Abstract

Introduction

Microsoft® Visio® Professional 2002 and Microsoft Visio Enterprise Network Tools give you the flexibility to create network diagrams as simple or as complex as your network requires. Whether you're a one-office business or your network spans the world, the network diagramming tools in these products give you the flexibility to create accurate network diagrams in a fraction of the time it takes to do them manually. You can create Layer 3 network topology diagrams that document all the devices on your network, their connectivity, and their relationships. Create frame relay diagrams, or diagrams that show only your switched devices. If your company has several backbone networks, you can create diagrams for each geographical region. You can also create Layer 2 data link diagrams that document the interconnections of switches, routers, and other devices. Or, create diagrams that document all the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) devices on your network.

Create these network diagrams quickly and easily with AutoDiscovery and Layout in Visio Enterprise Network Tools. This tool includes the Discovery Wizard. Use it to discover all the Layer 2, Layer 3, and WMI devices on your network and store the information in a database, with which you can create network diagrams and reports to complete your network documentation.

Then, create network diagrams from the discovered devices in your database using the AutoDiscovery and Layout template. It includes styles and page settings for network diagrams, and stencils with ready-to-use network shapes. Or map your discovered devices to the more than 22,000 manufacturer-specific network equipment shapes from the online shape library on Microsoft Visio Network Center. And, finally, generate professional, sharp-looking network reports with one of the 20 ready-to-use reports included with the solution.

Note   In addition to the AutoDiscovery and Layout template, there are several other templates you can use to create network diagrams after you've discovered your network devices. You can download these templates from the Visio Network Center. However, this white paper assumes you're using the AutoDiscovery and Layout template.

Step 1: Discover the devices in your network

The first step in documenting your network with AutoDiscovery and Layout is discovering your network using the Discovery Wizard. The AutoDiscovery technology searches your network and creates a Microsoft SQL database of the Layer 2, Layer 3, and WMI devices it finds. It also gathers information about each device, such as the network name, IP address, operating system, manufacturer, SNMP community string, and interface information, and includes it all in the database. You can customize the process to include only specific networks or devices, or to discover every device on as many networks as you like.

The Discovery Wizard discovers your network in a fraction of the time it takes to manually track the devices on your network. However, no two networks are alike, so it's difficult to predict how long it will take to discover yours. It can range from a few minutes for a small network to several hours for a large one. Here are some factors that can help you optimize the process:

Consider the number of devices the Discovery Wizard needs to look for. Keep in mind that the more options you select (such as types of devices and the number of networks to be discovered), the longer it will take to complete the discovery.

Evaluate your time-out and retry settings. You can specify how long the discovery engine should wait before timing out if a device doesn't respond to a Ping or an SNMP request, and how many times it should repeat the request. For example, if you have many devices that don't respond to SNMP requests, you can consider decreasing the SNMP time-out field.

Consider your link speeds. For example, if you have a remote office connected by a WAN link, the packet exchange will be slower. To save time, you might want to exclude the devices on remote subnets from the network you're discovering. Alternatively, you might want to increase the number of SNMP retries and time-outs.

To discover your network

Start Microsoft Visio. In the Choose Drawing Type window, under Category, click Network, and then click AutoDiscovery and Layout.

The AutoDiscovery and Layout template, and the AutoDiscovery menu and the AutoDiscovery and Layout toolbar appear. The menu and toolbar are available only when you open this template or a diagram created using this template.

If Microsoft Visio is already running, on the File menu, point to New, point to Network, and then click AutoDiscovery and Layout.

On the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Discovery, and then click Discovery Wizard. Or, on the AutoDiscovery and Layout toolbar, click Discovery Wizard .

Follow the instructions on the wizard pages to specify the network to search, the types of devices to discover and exclude, and the type of search. For example, you can specify whether the AutoDiscovery technology uses SNMP or Ping, or searches ARP caches to discover devices. You can specify where the Discovery Wizard looks for network devices by selecting to discover the entire enterprise network, specific networks or IP addresses, or a range of IP addresses.

Discovery Wizard - Discovery Type page

After you click Finish on the last Discovery Wizard page, the Discover Monitor opens to show you the progress of your network discovery.

Discovery Monitor - ADL page

When the Discovery Wizard is finished, the message AutoDiscovery is Finished appears and the AutoDiscovery database is created. If Microsoft Visio discovers devices for which manufacturer-specific network equipment shapes are available, you'll be asked if you'd like to download these shapes from Microsoft Visio Network Center. If you don't download these shapes or if a manufacturer-specific shape isn't available for a discovered object, a default shape is substituted.

For more information about manufacturer-specific network equipment shapes, see Find Network Shapes at Microsoft Visio Network Center.

