Tony -
I went to college in 1968. In those days a "digital computer" was someone who counted on their fingers. (only a small exaggeration).
My union offered the class. It was free, but it was an intensive class. It was 10 hours on a Saturday, Sunday you had off, then 4 hours a night Monday through Friday and then another 10 hours on the next Saturday. 40 hours in 8 days with a day off.
Back in 1985 I was promoted to be the Network Manager of the Irving Trust Company. Irving Trust got bought out by the Bank of NY and I was rolling. The Bank was using a program called "Dash" which was a software package originally conceived of for PC Board design. It would run on DOS 3.0 and you could put almost unlimited "icons" on a drawing.
We used it for network documentation. For example: I need to install two ringdown circuits from my network hub in Lower Manhattan to a backroom location in Utica NY. The Bank would not pay for copper to the distant end, but the Data group had a T-3 that went there. Unfortunately their equipment would only handle 4 Wire E&M circuits. No problem, I can engineer this.
The circuits originate on a couple of key sets, take station cable to an IDF, go on House cable to the MDF, go into the switch, come out of the switch as 2w ringdown lines, go back to the MDF, take station cable to a 2W loop to 4W E&M converter, go back to the MDF, take House cable to the Data Center, station cable to the T-3 Mux, come out of the Mux in Utica, take station cable to the IDF, take house cable to the switch room, station cable to the 4W E&M to 2W loop converter, back to the MDF, go into the switch, come out on station ports, back to the MDF, over on house cable to an IDF, over on station cable to some key sets.
Ta Da!
Now documenting that graphically makes it a whole lot easier to trace and troubleshoot. Especially if the picture names each and every cable and pair.
This wasn't the only bizarre circuit I had. I had lots of them that went to London, Delaware, South Dakota, the Cayman Islands, etc.
I couldn't find a software package that would do this kind of work till I found Dash. But Dash was slow and clumsy and you had to custom design all the shapes you wanted (it only came with a lot of semiconductor shapes). So I tried Autocad.
Like I said, if I could have afforded a draftsman, I would have stayed with it. But I was the draftsman AND I had another full time job or two so....
I found Visio and never looked back.
I'm out of the Bank 11 or 12 years and they're still using the Network documentation I set up (and the database I wrote for switch, station and cable info).
Sam
