Written by: Daniel Haurey on 12/31/21

IT Documentation - Visio

Embarking on some IT documentation?  Not sure what IT documentation you need to record?  Perhaps we can help.

Computer networks are some of the most complex systems deployed within your organization. That complexity, coupled with notoriously poor documentation can lead to unacceptable levels of downtime, poorly performing applications, easily compromised security and unplanned expenses. Our Assurance Managed IT Services Onboarding Process seeks to quickly identify gaps in the documentation, performance, and supportability of systems. The process is quite intensive, taking a minimum of 3 days for our smallest clients and up to 2 weeks or more for larger environments.  This is one of the reasons most managed IT services firms do such a poor job of it.

Based on our experience, here is a list of items you should have in your IT documentation.

A:  SITE DETAILS:

  1. Address & Access Control
  2. Parking/Transportation info
  3. Site Liaison(s)
  4. Supplemental Cooling
  5. Power & Environmental
  6. Wiring/Data Closet Photos
  7. Floorplan / Office Layout
  8. End-User Contact Details
  9. Building Management Contacts
  10. Identification of temp/water sensors
  11. Age of backup batteries
  12. Equipment space constraints
  13. Building Entrance/DMARC identification
  14. UPS Protection Alerting

B:  APPLICATIONS:

  1. Revenue generating apps
  2. Line of business apps
  3. Secondary apps
  4. Hosted applications
  5. IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, etc.
  6. Privileged Credentials
  7. Email/Collab Audit
  8. Network/App Dependencies
  9. Licensing
  10. Per-app RPO/RTO
  11. Application Logging
  12. Version Assessment
  13. Unlicensed apps
  14. Vital App Health Alerting
  15. Support Agreements
  16. Deprecated Software
  17. Malware Protection
  18. Print Management
  19. Network Detective Scan
  20. Scanning/Imaging
  21. Anti-Spam/Phishing

 

C:  NETWORKING:

  1. Wiring Diagram(s)
  2. Block Diagram(s)
  3. Rack Diagram(s)
  4. Internet/WAN Providers
  5. Routing/Firewall Equipment
  6. Load Balancer Details
  7. Site Connectivity / VPN
  8. Equipment Aging
  9. Remote Access
  10. Cabling Assessment
  11. VoIP and Port Provisioning
  12. Content Filtering
  13. Station-Side Outlet Config
  14. Cloud Managed Devices
  15. Support Agreement Check
  16. Static IP Allocations
  17. Expired Firewall Rule Check
  18. Wireless Controller(s)
  19. Basic Site Survey / CCI Check
  20. SNMP Deployment
  21. SNTP Configuration
  22. DNS/DHCP Assessment
  23. IP Subnet Allocation
  24. Use of NAC/802.1x
  25. Circuit ID’s
  26. Device Login Security
  27. Spares/Recovery Options
  28. QOS/Traffic Shaping
  29. DNS Protection Measures
  30. Physical Security
  31. Network Appliances
  32. Cloud Integration (vNET/S2S/C2S/vFW)
  33. Device Inventory Report
  34. Critical Port Identification
  35. Redundancy Options
  36. Service Dependencies
  37. Syslog Deployment
  38. Configuration Backups
  39. Network Map / Discovery Validation
  40. Core/Edge Overview
  41. Version Assessment
  42. VLAN Architecture
  43. GeoIP Filtering
  44. Protected Supply Power
  45. Multi-Party Management
  46. DOS Attack Prevention
  47. Video/Security Integration
  48. ISP Speed Check
  49. Registrar/DNS Details

D:  SERVERS & STORAGE:

  1. AD Architecture / Minimum Protections (2 AD hosts)
  2. Group Policy Collection
  3. Hypervisor Assessment
  4. Backup Assessment
  5. Recovery Test / RTO Validation
  6. Login Script Review
  7. Unrestricted User/PC Check
  8. SMTP Checks
  9. Time Synchronization Check
  10. DFS Health Inspection
  11. Site Object Validation (Sites/Subnets/GC’s)
  12. General Drive Mappings
  13. Server Print Management
  14. Terminal Services Review
  15. Farm / Cluster Node Review
  16. Equipment Aging
  17. HCL Validation
  18. FSMO Roles / AD Schema
  19. Cloud Sync Tools (AAD)
  20. Licensing Check
  21. Storage/iSCSI/RAID Check
  22. RAID Management & Alerting
  23. Deprecated OS Check
  24. Malware Deployment and Exclusion Check
  25. Domain Security Policy
  26. Driver/Patch Validation
  27. Log Review
  28. Firmware Check

E:  DESKTOPS:

  1. Key Personnel Review
  2. Agent Deployment
  3. Log Review
  4. Malware Inspection
  5. Patch / Driver Review
  6. Equipment Aging
  7. Desktop Imaging Tasks
  8. Local Applications
  9. Domain/Workgroup Assessment
  10. Deprecated OS Check
  11. Print Management
  12. Local Security
  13. Local Plug-In’s
  14. Folder Redirection / Profile Management
  15. License Validation (Windows, Office, etc.)
  16. Security / Open Port Scan
  17. Failed Login Attempts
  18. Remote Control Policy

F:  OTHER:

  1. Single Source of Identity
  2. Strong Security (2FA)
  3. Self Service Password Change Availability
  4. Single-Sign-On (Azure, Okta, etc.)
  5. Security Awareness Training
  6. SRA Discussion
  7. Mobile Device Policies
  8. Email Protection (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
  9. Governance & Compliance
  10. Device Isolation for Wireless or PCI-DSS
  11. IoT Readiness (if applicable)
  12. POS terminals (if applicable)
  13. Disaster Recovery
  14. Outdated Mobile Device Cleanup
  15. Partner Cloud Authorization
  16. Warehouse automation (if applicable – scanners, timeclocks, etc.)

An IT documentation project is no trivial task.  Need help?  Contact us.  Need large, complex Wi-Fi network design in Colorado?  Check out our sister company, SimpleFly!



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