Step 2: View and manage the AutoDiscovery database

The Database Viewer shows a tree view of the AutoDiscovery database, in much the same way that information appears in Microsoft Windows Explorer. The Database Viewer displays device classes: routers, hubs, probes, switches, bridges, servers, printers, workstations, and networks. Double-click a device class to see its contents.

Using the Database Viewer, you can drag network devices onto the drawing page, delete and undelete items from the database, rename objects in the database, change interface speeds, change device classes, and change the CIR (Committed Information Rate) of frame relay circuits.

You can also create and use multiple AutoDiscovery databases, and create different network diagrams for each unrelated database. Multiple databases are useful for keeping specific network information in separate databases.

For example, a field service engineer who is diagramming several customers' networks could keep their information separate and, on customer visits, open only the appropriate database. Or for very large networks, you could use the Discovery Wizard to discover a specific part of a network and create one database, and then discover another part of the network and create a different database. Creating multiple databases allows you to diagram specific portions of the network easily without having to wade through all the network data. As a result, you can discover, diagram, and update portions of a large network efficiently.

When working with multiple databases, keep the following in mind:

You can have multiple diagrams open that use different databases.

You cannot use a newly created database with an existing diagram. You must create a new diagram.

If you have multiple databases and want to create a new diagram, you must first select the database to use with the new diagram. After a diagram has been created with a database, you cannot change databases for that diagram.

To view the devices in the AutoDiscovery database

On the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Database Viewer, and then click Open/Close. Or click the Database Viewer button on the AutoDiscovery and Layout toolbar.

To create a new database

On the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Configuration, and then click Manage Databases. Or click the Manage Databases button on the AutoDiscovery and Layout toolbar.

In the Manage Database dialog box, click Create.

In the Create Database dialog box, do the following:

In the Name field, type the name of the new database. The database name must start with a character, not a number, and cannot contain any spaces.

In the Description field, type a brief description of the database.

In the Location field, type the database location.

Note   You must specify a local drive on which to create the database. You cannot create an AutoDiscovery database on a shared network drive.

Click OK, and then click Close to close the Manage Database dialog box.

To run discovery and populate the database, open AutoDiscovery and Layout again to create a new diagram and then, on the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Discovery, and then click Discovery Wizard. Choose the new database in the Select Database dialog box.

You can then use the new database to create a new network diagram.

Step 3: Create your network diagram

Each network diagram is based on an AutoDiscovery database. You use menu commands to add shapes to your diagram, or drag devices from the Database Viewer onto the drawing page. Microsoft Visio automatically assigns a combination of generic and manufacturer-specific network equipment shapes to discovered devices in your network. Each manufacturer-specific shape also contains discovered information, such as the device name, address, make, and speed. (You can download these shapes from the Find Network Shapes page at Microsoft Visio Network Center.)

Before you begin adding shapes to your network diagram, it's a good idea to specify the following annotation, shape mapping, and page settings:

Annotation settings for your diagram Annotating devices or interfaces can make your diagram easier to read, and your network that much easier to understand. You can set annotation settings for the entire diagram or for an individual device. To set annotations settings for the diagram, on the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Configuration, and then click Annotation. Or click the Annotation button on the AutoDiscovey and Layout toolbar.

Shape mapping for your diagram You can change the shapes that Microsoft Visio uses to represent a device or network object in your diagrams. AutoDiscovery and Layout provides a default set of shapes, and you can customize them to use the specific shapes you want. You can change the shape for an entire group, such as all routers, Ethernet networks, or printers, or you can assign a shape to a single device without affecting any other device of the same type. To map shapes, on the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Configuration and then click Map Shapes. Or click the Map Shapes button on the AutoDiscovery and Layout toolbar.

Note   The shape mapping you specify will apply to all diagrams you create on the computer on which the mapping was done. If you open a diagram on a different computer, your shape custom mapping settings will not be available. However, you can specify the same shape mapping on that computer.

Page size and layout for your diagram When you diagram your network, you can create a large diagram suitable for a wall chart, for example a size D or E in the ANSI Engineering or ANSI Architectural categories. Or you can create smaller diagrams and arrange them in a logical hierarchy. To specify the page size for your network diagram, on the File menu, click Page Setup, and then click the Page Size tab.

Tip   If you decide to create a diagram hierarchy, you can use hyperlinks to link your diagrams together. For example, your top-level page can contain a backbone network and its associated routers. Each router on the diagram can be hyperlinked to a secondary page that illustrates that router and its interfaces. The router on the secondary page is automatically linked back to the top-level page for easy navigation. For more information about organizing your network diagrams into multi-page, hyperlinked diagrams, use these words to search Visio Help: hyperlinked diagrams. To add a hyperlinked page to a network diagram, right-click a network or device, and then click Create Hyperlinked Page.

To document your Layer 3 network topology including frame relay circuits

On the AutoDiscovery and Layout toolbar, click Add Networks. In the Add Networks dialog box, select a network, and then click OK.

