Defining Network Topology

The place to start when diagramming a network is with the physical topology. Both Visio Standard 2007 and Visio Professional 2007 include shapes for linear (straight) bus, star, star-wired (token ring), dual ring (FDDI), and linear bus Ethernet topologies. The topology shapes all work in a similar manner. You drop them on the drawing page first. Then you add the nodes you want to display and drag them into approximate position around the topology shape. To connect them, drag a yellow control handle from the topology shape and glue it to a blue connection point on another shape, as Figure 14-4 shows. The handle turns red when it’s glued.

Topology shapes are located on the Network And Peripherals stencil. Note that with Visio 2007’s new auto-connect feature you can also connect to neighboring shapes (or a duplicate of the selected shape on the stencil) by selecting a shape and then clicking on the blue triangle that points in the direction of the shape to which you wish to connect, as shown in Figure 14-5. You can also drag one shape over another, wait for the auto-connect triangle to flash dark blue, and then release the shape to automatically connect two shapes.

Attaching Nodes and Devices

Network shapes are designed to connect and stay connected as you drag them around the drawing page. They stay connected because glue keeps them that way. It’s possible (and quite common) to drag connecting lines without gluing them. Usually, they look fine on the page and print as expected. However, it doesn’t take any longer to glue shapes, and it certainly makes them easier to rearrange later. For example, when you move a workstation shape that’s glued to a topology shape, the connecting line moves as well—and stays connected. Figure 14-6 shows how to glue shapes together.

What if you want to attach more than eight nodes to a topology shape? All the topology shapes include eight control handles. The quick and dirty way to get more connections is to drag a second topology shape on top of the first one, and then use the second shape to connect more nodes. You should do this only after you have connected the first topology shape to its devices. A downside of this method is that your diagram now includes two shapes that in reality represent only one bus or ring, and if you generate reports based on the diagram, you could get inaccurate results.

Inside Out: Adding connection points You can add connection points to shapes and then draw lines between the points. To add a connection point, select the Connection Point tool on the Standard toolbar, hold down the Ctrl key, and then click to add a point. It helps to zoom in before you do this.

Drawing Network Connections

Line tool

Pencil tool

There are a couple of different ways to represent connections such as the coaxial or fiber-optic cable between devices in a network. You can always draw them using the Line tool or Pencil tool on the Drawing toolbar, which is a quick way to represent network connections. To draw connections, click the tool you want on the Standard toolbar, and then draw from a connection point on one shape to a connection point on another. Be aware, however, that if you connect shapes this way, you won’t be able to represent the connections in any reports that you create for the diagram, unless you add custom properties to the lines.

Visio 2007 also includes several shapes that you can use to connect network nodes, as Figure 14-7 shows. The shapes are designed to provide different routing behaviors and other attributes that you don’t get by drawing connections with the Line tool.

Here are some of your connecting options when designing a network:

• Use the Dynamic Connector This shape is useful if you’re showing a multitude of devices and want Visio 2007 to lay them out automatically for you. It appears on several stencils, including the Basic Flowchart Shapes and Object Relational stencils. This shape has the same effect as using the Connector tool. After you connect shapes with the Dynamic Connector, use the Re-Layout Shapes command on the Shape menu for automatic layout and routing. The best advice for using the Re-Layout Shapes command is to remember that the results can be undone by pressing Ctrl+Z. Then you can try different settings to see which provides the best results.

  For details, see the section titled “Laying Out Shapes Automatically” in Chapter 3, “Connecting Shapes.”

  
  

  Note

  The Dynamic Connector shape does not include shape data, so if you’re creating reports based on your diagram’s contents, connections created with this tool won’t be included.

  
  

• Use the Connector tool In a large network, it might be quickest to start with the nodes, and then connect them with the Connector tool on the Standard toolbar. You can also select the Connector tool and then drag shapes from stencils onto the drawing page. The shapes will be added with connections between them. In Visio 2007, you can also use the auto-connect features described earlier in the chapter to connect shapes.

• Use connector shapes Other connector shapes that are available on the Connectors stencil (Line Connector and Line-Curve Connector) work with the Re-Layout Shapes command.

• Use the Comm-Link shape The Comm-Link shape uses the common lightning bolt notation for indicating a link to a satellite, microwave tower, and the Internet. It includes custom properties for tracking manufacturer, asset number, and more.

