Software for mapping wiring networks

[PaulD]

I have tried a variety of methods to document my HA configuration and have not found anything I like yet. Tried spreadsheets, tables, simple diagrams and even some formats offered by others on this forum but none really provide the coverage and detail I would like. I am in the construction phase right now and I want to capture as much detail as I can now to assist with trouble shooting later after I forgot how some of the pieces went together or why I did someting a particular way.
A perfect solution would be software that allowed me to capture a wiring diagram of how everything is tied together along with notes or tech data about the conponents used. I have seen network diagrams created by sophisticated software that examines a computer network and builds that type of data set for you. I know that no such solution exists that would automatically examine my home but I was hoping to locate some software that provided a structure way to capture all the data (manually input) so it could then produce reports or wiring diagrams to document my system.
I know tools such as Visio and other drawing packages allow you to physically draw the diagram but that is not what I want to do. I want to feed the basic info into the software and then let it produce diagrams and tables that represent my system. Would also like to update the files if I change elements of the installation and then let the software kick out new diagrams and tables.

Anyone familiar with a potential product or solution that does this? Freeware would be good!

 

[PaulD]

Wow...not one reply or comment. Obviously I am stepping into a giant gap in how to best document a HA project.
I am currently looking at using some "process mapping" software (iGrafx FlowCharter) normally used to document business processes for analysis and display of the process flow and network. I can make it work but it will be labor intensive and a bit clumbsy for my application. I was hoping that someone knew about a better solution to create and then maintain the info for a HA installation.
If I can make this work like I want, I will post some examples on how the info is displayed.

 

[murphy]

Wow...not one reply or comment. ....

I wish I would know such a type of software.
Yes, without notes, every system ... is very soon worth nothing.
Because you need a lot of details for troubleshooting, maintaining, as for improvements.
So documentation is a must.

What I'm making: notes with a text-editor (Boxer V13) and drawings with (don't laugh!) MSpaint. BMP is a good filetype because it is universal and not lossy, even if the files are large. I'm printing the drawings with Iview (www.irfanview.com) because of the excellent scaling and prewiew. All notes are in a special directory and also printed on paper. That's all.

Yes, the free OpenOffice2.4 (soon V3) contains also an excellent drawing programm, as a writer, as spreadsheets etc. But that's too much comfort and I prefer the simple way of live. The OpenOffice package I'm using only for spreadsheets and letters to others, not for notes.

I'm not sure, if a special programm for documentaion about HA and security makes any sense. There are so different applications and such a programm must have a lot of options for one user, - and for other users, all the options are more a burden.

Sorry, my opinion.

 

[Lagerhead]

Wow...not one reply or comment. Obviously I am stepping into a giant gap in how to best document a HA project.

Not what you want to hear, but...

I use a combination of photos, Excel wire and cable lists, and a few Powerpoint drawings. I do these things only to have them somewhat "pretty" and put into digital form for backup and safekeeping. Otherwise, I probably would just retain my hand notes.

There are a few factors here that may depart from your situation --
- My installation is not large, maybe 50 cable runs, in total, so far.
- I generally follow the business axiom, "quick and crude is better than slow and elegant" (to which I add, "as long as it is truly effective").
- Best if the installation itself is largely self-documenting, so I put a good bit of effort into that. Mark and uniquely color-code all cables, etc. Diligently note the actual details during installation, etc.

 

[aehusted]

I have used Illustrator to map out wiring over top of my scanned blueprints, but that was mostly just for planning/brainstorming. I never followed through with it to make a documentation version.
It has been a while since I searched sourceforge, but that might be a good place to look for unusual software. There may be something designed for IT management of corporate networks that would be adaptable to your purpose.
If you find anything good, let the rest of us know!

 

[hucker]

Visio might be a good choice if you want something graphical. It will make pretty drawings. I have a visio drawing of my home network that looks nice. The two networks are clearly marked, all IP's are there. Visio has all kinds of images of computers, routers firewall's that you can link together nicely. I certainly did not make a 'real' diagram with every phone/security/lighting wire to every room but visio could handle that no sweat.