A shape representing the network is automatically added to the diagram.

If you're documenting your Layer 3 network topology, you usually begin by adding the backbone network to your diagram. If you're documenting your frame relay circuits, you might begin with a frame relay router. To add a frame relay router, on the AutoDiscovery and Layout toolbar, click Add Devices.

Add devices to your network diagram by dragging devices from the Database Viewer.

Connect network devices such as routers to the network by right-clicking the network in the diagram, and then clicking Connect Devices on the shortcut menu. In the Connect Devices dialog box, select the devices that you want to place on the diagram.

In the Connect Devices dialog box, check Attach interface IP address to links to display the IP address of links between two devices on the diagram.

Use lists to add details to your networks by right-clicking a network, and then clicking List Device Counters.

If you're adding frame relay circuits to your diagram, do any of the following:

To create circuits for frame relays, right-click a router, and then click Create Circuits.

To edit frame relay circuits, right-click a router, and then click Edit Circuits.

To display all of the frame relay circuits for a router, right-click a router, and then click List DLCIs.

These options are only available if you discovered the router with frame relay information.

To view information discovered about a device, such as asset equipment, maintenance, and network properties, right-click a shape on the drawing page or a device in the Database Viewer, and then click Properties.

Share your network diagram by printing it, e-mailing it, or saving it as a Web page.

For step-by-step instructions on several different ways to share your network diagrams with others, see Step 6: Share Your Network Diagrams and Reports in this white paper.

To document your Layer 2 network topology

On the AutoDiscovery and Layout toolbar, click Add Devices. In the Add Devices dialog box, select one or more devices, and then click OK.

Draw data link connections between a device and connected network devices by right-clicking the device in the diagram, and then clicking Draw Connectivity.

To view information about a link, right-click the link, and then click Link Information.

To show VLAN connectivity on a switch, right-click a supported switch, click VLAN and Spanning Tree, select the VLAN to include in the diagram, and then click OK.

Blue connectors are drawn between devices carrying the selected VLAN, and all other lines are dimmed.

To show Spanning Tree blocking between switches or bridges, right-click a supported switch, click VLAN and Spanning Tree, select the VLAN, select Show spanning tree, and then click OK.

If a spanning tree blocks a port, a red connector and slash appear next to the blocked port.

To store information with shapes, such as asset equipment, maintenance, and network properties, to create reports, right-click a shape, and then click Properties.

Share your network diagram by printing it, e-mailing it, or saving it as a Web page.

For step-by-step instructions on several different ways to share your network diagrams with others, see Step 6: Share Your Network Diagrams and Reports in this white paper.

Tip   You might want to exchange your network diagrams with others so they can view and annotate them. When you exchange diagrams, make sure you also include the corresponding AutoDiscovery database for each diagram. To create a backup copy of an AutoDiscovery database, first make sure all the diagrams that use the database you want to back up are closed. Then, open the AutoDiscovery and Layout template. On the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Configuration, and then click Manage Databases. In the Manage Databases dialog box, click Back Up. When other team members receive the diagram and database, they'll need to retrieve the database to view it. To do this, on the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Configuration, and then click Manage Databases. In the Manage Databases dialog box, click Retrieve.

Step 4: Generate a network report

You can turn network data into presentation-quality documentation with ready-to-use reports. Choose from among 20 tabular and textual reports to document the status of your discovered network. For example, quickly inventory IP addresses, summarize frame relay data, and track changes to your network topology. Reports are generated as Visio drawing files so you can easily publish them to the Web or e-mail them to other members of your deployment team.

To report on a single device or multiple devices in your diagram

To generate a report for multiple devices or network shapes in your diagram, on the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Network Reporting, and then click Report Wizard.

Network Reporting Wizard page

To generate a report on a network shape in your diagram, right-click the shape, and then click Generate Report.

Generate Report dialog box

To create and print a report binder

To view the Report Binder window, on the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Network Reporting, and then click Report Binders.

To create a binder, right-click the Report Binder heading in the tree view, and then click Create Report Binder.

To print a report binder, right-click the report binder that you want to print, and then click Print.

The contents of the report binder, including a title page and table of contents, print with your printer's default settings.

Step 5: Update your network diagram

After you make changes to your network, you can view and incorporate those changes into your diagram using Guided Update. First, run the Discovery Wizard again to update your network database, and then use Guided Update to display a list of the components on your network that have been added, modified, or deleted since the last time you discovered the network. The Guided Update window shows the following changes:

Device Changes New or deleted interfaces

Network Changes Devices added to or deleted from the network

Connectivity Changes New or deleted data link connections

New Objects New network objects

You can do one of the following with the changes:

Apply them to your diagram immediately.

Save them to a file to apply to your diagram at another time. Do this if you want to save the changes, but don't want to add them to the diagram at this time. The next time you run Guided Update, these changes will be overwritten with the new changes in the Guided Update window.

