5 Working with Planning Features
Oracle Communications Unified Inventory Management (UIM), includes features that you use to plan updates and activities in your inventory. You can use the following features:
Working with Business Interactions
Business interactions represent arrangements, such as capital projects and maintenance requests, that require actions on entities in the inventory. Examples of these actions include adding entities, assigning resources, changing entity hierarchies, and so on.
A single business interaction can involve any number of items in your inventory. See "Understanding Business Interaction Content" and "Defining the Content of a Business Interaction".
The following types of entities can be included in a business interaction:
-
Connectivity
-
Custom network address
-
Custom object
-
Device interface
-
Equipment
-
Equipment holder
-
Flow Identifier
-
Logical device
-
Logical device account
-
Media stream
-
Network
-
Network node
-
Network edge
-
Physical connector
-
Physical device
-
Physical port
-
Pipe
-
Pipe termination point
-
Service configurations
-
Telephone number
All the actions taken in the context of a business interaction are made effective in the inventory when the business interaction is completed. See "Completing a Business Interaction" and "Canceling a Business Interaction".
Business interactions share many of the same features as other entity types. You create them the same way you create other entity types. Business interactions can also include a hierarchy of other business interactions. For example, a capital improvement project could be divided into smaller engineering projects, each of which is divided into work orders. You can search for Business Interactions by searching the associated Activities from the Activity Search section.
Note:
You do not have to use business interactions to make changes to the inventory. You can also make changes to the current inventory, outside the context of a business interaction. Such changes are immediately effective.
Understanding Business Interaction Content
The content of a business interaction is a set of items corresponding to the actions taken on entities while you are in the context of that business interaction. For example, if you add an entity while in the context of a business interaction, then the creation of that entity is an item in the business interaction and will become effective at the same time as the other items in the interaction.
Changes you make while in a business interaction context are not visible in the current inventory until the business interaction is completed. Similarly, changes you make in one business interaction are not visible in another business interaction context, even if the other business interaction is a child of the first.
When you associate a configuration version or a Connectivity design version with a business interaction, entities created in that business interaction context are available for reference or assignment to that version before the business interaction is completed. For example, you can create a logical device in the context of a business interaction and then assign the logical device to a Connectivity design version that is associated with the same business interaction.
Actions taken in a business interaction context on entities that are not business-interaction-enabled, such as parties, places, or services, are not included in the interaction. These kinds of changes are applied directly to inventory, and are effective at the time you make them.
The inventory status of an entity can be different in different business interaction contexts. For example, you can deactivate the entity in a business interaction while it remains active in the current inventory. The current inventory status is updated to reflect the business interaction when you complete the interaction.
Note:
Some actions are prevented or restricted while operating in a business interaction context. Actions involving mapping of devices, device interfaces, ports, and connectors are not always possible in a business interaction context. See UIM Concepts for more information.
Creating a Business Interaction
You can create a business interaction from the Business Interaction - New page.
To create a business interaction:
-
In the Tasks - All Tasks group of the navigation section, click Business Interactions.
-
In the Search Results section, click Create.
The Business Interaction - New page appears.
-
From the Specification list, select the specification you want to use for this business interaction.
-
In the Name field, enter a name for the business interaction.
-
In the Effective Date field, enter the date and time by which the business interaction becomes active.
Note:
If you select a Workflow Template, the system displays current date and time in Effective Date and changes the field as non-editable. -
(Optional) From the Workflow Template list, select a workflow.
You can optionally associate a workflow template with a business interaction. A workflow template defines an ordered, managed set of activities. The workflow must be completed before you can complete the business interaction.
When you associate a workflow with a business interaction, the Business Interaction Summary page adds two tabs: the Activity Details tab and the Gantt Chart tab. You use these tabs to manage the workflow and its activities.
When you select a workflow from the Workflow Template list, the following occurs:
-
The Name field is autopopulated with a name in the format:
templateName_user_sequenceNumber
where:
templateName is the name of the workflow template.
user is the name of the UIM user.
sequenceNumber indicates the nth workflow that the user is associating with the business interaction. For example, a sequence number of 3 indicates that this is the third workflow that the user is associating with the business interaction.
For example, BIWORKFLOWTEMP_inv_3
You can edit the autopopulated name in the Name field.
-
The Effective Date field is autopopulated with the effective date of the last activity in the workflow. This field is read-only.
-
-
(Optional) Enter information into non-required fields.
-
(Optional) To create an additional business interaction, click Save and Add Another.
-
Click Save and Continue.
The Activity Details tab appears, displaying a list of all the activities in the workflow in chronological order. See "Managing Activities" for more information.
Defining the Content of a Business Interaction
You can use any or all of the following ways to define the content of a business interaction:
-
You can define content by setting the business interaction context and then making inventory changes as usual in UIM. The changes you make while in a business interaction context are included in that business interaction. See "Setting the Business Interaction Context". You can also define content by adding existing entities using the Canvas Diagram page of a business interaction and then perform actions and them, or by adding new entities using the Canvas Diagram page of a business interaction. See "Working with the Canvas Diagram Page of a Business Interaction".
-
You can define content for a business interaction by creating or modifying entities from a Business Interaction Summary page. In this case, the changes are included in the interaction without your having to set the context explicitly. See "Creating New Inventory Entities from the Business Interaction Summary Page" and "Modifying Entities from the Business Interaction Summary Page".
-
You can associate a workflow with the business interaction. Activities in the workflow can include the creation of resources, which become items in the parent business interaction.