  

If you’re using the Connector tool, the Dynamic Connector shape, or one of the line connector shapes to draw lines between network shapes, you might want to review the information about connections and glue in Chapter 3, “Connecting Shapes.” This is particularly good advice if you’re hoping to take advantage of the Re-Layout Shapes command, which is powerful but can have unpredictable results.

Using Layers to Represent Different Networks

When you start a diagram with the Basic Network Diagram template, Visio 2007 automatically sets up a drawing page.

As you drag shapes from the network stencils onto the page, they are added to the Connector layer. You can create new layers. Layers, however, are stored with a drawing page, not with a shape. If you insert a new page, it does not include layers, but you can add them. Confusing? Perhaps, but the bottom line is that layers are useful for hiding and showing parts of a network.

To see the layers in your network diagram, choose View, Layer Properties. The Layer Properties dialog box lists the layers that have been created for the current page, as Figure 14-8 shows.

The sections that follow summarize key information for working with layers in network diagrams.

Assigning a Network Shape to a Layer

To take advantage of the organizational possibilities that layers provide, shapes in a diagram must be assigned to a layer. Most network shapes are already assigned to the Connector layer. These assignments are maintained when you select a new layer assignment. That is, a shape can be assigned to more than one layer.

Follow these steps to assign a shape to a layer:

1.	Select a shape, and then choose Format, Layer.
2.	In the On Layer(s) box, select the layer to which you want to assign the shape. If you want to create a new layer, click New, type the layer name, and then click OK. Visio 2007 assigns the shape to the layer you selected.
3.	Click OK.

Viewing Shapes by Layer

You can view a list of the diagram’s layers and the shapes assigned to each in the Drawing Explorer window. Follow these steps to view a list of the diagram’s layers.

1.	Choose View, Drawing Explorer Window.
2.	Double-click the Foreground Pages folder to see all the pages in your diagram.
3.	Double-click the page you’re currently working on (or Page-1 if you haven’t added or renamed any pages).
4.	Double-click the Layers folder.

If nothing happens, your drawing contains no layers. Otherwise, Visio 2007 lists all the layers on the page, as Figure 14-9 shows. If you expand a layer, you can see all the shapes assigned to it.

Numbering the Shapes in a Network Diagram

You can keep track of equipment in a network diagram by assigning numbers to shapes. Visio 2007 can automatically number shapes, as Figure 14-10 shows, and provide you with options for the style of the number. You can also specify numbering options before you add shapes to the drawing page. That way, shapes will be numbered automatically as you add them.

The Number Shapes command gives you several numbering options. You can do any of the following:

• Number all the shapes in the network diagram sequentially.

• Select a set of shapes, and then have Visio 2007 number them sequentially.

• Display a numbering tool on the screen, which lets you add and number shapes in your network diagram as you work.

• Specify a numbering style that automatically numbers each new shape you add to the diagram.

Visio 2007 numbers the shapes in the order you specify. If you don’t specify an order, shapes are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. You can choose a different order, however, including back to front, which is based on the shape’s stacking order (which is often determined by the order in which you dropped them on the page, and refers to the order of the shapes relative to each other as in a stack), or the order in which you select them.

To number shapes, follow these steps:

1.	Select the shapes you want to number, or make sure nothing is selected if you want to number all the shapes on the page.
2.	Choose Tools, Add-Ons, Visio Extras, Number Shapes to display the Number Shapes dialog box, as Figure 14-11 shows. Figure 14-11. With the Number Shapes command, you can number devices sequentially as you add them or after you add them.
3.	Choose the shape numbering options you want: Under Operation, choose whether to number shapes manually or automatically. The option you choose here determines which options are available on the Advanced tab. Under Number Assigned, choose the numbering style you want to use. Use the Preview box to verify that the numbers look the way you want. If you want the numbering sequence to include shapes you add to the page later, select the Continue Numbering Shapes As Dropped On Page check box.
4.	Click the Advanced tab, and then set the following options: Under Place Number, indicate where the numbers should be placed with respect to the shape’s existing text. Under Auto Numbering Sequence, select the order in which shapes are to be numbered. This option isn’t available when you number shapes manually. Under Apply To Options, indicate whether to number shapes according to their layer assignment. Note For a description of each option, click the Help button in the Number Shapes dialog box.
5.	Click OK to number the shapes. Note To number shapes on other pages of a multiple-page network diagram, display the page, and then repeat the procedure. Shape numbering can be applied to only one page at a time.

The Network And Peripherals stencil contains a nifty shape called a Legend, which keeps track of every shape that you have placed on the page and even keeps an inventory of how many of the shapes the page contains.