Help with Network connectivity Design

[kubby]

Hi Guys,

I am pretty new to visio and need your help in creating one of the diagrams where I have to show some network connectivity.

Please check the attachment. I have tried to show the connection in very simple way.

I know this is not the right (or rather impressive way) of creating a visio.

Can you please suggest a way to make it more "Impressive"?

Thanks in advance
kubby

[aledlund]

The first question is, "What are you attempting to illustrate?" Are you showing a logical view (where path summarization using a single connector might be acceptable), a physical view (where vendor shapes might be more appropriate), or a dataflow diagram. We sometimes use the term "spaghetti cables" in a derogatory manner, so if I wanted to show how bad it really is I would include a photograph of the cables in the diagram. Your drawing has mixed both functional shapes and generic box shapes so the picture isn't consistent in how you are applying technology.
al

[aledlund]

apologies, I meant to also include this
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/results.aspx?qu=visio+network
al

[kubby]

Hey Al,

Thanks for helping on this.

Vendor shapes are not at all important. I showed them as these are the systems which will be installed and implemented.

Not sure what you mean by Single connector but yes Logical view is something I am after.

Main thing that I wanna show here is the Network connectivity. The netapp box shows in the PIC is currently sitting on network A. We will add an additional NIC to it and connect it to the Network B as well.

Also one of the main things is to show the "Sphegetti" cabling between the Netapp Box and the Network B core switch. With ""Sphegetti" cabling, I mean unorganized cable.
We are doing this as Network B is only available on specific Cabinet Rows in the Data Center and the only way to connect Netapp Box to Network B is running unorganized cables to get Network B connectivity.

The DC where this solution would be implemented allows to run unorganized cabling.

I will go throught the link.

Please let me know if you need more information and thanks again for all your help.

BTW: one question apart from this topic- Should the visio drawing only consist of Functional Shapes or Generic shapes? Is mixing them together considered a bad practice? just tryin to learn...

Kubby

[aledlund]

Kubby,
My personal preference is that if I am going to show a rack, put the necessary components in it and use them consistently on the page. In your drawing that would be either two or three racks depending where the switch is. You can then comment the racks as either in network a or b.

If I'm using functional shapes, I don't include racks. I would then put two clouds on the page with the switch between them to show the different networks.

I suspect there is a cable bundle going from the blades to a switch, fibre (copper) to a second switch, and then cable bundles to nas box. Did you forget a switch? Do you want to identify fibre vs copper?

If I'm the cable guy I prefer the term 'structured cabling' vs. spaghetti, because I probably paid a lot of money for the components to keep them neat.

al

[kubby]

Hey Al,

Thanks again for the reply.

Can you please explain (or show me) what you mean by saying "two clouds on the page with the switch between"? Which network does this switch belong to? Just to be clear I don't want to show this switch as the pipe between 2 networks.

Adding the NIC on Netapp storage box will give us the capability to connect it to Network B.

We are talking copper connection here. Also we are not concerned how many switch sit between the Netapp Box and blades. The important thing is that both the Networks are represented in the diagram.

Also is their a special way we show the spagehetti cabling in diagrams?

I know that 'structure cabling' is the best call in DC's but in my senario, running the spaghetti is the only way to connect the Netapp box to Network B. Organized cabling is not an option in this scenario.

Have a look at the diagram (look sh!ty). I can't simple figure out:

1. How to show the spaghetti cabling?
2. Showing the Netapp box part of both the Networks.

Hope I am clear. Thanks again.

Kubby

[vojo]

well....first off

Regardless of visio or drawings, you cant have a port in two networks.....there is always a router or bridge or gateway between 2 network domains
(if you mean VLANs, then people will show them by different colored lines to a given port......one trick is use a fat line for physicals...say black....and 3 thin lines on top for VLAN X, Y,Z...say red, blue, green)
(if you are trying to highlight FCOE vs EN....same sort of approach as VLANs is used....if you really want to delineate that....cisco, brocade, Qlogic just calls the links converged and  uses 1 line)
If you want to delineate the "storage domain" from the 'blade domain", then the drawing is fine.....but its a physical/logical/organizational paradigm....not a network paradigm

Second...you really dont want to use squiggly lines for cables....graphically, it makes the drawing cluttered and messy.....aka capallini with some pesto sauce   ;-)
stick with right angled lines....or if isometric, use some of those connectors.

You might want to go to www.ratemydiagram.com.....many examples of how people present this kind of info.

[kubby]

Al, I think I have not been to explain myself properly. Apologies for that.

I am aware that a single port cant be a part of 2 network.

The way we are putting netapp storage on 2 different networks is by having to different NIC's for that.

However I know my last diagram shows single port with 2 network configuration. I know thats a wrong representation of what I am trying to achieve. Also nothing to do with VLAN over here. Its completely 2 different networks. Network A is 1Gb and Network B is 10Gb.

Also when you say "stick with right angled lines....or if isometric, use some of those connectors".. can you please show me what is it exactly.

Check out the new attachment and let me know what you think about this one.

Al, I really appreciate your help on this.

Kubby

[vojo]

I built up a bunch of stuff for IBM BC.....foundation off of Junes stuff

Here is an example

[crack]

I built up a bunch of stuff for IBM BC.....foundation off of Junes stuff

Here is an example

We had to create a model of a Network physical size -> 658 nodes -> linear fibre distance-> 80 000 km -> bandwidth 1E15 km bits /sec  .. we created a Visio model with two seperate views 1/ geopgraphic  (map orientated ) 2/ physical connectivity. We then were able to have GPS info in the shapes which, on command, would link to a google earth plot to show the extent of the network with a photographic backdrop.. we then created code to download remotely the configuration of each router /node within the network and colour trace each logical path in the Visio environments 1 map view 2 connectivity view..
we then were able to auto generate circuit diagrams, on the fly, of each service as they traversed the network. vsd file size 13 Mb Mdb, file size 33Mb