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Process of Defining Network Compound Products

A network is defined as a compound product, which is a loose group of products tied together by a common key. Three types of components make up the compound product structure:

• Network. This is the product where one defines values that apply across the entire network. It is the root network product
• Network Node. A point or a location within a network.
• Network Connection. A circuit connecting two points within a network.

Each of these Network Product Components is a self-contained product that can be modeled as a customizable product, so users can configure each component of the network individually using Siebel Configurator. The Compound product structure allows you to validate across all these individual products; this is called cross-element validation.

To define a network as products, perform the following tasks:

1. Defining Products for the Network. Define the network root product, the network node product, and the network connection product
2. Defining Rule Checker Business Services. Define the business services which should be invoked to validate the compound product
3. Defining Maximum and Minimum Quantities for Network Components. Optionally, define maximum and minimum quantities required for components.
4. Defining Error Messages for Compound Product Rules. Create error messages to be used by the simple expression rules created in the next step.
5. Defining Simple Expression Rules for Compound Products. Create simple expression rules that validate the entire network and display messages if they are errors.