Equipment specifications represent physical items of hardware. Modules and cards that occupy equipment holders are examples of equipment. But Equipment specifications can also model more complex devices such as shelves or racks. You can also use Equipment specifications for self-contained, independent devices such as routers or desk-top modules. You define the composition of the Equipment specification in the following ways:
In the Visualization tab of the Equipment Specification editor.
By relating physical ports, connectors, or equipment holder specifications to the Equipment specification.
When working with Equipment specifications, see the following topics:
About Equipment Specification Ports, Connectors, and Equipment Holders
Configuring Equipment Specifications in the Visualization Tab
You can configure an Equipment specification so that instances of the specification automatically include physical ports, physical connectors, and equipment holders. If you include Physical Port, Physical Connector, or Equipment Holder specifications in the Related Specifications tab of an Equipment specification, instances of the ports, connectors, or holders are created automatically when you create instances of the equipment.
See "Defining Specification Relationships" for instructions about adding related specifications.
Note:
When you include a physical port or physical connector in an Equipment specification, you should set the minimum and maximum quantities to the same value. Ports and connectors are fixed parts of equipment.When you define Equipment specifications, you can specify its properties, including its equipment category.
To define Equipment specification properties:
Create a new Equipment specification or navigate to the editor of an existing one.
See "Creating New Specifications" for more information.
In the Equipment Specification editor, click the Properties tab.
(Optional) In Equipment Category, select CARD, SHELF, or RACK.
The Visualization tab is empty for Equipment specifications that have not been assigned to a category. For example, if you are configuring a chassis, you can define its arrangement of slots and cards.
(For the CARD category only) In Required Holders, select the number of holders required for instances of this specification.
This number defines the number of equipment holders (slots) the card occupies. For example, if you set the value to 2, the card requires two contiguous slots. This requirement is enforced in both Design Studio and UIM.
(Optional) In the Vendor, Model Number, and Part Number fields, enter appropriate information.
From the File menu, select Save.
Configuring Equipment Specifications in the Visualization Tab
About Equipment Specification Ports, Connectors, and Equipment Holders
You use the Equipment Specification editor Visualization tab to configure an Equipment specification that has been assigned to the card, shelf, or rack category. If you configure a rack to have shelves and cards, the shelves and cards are created automatically when you create an instance of the rack specification.
When configuring an Equipment specification on the Visualization tab, see the following topics:
A card is an equipment category to which you assign an Equipment specification. When you configure a card specification, you assign a template that determines the card's orientation. You can choose a vertical or a horizontal orientation.
Note:
You must configure a Card specification in the Visualization tab before it can be added to shelves.To configure a card specification:
Create a new Equipment specification and assign it to the card category, or navigate to the editor of an existing card specification.
See "Creating New Specifications" for more information.
In the Equipment Specification editor, click the Visualization tab.
The Visualization tab displays the Default Cards subtab in the Palettes tab.
From the Default Cards area, drag a card template to the canvas.
Select a card in the canvas, then enter information about it in the information area below the Palettes area.
You may need to make the Visualization tab larger to see the information area. See "Defining Visualization Tab Item Elements" for more information.
From the File menu, select Save.
Configuring Equipment Specifications in the Visualization Tab
A shelf is an equipment category to which you assign an Equipment specification. You add cards or empty slots to the shelf. When you add a card, you specify the slot that it should use. If the card requires more than one slot, the shelf must have the appropriate number of contiguous slots available. For example, if the card requires two slots, the shelf must have at least two contiguous slots available.
You can include card carriers in a shelf. Card carriers are subdivisions of spaces in the shelf that enable you to add additional cards. Card carriers are not physical items, but rather a way to divide the shelf in the visualization to accommodate varying numbers of cards. When you add a card carrier, you specify the number of slots in the slotCount element. When you configure a shelf specification, you define the shelf arrangement by choosing a template or an existing shelf.