Load a previously saved file of network changes.

To update your network diagram

If the Database Viewer window is open, close the window.

On the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Guided Update and then click Run/Exit. Or, click the Guided Update button on the AutoDiscovery and Layout toolbar.

In the Guided Update window, expand the type of change you want to see: Device Changes, Network Changes, Connectivity Changes, or New Objects.

Right-click the device you want more information about and then click Details.

A dialog box appears with the changes relevant to the selected device. For example, if you right-click a new device under a specific network in the Network Changes list and then click Details, the Details window shows the device(s) added to the network. The actions available for the selected entry guide you in what you can do next.

To apply a change, select the button for the action you want to perform and click Enter. The appropriate dialog box appears, in which you can update the diagram with the change. If there are multiple changes, you can select as many changes as you want to implement.

The action may remain on the diagram if you perform only some of the available changes. For example, if several devices were added to a network and you added only some of them to the diagram, the action remains on the page because there are more devices you can add to the page. To remove the action from the drawing, deselect the action in the Guided Update window.

If you do not want to incorporate all the changes at one time, you can save the list and open it later and apply more changes. If you do not save the list, it will be overwritten the next time you select Guided Update, regardless of whether you run the Discovery Wizard again.

To save a list of network changes

On the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Guided Update, and then click Save As.

To open a list of network changes

On the AutoDiscovery menu, point to Guided Update, click Open, and then, in the Open dialog box, navigate to the file.

Note   You can also change where the Guided Update window appears by right-clicking the window and then clicking AutoHide, Float Window, or Anchor Window.

Step 6: Share your network diagrams and reports

Your audiences might include executive managers, project teams, your IT organization, and users at all levels. Whereas some of these groups might be comfortable with downloading documents from a Web site, hard copy or e-mail might suit others.

Save your network diagrams and reports as web pages

Your IT team has 24-hour access to your network diagrams when you save them as Web pages and post them to your company intranet. With Microsoft Visio, publishing your network diagrams to the Web or an intranet site is as easy as saving a file. Microsoft Visio automatically adds the HTML tags necessary to display diagrams in a Web browser, so all you have to do is make sure your diagrams look the way you want.

Note   When you save a diagram as HTML files, your diagram is converted to a graphic format of your choice and an HTML page is generated for you. The resulting graphic is approximately the same size as the paper you selected.

To save a diagram as a Web page

Open the diagram you want to save as a Web page, and then on the File menu, click Save as Web Page.

To specify Web publishing settings, such as the pages you want to publish, formatting options, and target monitor resolution, in the Save As dialog box, click Publish.

To specify a title for the Web page, in the Save As dialog box, click Change Title. In the Set Page Title dialog box, type the title, and then click OK.

Type a name for the Web page, and then click Save.

E-mail your network diagrams for comments

You can e-mail your network diagrams to other IT team members to solicit suggestions, gather comments, or have team members annotate your diagram.

To e-mail a diagram

Copy the Visio file you want to send.

Start Microsoft Outlook, start an e-mail message, click to place an insertion point where you want to insert the file, and then on the Edit menu, click Paste.

To e-mail a diagram with a routing slip

Display the diagram you want to send. On the File menu, point to Send To, and then click Routing Recipient.

In the Routing Slip dialog box, click Address to open your address book, select the individuals or groups to which you want to route your diagram, and then click OK.

If you want to route the diagram to people in a specific order, in the Routing Slip dialog box, select a person's name, and then click the up or down arrow in the Move section to change that person's position in the list.

In the Routing Slip dialog box, under Route To Recipients, specify whether to route the diagram to one person at a time or to everyone at once.

If you choose to route the diagram to one person at a time, the first person on the list receives the diagram, routes the diagram to the next person, and so on. If you route the diagram to a designated group (called a group alias), all group members will receive the diagram at the same time.

In the Routing Slip dialog box, check Track status to receive an update as each person on the list passes the diagram to the next person, or check Return when done if you'd rather not see the diagram again until everyone has seen it.

In the Routing Slip dialog box, under Message Text, type the text you want in the e-mail message, and then click Add Slip.

On the File menu, point to Send To, and then click Next Routing Recipient to send the diagram to the first person on the routing list.

Note   Each person who receives the diagram must open the diagram and complete step 7 to route the diagram to the next person on the list. Or, upon closing the diagram, click Yes when asked if you want to route the diagram to the next person on the list.

Summary

With Microsoft Visio Professional 2002 and Microsoft Visio Enterprise Network Tools you can discover, diagram, and report on your network in a fraction of the time it takes to do so manually. Then you can share your network documentation with others by printing, e-mailing, or publishing it to your organization's intranet site.

For more information

For more information about Microsoft Visio products, visit the Microsoft Visio Web site.