Writing Good Network Documentation?

_Hellfire_ asks: "As the Senior Technician at a small mobile computing service I have just recently wrapped up a rather large networking job. The network includes a Linux Primary Domain Controller, Cisco router, port redirection for VNC, tape backup solution etc. - all in all fairly complex and not the sort of thing that someone not already familiar could easily take over. I therefore want to write good, comprehensive documentation for other technicians in case I'm not specifically available. How have other Slashdotters tackled this issue? Where do you start? How do you make sure that everything is covered, particularly when you've spent the last three weeks looking at the same set of equipment?"

Comments

Overview it

[Naikrovek]

I overview the entire network, then overview the seperate systems, then go into intricate detail about everything i've done and why i've done it.

I do semi-detailed overviews to start because when I've needed documentation in the past, its been an emergency, and i've mostly needed it to know exactly what router X is connected to, basically how it is configured, and what it is used for, not the intricacies of the firmware pasted blatantly up front without any mention of what the router does.

do the documentation in HTML and hyperlink EVERYTHING that could possibly lead to a question or a footnote or any supplementary text. this is what hyperlinks are for but far too often i've seen network documentation handed to me as 5th generation photocopies that are near impossible to read. take your documentation to anyone that is covered by an NDA (if need be) and have them proofread your documentation. have him ask questions that he would ask if that network were handed over to him, and on his first day needed to find out why the WAN was down, but the wan router reported it as up.

then burn your documents on CD, and keep it close to your heart and any contractor that works for you.

that's what i do, but i'm paranoid. i've been the victim of poor or non-existant network documentation too many times to not be paranoid about it anymore.