Its one of those things that the entire department, from CIO to the tech support guy, know is essential. Yet often system diagrams and documentation are either outdated or non-existent. That one day when something in the network goes south, everyone is scrambling for the recent documentation and it becomes the centre of attention.

Proper network documentation is essential for IT operations. This is more true as enterprise architecture grows larger and more complex. But even for SMEs with moderate IT budgets, the IT department can put together a very detailed and flexible document. The documentation should be a reference and guide to help the company in many ways:

• Train new recruits;
• Analyse and troubleshoot networks;
• Better capacity planning;
• Audit;
• Report underutilized resources and improve efficiency of the network;
• Less downtown.

What to include

Here are some of the important aspects to keep in mind while documenting networks and systems:

1. Keep it simple and clean.
2. Use standard equipment images to depict each device in the network.
3. Label each device (Hostname, IP address, Date of Manufacture, etc.).
4. Clearly mark different network location on the diagram with location addresses and IP scheme.

Value Added

Let’s think of it from the client’s perspective. When you get in touch with you IT service provider to sort out an issue, all you need is immediate resolution. Your business is slowing down because of a system that is not working and all you care is that it be up and running ASAP.
On the IT side, if a network diagram and documentation of all configurations of the client’s equipment is available, all you need to know is what the trouble is. With all relevant information available in documentation, you will be able to troubleshoot in much less time and minimise potential losses. Sort that out, call the customer back and things are back to normal. Happy customer, satisfied you…

The value this brings to the customer is tremendous in terms of low downtime and hassle-free experience. As the IT side of the business, anytime an audit happens, having all those documents and diagrams will help deal with network compliance issues easily. And as you update and grow the documentation, it will also become a guide in finding unallocated or underused resources and help make efficient technical and business decisions.

Examples of Network and Systems Diagrams that we have prepared for our clients:

—-

How much do you value your current IT infrastructure?

Really, how critical is your IT infrastructure to your business operations? Chances are, it is essential, and few people have a problem acknowledging that. Much more have trouble admitting the value of IT documentation which, in reality, is nearly just as valuable as the infrastructure itself.

Four reasons why IT documentation is important

The all-too-common situation Commit100 sees in small enterprises: one IT consultant, and no documentation exists. True, the infrastructure is simple enough for one person to be able to keep it inside their head. But what happens when that person is suddenly gone? You are left blind in the dark with respect to your IT. You don’t know the infrastructure, systems, and most critically, the special access credentials and passwords. Even if a new IT consultant comes in, getting a clear picture of the IT situation, restoring all passwords and credentials will take time, and in an IT emergency that time is of prime value. Sadly, lack of documentation is what allows many IT consultants to hold their clients “hostage”, because nobody else knows the system. So knowledge transfer, both with respect to static infrastructure and dynamic ongoing projects, is the single most important reason to document your IT.

Medium-sized enterprises with 50 employees and more will likely have more than one IT consultant/employee. This is when documentation begins to serve another role – standardization and coordination, ensuring that the IT infrastructure is operated consistently and coherently, and the actions of one IT tech don’t conflict with others.

The third reason you want to document your IT is time efficiency. Developing an adequate IT approach or procedure takes time. If a step-by step document already exists, it only needs to be followed, with minimum time spent for thinking and figuring out the right approach.

IT documentation also allows IT itself to have a clear picture of what is going on. With tens if not hundreds of different types of programs and systems interacting in the IT environment, keeping a coherent understanding of what is going on is not always possible without supporting documentation; after all, the human attention span is limited.  

What should be documented?

Some important things you should document, and the list is by no means exhaustive:

• Network and system overview. This gives any IT-savvy individual a general overview of your IT infrastructure. This may be one or more documents, depending on the size and complexity of your infrastructure.
• Administrative credentials and passwords. Needless to say, they should be stored in a secure, preferably encrypted, location, but accessible in case of an emergency and by other IT staff.
• IT policies, reflecting the IT approach to various aspects of managing the infrastructure. This includes
  • Network and Security Policy (what networks and systems exist, for what purpose, who has access, etc),
  • Information policy (privacy, appropriate email use),
  • Internet policy (access to third-party resources like cloud platforms, what content is accessible, what content is blocked),
  • Hardware management policy (how often hardware is replaced, how old hardware is used, etc),
  • Backup and Recovery (when and how recovery is done),
  • …and many more.   
• Information system. All the software that supports business processes and how it interacts between each other.
• Hardware inventory. What hardware you have, where it is, who uses it, and if any spare devices are available if needed.
• Software and license inventory. What software you have, who uses it, and if any spare licenses are available if needed. This will prove invaluable in the case of a licensing audit.
• Project-related documentation. This is especially critical for knowledge transfer if multiple individuals successively work on the same project.

How to keep documentation updated?

First and foremost, work with your IT department or IT consultant to work out an approach to documentation. Make your position in this matter clear, and work out a policy to make sure important documentation exists and is updated, while avoiding excessive time spent on documentation.

It is best to update documentation real-time, as policies and environment change, but that is not always possible. Some documentation should in fact be updated immediately after changes are implemented, like administrative passwords. Commit100 recommends that IT policies and procedures should be revised and updated on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. This will also ensure that outdated and inaccurate documentation does not clutter up document library.

TIPS FOR DOCUMENTING IT INFRASTRUCTURE