These blade enclosures also commonly require 10 Gb uplinks due to the high number of virtual servers contained within. Tips for Network Diagrams Engineers seem to like to make their documents SO complicated that even they have trouble reading them. Here are some tips to help you produce documentation that will get you noticed: Chapter 35: Designing Networks Keep it simple Take a look at any of the drawings in this book. Each is designed to convey a single idea. The more you try to include in a drawing, the harder it will be to understand. Separate physical and logical ideas Physical connectivity is very important, but try to keep it separate from VLANs, routing, and other logical subjects. I like to make two drawings: one for the physical ports and another with the VLANs and IP addresses. With the use of SVIs, this becomes even more important. Don't cross lines Every time you cross a line in a drawing, the drawing gets harder to read. Sometimes it's unavoidable, but try to keep crossed lines to a minimum. Orient your straight lines If you put together a drawing in which the straight lines are slightly off the hori- zontal or vertical, it will look like the etchings of a serial killer. When you take the time to orient all the lines, the difference is dramatic. Similarly, lines drawn at an angle should all be at the same angle where possible. Delineate when you can If there are two locations in your drawing, separate them somehow. Put each one in a rectangle (many people rounded rectangles). Using colors or even shades of gray can help as well. Line up your icons If you have a row of icons in your drawing, take the time to line them all up along a single axis. Naming Conventions for Devices Hostnames should be constructed SO that anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of the network can determine the devices' functions. However, there seems to be a tendency among IT people to give their devices the most incomprehensible names possible. For example, here's a real hostname from my time in the field (I've changed the com