 This may sound excessive to some, but planning where every device will connect will save you aggravation later. Having a plan like this can also let you hand off the work of connecting the devices to someone else. This step lets you work on a large chunk of the final documentation before the equipment arrives. I create a spreadsheet for every device and, sometimes, for every module in a device. It doesn't need to be anything elaborate. A simple list of the ports, the devices connected, and maybe the IP or VLAN to be configured (such as the list in Figure 35-3) suffices. Physical VLAN/Trunk/IP Device Remote Interface VLAN 10 Internet Router Reserved VLAN 777 Core-2 FWSM Failover link- VLAN 777 Core-2 FWSM Failover link-2 Figure 35-3. Sample port assignments Chapter 35: Designing Networks If you have planned your network to this level, when the equipment arrives, all you have to do is install it in the racks and cable together the devices according to the plan. IP and VLAN Spreadsheets Along with the physical planning of equipment and port allocation, you'll need to plan the IP network and VLAN layouts. I like to make pretty detailed spreadsheets of this information, just as I did for the physical devices, modules, and ports. In Figure 35-4, I've allocated my IP networks. I'm allocating a /23 network for each VLAN and reserving the /23 beyond each allocation for future expansion. Network Description 10.1.0.0 10.1.1.0 10.1.2.0 10.1.3.0 10.1.4.0 10.1.5.0 10.1.6.0 10.1.7.0 10.1.8.0 255.255.254.0 VLAN 10 Internet DMZ 10.1.9.0 10.1.10.0 reserved for expansion 10.1.11.0 reserved for expansion 10.1.12.0 255.255.254.0 VLAN 100 VLAN 100 10.1.13.0 10.1.14.0 reserved for expansion 10.1.15.0 reserved for expansion Figure 35-4. IP network layout sheet I created a spreadsheet for each IP network I'll be using and populated it with specific information regarding every device on the network. This is an excellent exercise that will force you to once again think about every device you'll be connecting. Fig- ure 35-5 shows a sample 