 

[PaulD]

Thanks all. I use Visio a lot and am familiar with its capabilities. Same for some other drawing products. The problem with them is that they are drawing products..... do not offer any automated help in linking objects along with link and object characteristics. Everything must be manually loaded, linked and positioned in the drawing by me.....and it gets real messy as the drawing gets more complicated with additions and updates.
As I noted earlier, I have a package (iGpafx FlowCharter) I am getting ready to try to apply here. I use it in other applications (business process mapping) in my work but it has some gaps also. However, it has one significant benefit....as I update it with objects and links, it has ability to reposition everything to make the documents more readable.

 

[hucker]

If you are looking for connectivity 'stuff' then what you probably want to look at is some form of schematic capture. It will be overkill in many ways since you wont need the layout, auto-routing, pad editor modules but the schematic capture part of it will allow you to identify every wire in every cable and tag it and generate net lists... again over kill, but it gives you direct control down to the wire and enables you to verify connectivity in your drawings.

Unfortunately I've only used pretty expensive programs like Orcad and Protel so I don't have a reference to a cheaper/free program.

 

[wuench]

Thanks all. I use Visio a lot and am familiar with its capabilities. Same for some other drawing products. The problem with them is that they are drawing products..... do not offer any automated help in linking objects along with link and object characteristics. Everything must be manually loaded, linked and positioned in the drawing by me.....and it gets real messy as the drawing gets more complicated with additions and updates.
As I noted earlier, I have a package (iGpafx FlowCharter) I am getting ready to try to apply here. I use it in other applications (business process mapping) in my work but it has some gaps also. However, it has one significant benefit....as I update it with objects and links, it has ability to reposition everything to make the documents more readable.

Visio can do all that and more. You can assign custom properties to objects to store information, you can embed OLE objects like spreadsheets etc, and you can even code VB to automate drawings. I created a drawing that checks a custom property for a DNS name and based on that collects a device's Model/SN, etc via SNMP and then creates a bubble over the object with that information. You can even link all your objects to a database. It just depends on how much effort you want to put into it. But it is a lot more than "just a drawing product".

One easy thing you could do without coding. You could create a set of objects, let's say network. So you have routers, cables, etc. Each router has a name, serial number, model as custom properties. Each cable has Device1, Port1, Device2, Port2 to represent the endpoints. Place them on the drawing, fill in the custom properties data. Then go to tools..reports and create a new report with the properties you want (Name, SN, Model) and embed that report as a worksheet object on the page, do the same for your cables. Now as you add objects it will dynamically update your device list worksheet and your cable schedule worksheet. You could do the same for rack drawings of equipment, etc.

Unfortunately you aren't going to get an attractive drawing out of one that draws stuff automatically for you. It's a lot more art than science. They might capture all the objects and throw them on a page with lines between them, but it usually ends up as a big mess that you have to go in and fix. I can almost guarantee you that the examples you have seen were all manually "tweaked" by someone.

 

[Squintz]

Visio is what I use. I actually got my copy through a work program for $20.

 

[huggy59]

I'm in IT, and even here we use products that are basically frameworks that need a lot (a LOT) of customizing to work in your own environment. Even with systems and protocol standards, these frameworks still need discovery processes that search and interogate network nodes and collect and store data in meaningful ways to link things together. In the HA world, these standards are STILL evolving and are STILL distinct based on the protocol, manufacturer and/or product line, and highly custom in final use/installatons, so I doubt you will find anything that will minimize your work to a meaningful degree today.

Visio can have a lot more data info stuffed into its original basic drawing shell so that it becomes a pretty decent representation of a system like your HA installation, but I agree, it is a bit difficult to use in that way. Even though I have a pretty good network management system in place that discovers and manages the systems and notifies me when things go bad, I still use spreadsheets and documents and Visio drawings to manage other aspects of my IT systems at work. And it is more work to keep them all updated as changes are made. I think you'll find the same in the HA arena - as I have - it is going to be largely manual work to get an organization system up and maintain it.

My suggestion is to choose products at the heart of your installation that allow exporting of data in some fashion - even text file lists are better than nothing when you get a bunch of devices and events programmed up. Backups are important, too! Every installation is different, so document things and take pictures and set up some kind of organization, even if it's just a set of folders containing data files on a CD. Then move forward and refine it.