Physical diagrams

For several reasons, it can be very useful to know what equipment physically looks like, where it fits in the cabinet, how it is wired up, etc. Diagrams of this type of physical diagrams.

The type of physical diagram I brief from year to year may be a bit different, but these diagrams are there to provide a consistent role.

With a physical network diagram, I want to see how devices are interconnected so that I can assemble the network correctly. If I lose communications between two switches, I need to know which interfaces to check. If I'm wiring up a server, which port goes to which switch/port. When you work in GNS3 you are creating a simple physical diagram. If you add in device identifiers, port numbers, media type, and some clarifying notes, you properly meet the requirement for a physical network diagram.

A modern server could have seven or more physical connections. What does each connection do? What color cable should I use? Which media type? What VLAN and port should that connection go into?

How I arrange equipment in the cabinet is critical, both functionally and for safety.

These are the kinds of things that I want to address with a physical diagram.

For my assignments, use any simple drawing tool, PowerPoint is fine. As part of your license entitlement in the University, you may download a full copy of Microsoft Visio. This is one of the standard packages used throughout the industry. For my assignments, you don’t need to use Visio. I recommend you download and install it when you finish the taught modules. Find a basic online course which covers an introduction and the terminology and locate templates for the kinds of devices you are interested in. You will find this of use if you ever do this work in industry.