Name: Automating Visio Network Diagramming
Start: 2023-06-22T12:00:00Z
End: 2023-06-22T12:00:46.000Z
Location: BrightTALK
Rating: 4.9

How to implement improved practices and systems for enterprise environments covering data centres, networks, services etc.

There are many ways to document fibre infrastructure, with a lot of manual effort and processes needed before the documentation is trusted. Our first webinar in the 2025 "How to Document" series looks as efficient methods and techniques to plan, build and operate fibre infrastructure where often there is a mix of legacy and new equipment. If understanding fibre connectivity needs site surveys, cables to be pulled and tugged, extra spreadsheets to be created for each task - then maybe there is a documentation problem! We'll look at issues and methods that make it simpler and easier to maintain fibre systems documentation so it can be trusted.

How to Document Infrastructure - Part 1 Fibre Networks

MS Visio is a very capable diagramming tool, though it’s capability can be extended with programming and data linking to improve user and team productivity. In the last of the 2024 webinar series we welcome Jan Rickenbach, Applications Manager at Motan Inc. who will describe how they developed a sales proposal system using Excel/Visio diagramming for complex high volume plastics manufacturing equipment. 
SMS will also show other internal developments that can be incorporated into diagramming. Redacting sensitive data, simple layer management, radio button selection of options, automated connecting of shapes - just a few examples of what will be covered.

Visio Tips & Tricks - Part 7 Extending Visio With Programming and Special Shapes

Creating and maintaining IT focused Visio diagrams is made a lot easier using our free AssetGen Visio utilities and special connectors. This webinar will show you how to use our Visio add-in and data driven  methods to reduce manual effort and improve consistency. Our presenter will cover examples of the AssetGen Visio extensions to show how days and hours of engineering time can be reduced to seconds. If you are an existing Visio user you can use some of the methods immediately!

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 6 Using Our Visio Utilities and Connectors

Capturing cabling and connectivity requirements, creating outline and detailed design proposals, costing options and approaches all take up valuable engineering time. So why not make better use of existing toolsets like Excel and Visio? In our webinar we'll show how simply and quickly you can create schematics and bills of materials for complex cabling infrastructure. See how special Visio shapes in the AssetGen Cabling Architect V2 (ACA) enable faster design creation and refresh with changes in requirements.

Designing and Costing Cabling Infrastructure Using Excel/Visio Integration. Introducing AssetGen Cabling Architect V2

Par 5 of our series covers the use of Visio for planning and managing multi-building infrastructure - where ICT technologies are replacing older technologies such as security, AV, building management, parking systems and space management. Engineering drawings and BIM systems based on CAD are being replaced by more flexible and convenient MS Visio based schematics for IT and shared infrastructure, often with database or datalinked diagramming. In our webinar we look at the use of data driven diagramming to make diagram creation and updating simpler and faster for transportation, healthcare, education, manufacturing as well as commercial buildings.

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 5 Building, Campus and Site Infrastructure

Widescale adoption of IP based technologies in manufacturing systems as well as expansion of IoT systems is increasing the complexity of manufacturing systems and systems understanding. Engineering drawings based on CAD are being overtaken by MS Visio based schematics for IT and OT shared infrastructure. In our webinar we look at the use of data driven diagramming to make diagram creation and updating simpler and faster, providing physical, logical and system diagrams for planning, design and operational management.

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 4 Industrial and IoT Diagramming

Maintaining and updating infrastructure documentation still seems to be a problem for many organisations. In many cases, it is easier to recapture knowledge by site surveys and major audits, then update existing data and diagrams. But this adds delay to projects, adds workload to stressed engineers and costs more if you also pay contractors or 3rd parties for unnecessary discovery exercises. It could be different. Less work, quicker decisions and faster response to requirement changes. Auto-discovery systems may help gather data, but the date needs to be updated into the various information sets and schematics used by IT teams for projects as well as operational support. 
In our webinar we'll show how consolidated data reduces the update effort (compared to 100's of Excel files) and can be used to automatically produce capacity, risk, inventory, connectivity lists, etc. As well as Visio schematics covering floor plans, networks, racks, servers, cabling, applications, services, data flows etc.  Scaling to handle multi-site environments, as well as 1000s of information sets is only possible with the automation techniques we'll cover.

Automated Refreshing of Infrastructure Documentation

Part 3 of our Visio webinar series covers the mapping of hosts, applications and service for high level design and change impact analysis. Areas such as mapping physical to virtual, containers, databases, data flows as well as application environments will be covered. Using data driven Visio automation methods the presenters will show how complex IT systems can be simplified and presented consistently with less effort by IT teams and contractors.

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 3 Application / Services Diagramming

Infrastructure documentation is often inconsistent, patchy and untrusted - so unnecessary site surveys, audits and workshops are carried out to compensate. This webinar will show how project tasks can be mapped to determine where trusted information sets directly support faster delivery of projects and easier interfacing between teams. Its common sense that good, accurate documentation enables project teams to assess, plan, implement and deliver changes to IT infrastructure efficiently and predictably.

