A physical device is a collection of hardware resources that have a common function in the network. Physical devices are the counterpart of logical devices. They are aggregations of hardware, which can include other physical devices, equipment, physical ports, and physical connectors. In UIM, you can map a physical device to its corresponding logical device. You can also map the ports and connectors in a physical device to the device interfaces in a logical device.
You create Physical Device specifications in the same manner as you create other types of specifications. See "Creating New Specifications" for more information.
When working with physical devices, see the following topics:
In Design Studio, you can include Physical Port and Physical Connector specifications in the Related Specifications tab of a Physical Device specification. When you create the physical device in UIM, instances of the ports and connectors are created automatically. The minimum quantity that you set governs the number of ports and connectors that are automatically added. The maximum quantity limits the number of ports and connectors that can be added. The minimum and maximum values are typically the same for ports or connectors of a physical device. See "Defining Specification Relationships" for instructions about adding related specifications.
Note:
When you include a physical port or physical connector in a Physical Device specification, you should set the minimum and maximum quantities to the same value. Ports and connectors are fixed parts of a physical device.Working with Logical Device Specifications
Use the Physical Device Specification editor to model collections of hardware resources that have a common function in the network.
When working with the Physical Device Specification editor, see the following topics:
Use the Related Specifications tab to define and review specification relationships. Only relationships with the entity types listed in this tab are meaningful by default in UIM. If you add specifications to the Others section, you must define custom rulesets that trigger actions or behavior based on those relationships.
| Section | Use |
|---|---|
| Inventory Groups | Lists the specifications of inventory groups to which physical devices based on this specification can belong. |
| Roles | Lists roles to which entities based on this Physical Device specification can be assigned. |
| Physical Connectors | Lists specifications of physical connectors that can be provided by physical devices based on this specification. |
| Network Nodes | Lists specifications of network nodes that can represent physical devices based on this specification. |
| Physical Ports | Lists specifications of physical ports that can be provided by physical devices based on this specification. |
| Others | Lists specifications of entities that have a customized relationship with entities based on this specification. |