Siebel Order Management Guide Addendum for Communications > Setting Up Network Ordering >

Process of Defining Compound Products for a Network

A network is a compound product or a loose group of products that a common key ties together. The following component types make up the compound product structure:

• Network. The root network product in which you define values that apply across the entire network.
• Network Node. A point or a location in a network.
• Network Connection. A circuit connecting two points in a network.

Each of these network product components is a self-contained product that can be a customizable product, so users can configure each component of the network separately using Oracle's Siebel Configurator. The compound product structure facilitates validation across all the individual products (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 Business Services for Rule Checkers. Define the business services to call to validate the compound product.
3. Defining Maximum and Minimum Quantities for Network Components. Optionally, define maximum and minimum quantities that components require.
4. Defining Error Messages for Compound Product Rules. Create error messages that the simple expression rules use. You create simple expression rules 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 errors occur.