Mapping IT Projects & Tasks To Information Sets

Is spaghetti cabling a result of design, implementation, materials, change management, lack of controls - or all of them? It’s obvious that unplanned, task only and project focused approaches inevitably result in problems later on. If only there was a standard for common sense covering IT infrastructure like TIA TR-60. Join the leaders of TIA TR-60 Infrastructure Life Cycle Management framework to see and understand good ways to sustain good performance and uptime, as well as reducing the cost and risks of change. Warning, some examples may be distressing for IT professionals.

Stress Free Infrastructure and 10 Pitfalls to Avoid

Visio is used extensively in data centre design and management as it enables data driven diagramming of floor plans, racks, cabling, power, networks and systems. Our presenters will show different methods and techniques of applying Visio in combination with Excel and database listings. The end result is less time spent creating and updating multiple sets of diagrams for project and operational information needs. or... you could do it manually in weeks instead of minutes using automation features.

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 2 Data Centres

Our guest presenter is Terry Rice of Epigen who is considered to be one of the leading experts in AI development, and  has been working with Nvidia for 10 years developing the next generation of conversational AI. The webinar will cover the different types of AI and capabilities, along with the current state of AI and common platforms. Terry and Jerry Bowman (TR-60 Chair) will discuss the different uses of AI in managing technology life cycles and the impact on the TR-60 standards framework.

TIA TR-60: The Role of AI In Managing Technology Life Cycles

Many organisations would like more complete and accurate IT systems documentation, preferably with less effort. There are better ways than creating a multitude of isolated spreadsheets and diagrams that become impossible to maintain. Our webinar will cover techniques to reduce workload and improve consistency for documenting IT infrastructure technologies such as networks, servers, applications, data centres, cabling, etc. The larger the infrastructure the greater the benefits of the methods that we’ll cover. The solutions could be as simple as adopting standard naming conventions, linking Visio diagrams to Excel, or maybe integrating data sources to remove duplication.

How to Document IT

With increasing use of cloud and the associated data centers needed, governments and enterprises are impacting IT to reduce energy usage and improve sustainability. In this webinar we'll be looking at current environmental issues that impact life cycle processes, with disposal and reuse being included as part of governance and project requirements.

Please note that this webinar does not qualify for BICSI CECs.

TIA TR-60.TSB Infrastructure Life Cycle Management And Environmental Issues

How Visio can be used efficiently and flexibly to create and maintain different types of network diagrams for physical, logical and cloud infrastructures

Visio Tips and Tricks - Part 1 Network Diagramming

The final webinar of our series on Planning and Managing Cabling Infrastructure looks at the management reporting and life cycle issues that cover existing and new cabling infrastructure. Understanding and reporting capacity, decommissioning, upgrading, billing, evolving control processes and changes in contractors. The  management issues that need to be addressed to keep costs under control and meet business connectivity needs.

Planning and Managing Cabling Infrastructure - Part 4 Managing capacity

Sourcing products, services and people from external providers is well established within the ICT industry, to make best use of internal resources as well as access skills and capabilities from specialists. In our webinar we'll look at the issues this creates - positive and negative for infrastructure life cycle management (ILCM). Key suppliers may cancel product ranges, cease to provide managed services, not follow contract conditions, fail to meet SLAs as part of normal life. On the other hand, suppliers have specialist skills, a wider geographic reach and resources that can’t be replicated in house. So how can ILCM help enterprises manage supply chain and logistics risks, while still taking advantage of innovative new technologies and approaches in the market place.

TIA TR-60.TSB Supply Channel and Logistics Impact On Life Cycle Management

In the third webinar on cable infrastructure we'll look at connecting up the IT and other systems to the cabling infrastructure and ongoing change management. Covering administration, change processes, troubleshooting and producing data and power diagrams to support risk management and monitoring systems.

Planning and Managing Cabling Infrastructure - Part 3 Connecting The IT Systems

Diagrams help with design and understanding of network topologies, but there are so many network types and information needs. Representing complex infrastructure is made simpler and faster using MS Visio with the automation techniques we’ll cover in the webinar. The convergence of IoT, security, signage and BMS with ICT results in many parallel “networks” on a mix of physical and virtual infrastructure – expanding the numbers of network diagrams required. This webinar focuses on reducing effort and improving quality of project and operational network topology diagrams - complementing discovery, monitoring and workflow toolsets. We will cover LAN, VLAN, SDN, SAN, cloud, copper/fiber/power, environments, data flows, resilience, addressing, etc.

Automating Visio Network Diagramming

Network Architecture

network diagram

Visio

network solution

VLAN

topology

Cloud

data flows

Firewalls

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Network Infrastructure

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Automating Visio Network Diagramming

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