Review
When approaching a network for the purpose of documenting it, doing a quick review of what exists in terms of documentation and basic layout will be helpful in planning how best to break it down into manageable tasks. In order to do that there.
Review of Current Documents
One of the first orders of business when approaching a new undocumented network is going to be reviewing what documentation does exist. Depending on the size and type of organization there could be a great deal of documentation or none at all. Larger institutions are of course more likely to have at least some documentation, but it is just as likely for that information to be out of date and incomplete. Smaller organizations usually have networks that consist of only a few components which makes it easier to handle without a great deal of information written down. Neither of these is ideal, but having at least some documentation is preferable.
In smaller organizations this will likely be a shorter process. Even if there is some documentation, it is simply a less complicated network and therefore will not have as much. Larger organizations, however, it will be a much more complicated endeavor. Unless these documents are very well done already, it would be wise to use the information that you find as a reference material for developing your own documentation instead of using them as a jumping off point. There is no guarantee that they are accurate, and it may cause certain assumptions to be made that create issues later on. Once the existing documentation has been gathered and reviewed the process of baseline documentation can begin. The varying sizes and complexities of any network will change how complicated this will be. Nevertheless there are a number of things to look for in any size organization.
Maps and Notes
It’s unlikely that a small or even medium organization is going to have detailed maps of their network. However, it is possible. It could be something as simple as a hand drawn diagram or it could be a map of the building in a program like Visio with the different components labeled on it, though this is even less likely. It is also possible that the previous administrator had a notebook or file that he kept notes in about the network. While some of it may not be useful, even a little bit of information can be helpful.
Previous Administrator
One option that may be overlooked is to contact the previous administrator directly to get information about the network’s configuration and any other helpful information that they may have. Depending on the reasons they left the organization this may not even be possible. If the circumstances were legal in nature then it would be a good idea to check with the organization’s legal representation before attempting any contact with the last administrator. If it is possible to contact them, and they are willing to help, one suggestion may be to set up an hour or so to talk with them in person if possible. Also consider trying to setup a regular line of communication with them for “professional networking”.
Review of Basic Setup
Baseline documentation is essentially a “current-state” of the network. What components exist? What functions are handled internally? How are the different basic and even advanced services handled? Answering these questions will give a rudimentary understanding of what exists now and how the network functions. Later on suggested practices will be looked at for how to change some things to make it easier to document and manage the network.
Network Environment (Domain or Workgroup)
One of the best places to start in the baseline is to determine what type of network environment is being used. This will not only give an idea of how complex a network is but also how much time may be involved in this process and what other areas will need to be looked at. In nearly all networks that have more than ten users it is likely that it is going to be setup as a domain with at least one server controlling certain aspects of the network. Organizations with less than ten computers could still be using a client to client based method where every user is an administrator of his or her machine and files are shared based on necessity. Regardless of which is in place, the following information will be important to know going forward with some of that information being, starting with any servers that are involved. In this stage of the process the more detailed information, such as the hardware specs, are not necessary, only the more basic information is important right now.
Generalized “Server”
Often even networks that are using a workgroup will have a “server” of some kind where shared files and backups are kept. In this instance the needed information would be all the functions it serves, when it was purchased, and what accounts exist on it.
Domain Controller
For networks that are setup in a client-server environment there will be a domain controller that will probably serve several different purposes (this is assuming a Microsoft Windows based network). Size will be the determining factor here. The larger the numbers of users the more likely it will be that the following functions are performed by more than one server. An important distinction here is that while there may be different “servers” from a functional standpoint on the network but they may be only one physical machine. There is an increasing trend for larger environments to virtualize many of their servers to cut down on power consumption and heat generation.
DNS Server
What DNS is being used by the computers on this network? For the smaller, client to client networks it is almost assuredly being automatically configured by passage from the modem to the router and finally to the computers themselves unless there has been a manual configuration on each individual machine or a special configuration in the router. For those on a domain the domain controller is often also configured to be a DNS server in conjunction with its duties concerning active directory. The importance in knowing how this is configured is mostly in the area of troubleshooting. Should something fail and users are unable to resolve internet addresses it will make the problem much easier to solve if this piece of the puzzle is already known.
Network Infrastructure
This is not meant to be a full audit of the equipment that is in use, that will come later, but a quick survey of the equipment that is in place is advisable. Take note of the brands of the equipment especially if there is a particular one that’s prevalent. This would also be a good time to see if anyone knows what the logins are so that you can adjust the audit to include time for either figuring out the passwords or resetting the devices so that the passwords are known.
Services
There are some services that don’t fall neatly into the other categories of a network but do often fall under the purview of the network administrator due to their technological nature. Others are critical systems that are provided by third parties which at least some contact will be made in the case of problems.
Web Presence
An online presence is ubiquitous today. Odds are whatever the organizations size there will be at least some form of website. In a larger organization this might not be part of the IT department’s duties but if it is knowing who the web host is, what the login information is, and how to contact the host if needed should be on the short list of things to have. Medium sized organizations may host this themselves in which case the information regarding that will show up as part of the auditing process.
E-mail System
This may show up on the list of servers, but if email isn’t handled internally then the specifics of what service is being used is important information to have. Most larger organizations are going to have an internal service such as Exchange that is coupled with Active Directory. Even external services like the web hosting service will have a listing of the different email addresses. A small organization may use a free service like Gmail, yahoo mail, or windows live mail. In those cases making a list of the different emails that are in use would be a good idea.
Internet Service Provider
One of the most essential services to an organization regardless of size is going to be their internet service provider. It is, however, a service that is often taken for granted and not given much thought until something goes wrong. In order to keep short any outages that are not solely the provider’s problem, all the information that would be needed in order to make a call to customer service needs to be in order. This list would include which service provider(s), phone number(s) for customer service, and any account numbers or passphrases.
Cell Phone Provider
This is another service that either might not exist or may not fall under the IT department’s duties. If it does then having information about who the service provider is, online account login information, phone numbers for customer service, and any identification information that would be needed for such a call should be noted.