To configure a shelf:
Create a new Equipment specification and assign it to the shelf category, or navigate to the editor of an existing shelf specification.
See "Creating New Specifications" for more information.
In the Equipment Specification editor, click the Visualization tab.
The Visualization tab displays four subtabs in the Palettes tab.
Do one of the following:
From the Default Shelves area, drag a shelf template to the canvas.
To start from an existing shelf, click the Shelves tab and drag an already configured shelf to the canvas. The shelf includes any slots or cards defined in its Equipment specification.
(Optional) Drag the card carrier template from the Default Shelves area to the desired location in the shelf template.
The card carrier template is the template that is not surrounded by a heavy black line.
(Optional) Click the Empty Slots tab and drag an item to the desired location in the shelf template or card carrier within the shelf template.
(Optional) Add cards to the shelf configuration.
To add a card:
Click the Cards tab and drag an item to the desired location in the shelf template or card carrier within the shelf template.
The Select Slot Specification dialog box appears.
Select a slot specification and click OK.
The card appears in the visualization. If the card requires more than one slot, the card graphic is shown in one slot. The other required slots are shaded and marked as occupied.
Enter information about items in the shelf in the information area below the Palettes area.
You may need to make the Visualization tab larger to see the information area. See "Defining Visualization Tab Item Elements" for more information.
(Optional) Right-click a slot or card in the canvas area and select Remove Item to remove slots or cards.
From the File menu, select Save.
Configuring Equipment Specifications in the Visualization Tab
A rack is an equipment category to which you assign an Equipment specification. A rack includes one or more shelves. You can include any of the shelves that have already been defined in the workspace.
To configure a rack:
Create a new Equipment specification and assign it to the Rack category, or navigate to the editor of an existing rack specification.
See "Creating New Specifications" for more information.
In the Equipment Specification editor, click the Visualization tab.
The Visualization tab displays the Shelves subtab in the Palettes tab.
From the Shelves tab, drag one of the available shelves to the canvas.
(Optional) Add additional shelves, as needed.
Enter information about items in the shelves in the information area below the Palettes area.
You may need to make the Visualization tab larger to see the information area. See "Defining Visualization Tab Item Elements" for more information.
From the File menu, select Save.
Configuring Equipment Specifications in the Visualization Tab
You can define information about shelves, empty slots, cards, and card carriers in the Equipment Specification editor Visualization tab. The information is in the form of name-value element pairs.
To enter elements for items in the Visualization tab:
Open an Equipment specification in the Equipment Specification editor.
Click the Visualization tab.
In the canvas, click a card, card carrier, or empty slot to select it.
To select a shelf, click its perimeter. The selected item is highlighted in the canvas and information about it appears in the information area.
Enter or select values for the relevant elements.
The elements you can specify depend on the item selected in the canvas. See the following topics for information about the slotNumber and nativeEMSName elements:
From the File menu, select Save.
Working with Equipment Specifications
Equipment Specification Editor
You can automatically number all occupied slots. When you automatically number slots, Design Studio assigns integers beginning with 1, overwriting existing slot numbers.
To number slots automatically:
Open an Equipment specification in the Equipment Specification editor.
Click the Visualization tab.
In the canvas area, click an occupied slot.
The selected slot is highlighted in the canvas, and information about it appears in the information area.
In the canvas, click the Auto Numbering icon in the toolbar.
Design Studio numbers all the occupied slots, beginning with 1.
Click OK in the confirmation dialog box.
From the File menu, select Save.
You can specify slot numbers individually and assign any alphanumeric value.
To number slots individually:
Open an Equipment specification in the Equipment Specification editor.
Click the Visualization tab.
In the canvas area, click an occupied slot.
The selected slot is highlighted in the canvas, and information about it appears in the information area.
In the information area, enter a value for the selected slot in the slotNumber field.
From the File menu, select Save.
