baselining, network documentation, contingency planning? -- TT Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7i=41604t=41577 -- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: IOS Documentation [7:41577]
You can do a snmpwalk on the router to grab that info. -Neil On Tue, 16 Apr 2002, Tom Scott wrote: Tim Champion wrote: I have recently been asked to document the various IOS images used within our network to be used as a baseline. Has anyone had experience in putting together this kind of document? Good question. I hope someone takes the time to answer. Documentation is one of the most important, and most neglected, aspects of the networking profession. Establishing a baseline is a good start. It includes not only traffic statistics but also configurations, cabling, logical and physical topologies, and anything else that might make the job of maintaining and troubleshooting a network an enjoyable challenge instead of the headache it can be without documentation. I have a potential customer who refuses to acknowledge the need for documentation. He's got an AVVID network that works just fine without having to hire a consultant to draw a bunch of diagrams as he puts it. The guy who installed it told him it was zero maintenance, and nothing I've said thus far can convince him otherwise. So I'm preparing a slideshow about network documentation and baselining. I'd appreciate any suggestions, horror stories, success stories, etc. My philosophy is: Plan for failure. I don't mean that in a pessimistic way. It's just that, given enough time, all networks fail in one way or another. Some events are disasters, others only an inconvenience that can be worked around and coped with by non-technical users. But in the long run, something serious will happen, It's our job to be prepared for that and to reduce the negative impact as much as possible. How do we convince clients to invest in baselining, contingency plans and the like? Does anyone have a good book on this? other than the usual ones, like the CIT cert exam preps and Semester 8 from the CNAP curriculum? Is there any specific book or chapter or website that gives a template for baselining, network documentation, contingency planning? -- TT Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7i=41612t=41577 -- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: IOS Documentation [7:41577]
My selling point on documentation is that it's like carrying car insurance. Most of the time you don't really need it, but when you do need it you spend a lot less because you have it. Of course, the same people who don't want their network documented probably wouldn't carry automotive insurance if it weren't required by law, so you're back to square one. -Original Message- From: Tom Scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 10:26 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: IOS Documentation [7:41577] Tim Champion wrote: I have recently been asked to document the various IOS images used within our network to be used as a baseline. Has anyone had experience in putting together this kind of document? Good question. I hope someone takes the time to answer. Documentation is one of the most important, and most neglected, aspects of the networking profession. Establishing a baseline is a good start. It includes not only traffic statistics but also configurations, cabling, logical and physical topologies, and anything else that might make the job of maintaining and troubleshooting a network an enjoyable challenge instead of the headache it can be without documentation. I have a potential customer who refuses to acknowledge the need for documentation. He's got an AVVID network that works just fine without having to hire a consultant to draw a bunch of diagrams as he puts it. The guy who installed it told him it was zero maintenance, and nothing I've said thus far can convince him otherwise. So I'm preparing a slideshow about network documentation and baselining. I'd appreciate any suggestions, horror stories, success stories, etc. My philosophy is: Plan for failure. I don't mean that in a pessimistic way. It's just that, given enough time, all networks fail in one way or another. Some events are disasters, others only an inconvenience that can be worked around and coped with by non-technical users. But in the long run, something serious will happen, It's our job to be prepared for that and to reduce the negative impact as much as possible. How do we convince clients to invest in baselining, contingency plans and the like? Does anyone have a good book on this? other than the usual ones, like the CIT cert exam preps and Semester 8 from the CNAP curriculum? Is there any specific book or chapter or website that gives a template for baselining, network documentation, contingency planning? -- TT Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7i=41618t=41577 -- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: IOS Documentation [7:41577]
At 11:18 AM 4/16/02, Neil Moore wrote: You can do a snmpwalk on the router to grab that info. -Neil That's a good idea. Regarding baselining and network documentation, I cover it in Top-Down Network Design. It think it is of utmost importance. A lot of real engineers are sick of hearing about it though. They think they can gut out any network downtime with hard work and perseverance. ;-) It's a personality thing. Some people don't even balance their checkbooks. When talking to these real engineers, try to avoid all the buzz words they've heard before. Make sure not to sound like you're coming from the ivory tower or that you learned your style from Catbert. Keep the discussion focused on the practical consequences of not having documentation and baselines. There is also a new book out from Cisco Press called Network Consultants Handbook. I haven't read it, but it looks good and seems to cover what you want. To quote Cisco Press, it is a complete resource for assessing, auditing, analyzing, and evaluating any network environment. You can download templates for documentation that the author developed from Cisco Press's Web site. Priscilla On Tue, 16 Apr 2002, Tom Scott wrote: Tim Champion wrote: I have recently been asked to document the various IOS images used within our network to be used as a baseline. Has anyone had experience in putting together this kind of document? Good question. I hope someone takes the time to answer. Documentation is one of the most important, and most neglected, aspects of the networking profession. Establishing a baseline is a good start. It includes not only traffic statistics but also configurations, cabling, logical and physical topologies, and anything else that might make the job of maintaining and troubleshooting a network an enjoyable challenge instead of the headache it can be without documentation. I have a potential customer who refuses to acknowledge the need for documentation. He's got an AVVID network that works just fine without having to hire a consultant to draw a bunch of diagrams as he puts it. The guy who installed it told him it was zero maintenance, and nothing I've said thus far can convince him otherwise. So I'm preparing a slideshow about network documentation and baselining. I'd appreciate any suggestions, horror stories, success stories, etc. My philosophy is: Plan for failure. I don't mean that in a pessimistic way. It's just that, given enough time, all networks fail in one way or another. Some events are disasters, others only an inconvenience that can be worked around and coped with by non-technical users. But in the long run, something serious will happen, It's our job to be prepared for that and to reduce the negative impact as much as possible. How do we convince clients to invest in baselining, contingency plans and the like? Does anyone have a good book on this? other than the usual ones, like the CIT cert exam preps and Semester 8 from the CNAP curriculum? Is there any specific book or chapter or website that gives a template for baselining, network documentation, contingency planning? -- TT Priscilla Oppenheimer http://www.priscilla.com Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7i=41634t=41577 -- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