You can assign alphanumeric names to slots by using the nativeEMSName data element. You can use this element as a network-facing slot name that is independent of the slot number.
To assign names individually:
Open an Equipment specification in the Equipment Specification editor.
Click the Visualization tab.
In the canvas are, click an occupied slot.
The selected slot is highlighted in the canvas, and information about it appears in the information area.
In the information area, enter a value for the selected slot in the nativeEMSName field.
From the File menu, select Save.
You can assign alphanumeric names to slots by using the nativeEMSName element. You can use this element as a network-facing slot name that is independent of the slot number.
You can assign names automatically to all occupied slots, beginning with a value that you select. If the starting value ends with an alphabetic character, the names increment by appending an integer to the value, beginning with 0. If the value ends with an integer, the names increment starting at that number.
To assign names automatically:
Open an Equipment specification in the Equipment Specification editor.
Click the Visualization tab.
In the canvas area, click an occupied slot.
The selected slot is highlighted in the canvas, and information about it appears in the information area.
In the canvas, click the Native EMS Naming button in the toolbar.
The Enter NativeEMSName dialog box appears.
Enter a starting value and click OK.
From the File menu, select Save.
Use the Equipment Specification editor to model physical items of hardware.
When working with the Equipment Specification editor, see the following topics:
Use the Properties tab to define an Equipment category and enter information about the equipment.
| Field | Use |
|---|---|
| Equipment Category | Select a category for the equipment. You can select CARD, SHELF, or RACK. |
| Required Holders | Select the number of holders required for instances of this specification. This field is applicable to the CARD category only. |
| Vendor | Lets you enter the name of the vendor of the equipment. |
| Model Number | Enter the model number of the equipment. |
| Part Number | Enter the part number of the equipment. |
Use the Visualization tab to configure an Equipment specification that has been assigned to a Card, Shelf, or Rack category.
| Field | Use |
|---|---|
| Palettes | Use the templates on this tab to define the basic structure of the equipment. The Palettes tab contains subtabs that depend on whether the Equipment specification is defined as a card, a rack, or a shelf. |
| Hierarchy | View Equipment configuration in a tree view. The tree view reflects the configuration in the canvas, so it updates as you add new items to the visualization. When you select an item in the canvas, the corresponding item in the tree view is highlighted; when you select an item in the tree view, the corresponding item in the canvas is highlighted. |
| Canvas | Configure the equipment by dragging items from the Palettes tab. |
| Default Cards | Displays the default selection of card templates.
This subtab appears if the Equipment specification is defined as a card. |
| Default Shelves | Displays the default selection of shelf templates.
This subtab appears if the Equipment specification is defined as a shelf. |
| Shelves | Displays a list of the shelves (Equipment specifications in the Shelf category) that have been defined in the workspace.
This subtab appears if the Equipment specification is defined as a shelf. |
| Cards | Displays a list of the cards (Equipment specifications in the Card category) that have been defined in the workspace.
This subtab appears if the Equipment specification is defined as a shelf. |
| Empty Slots | Displays a list of the slots (Equipment Holder specifications) that have been defined in the workspace.
This subtab appears if the Equipment specification is defined as a shelf. |
| Shelves | Displays a list of the shelves (Equipment specifications in the Shelf category) that have been defined in the workspace.
This subtab appears if the Equipment specification is defined as a rack. |
Configuring Equipment Specifications in the Visualization Tab
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 equipment based on this specification can belong. |
| Roles | Lists roles to which entities based on this Equipment specification can be assigned. |
| Physical Connectors | Lists specifications of physical connectors that can be provided by equipment based on this specification. |
| Network Nodes | Lists specifications of network nodes that can represent equipment based on this specification. |
| Physical Ports | Lists specifications of physical ports that can be provided by equipment based on this specification. |
| Equipment Holders | Lists specifications of equipment holders that can be provided by equipment based on this specification. |
| Others | Lists specifications of entities that have a customized relationship with entities based on this specification. |