The items in a business interaction are displayed in the Business Interactions Items section on its Summary page. For each item, the entity type, name, ID, action (Add, Delete, or Change), and status are displayed. You can remove items from the list and transfer items between business interactions. See "Deleting Items from Business Interactions" and "Transferring Items Between Business Interactions".
Setting the Business Interaction Context
The business interaction context is set by the application when you create a business interaction or access the business interaction Summary page for an existing business interaction.
All actions you take in a business interaction context become effective in the inventory when the business interaction is completed. See "Completing a Business Interaction" for more information. If you set a business interaction context in the Search Results section, any actions you take on groups of entities from that page are included in the interaction.
If the business interaction includes a workflow, the context indicator includes activities. If you are working in an activity, its name is appended to the business interaction name in the indicator. You can also select from all the in-progress activities in business interaction.
To set the business interaction context:
-
In a Summary or Search page, click the context indicator in the upper-left of the page.
The menu initially displays Current, the name of a business interaction, or the name of a business interaction and activity.
-
Do one of the following:
-
Select Current if you want all subsequent actions to take place in current inventory. Actions you take after selecting Current are applied directly to the inventory, without being included in a business interaction.
-
Select a business interaction from the list of the five most recently used business interactions.
-
Select Search to select a business interaction that is not among the five most recently used. See "Searching for Entities" for more information.
Your selection sets the business interaction context and appears in the menu in the upper-left of the page.
-
-
If you set the context to a business interaction with a workflow and want to set the context to an activity, click the context indicator again.
-
Select Activities, and then select an activity.
Related Topics
Creating New Inventory Entities from the Business Interaction Summary Page
To create an entity from the Business Interaction Summary page:
-
Open the Summary page of a business interaction.
-
In the Business Interactions Items section, click Items.
A list of entity types appears.
-
Select an entity type.
The entity Search page appears.
-
Search for or create an entity of the type you selected.
-
In the Search Results section, select the entity to add.
-
Click OK.
The Business Interactions Items section is updated with the entity you added, and the business interaction context is automatically set to the business interaction from which you started.
Related Topics
Adding Configuration Versions and Design Versions to Business Interactions
You can add design versions of Connectivity entities and configuration versions of other entities to business interactions. A configuration version or design version is automatically added to a business interaction if you set a business interaction context in an entity Summary page before creating the version.
You can also set the business interaction context for a configuration version or design version in its Configuration Summary page.
To set a business interaction context for a configuration version or design version:
-
Do one of the following:
-
Open or create a configuration version. See "Working with Entity Configurations" for more information.
-
Open or create a Connectivity design version. See "Managing Design Versions" for more information.
-
-
In the Configuration Summary page or Connectivity Design tab, select a business interaction from the menu in the upper-left of the page.
-
From the Actions menu, select Associate Business Interaction.
The configuration version or design version is added to the selected business interaction.
Removing Configuration Versions and Design Versions from Business Interactions
You can remove configuration versions and Connectivity design versions from business interactions. You can remove them by deleting the corresponding items from the Summary page of the business interaction. See Defining the Content of a Business Interaction.
You can also remove a configuration version or design version from a business interaction while working in the configuration Summary page or Connectivity Design tab.
To remove a configuration version or design version from a business interaction:
-
Do one of the following:
-
Open the configuration version. See "Working with Entity Configurations" for more information.
-
Open the Connectivity design version. See "Managing Design Versions" for more information.
-
-
Click the red X next to the business interaction name in the tab.
-
Click OK in the confirmation dialog box.
The configuration version or design version is removed from the business interaction.
Related Topics
Modifying Entities from the Business Interaction Summary Page
You can modify entities individually or as a group from a Business Interaction Summary page.
To modify an entity from the Business Interaction Summary page:
-
Open the Summary page of a business interaction.
-
In the Business Interactions Items section, click the ID of an entity you want to modify.
The Summary page of the entity appears. See the Help topics for the specific entity type for information about modifying it.
Related Topics
Deleting Items from Business Interactions
You can delete items from a business interaction at any time prior to the completion of the business interaction.
If you delete an entity from the Items section in a Business Interaction Summary page, all associated entities are also deleted. To avoid deleting associated entities, you can:
-
Search for the entity while in the business interaction context and delete it from the Search Results section.
-
Manually remove the associations before deleting the entity from the Business Interaction Summary page.
To delete items from a business interaction:
-
Open the Summary page of a business interaction.
-
In the Items section, select an entity to delete.
-
Click Delete.
Related Topics
Transferring Items Between Business Interactions
You can transfer items from one business interaction to another active business interaction at any time prior to the completion of the business interaction.
To transfer items between business interactions:
-
Open the Summary page of a business interaction.
-
In the Business Interaction Items section, select an entity to transfer.
-
Click Transfer Items.
The Business Interaction Search page appears.
-
Search for the business interaction to which you want to transfer the item.
See "Searching for Entities" for more information.
-
In the Search Results section, select a business interaction and click Transfer.
When the Business Interaction Items page refreshes, the transferred item no longer appears.
Related Topics
Working with the Canvas Diagram Page of a Business Interaction
You use the Canvas Diagram page of a business interaction to do the following:
-
Search for and add existing entities onto the canvas and perform actions on them.
-
Create new entities by clicking the corresponding icons on the canvas diagram toolbar.
See "Canvas Diagram Page".
See the following topics:
Adding Existing Entities from the Search by Entity Section
You can add the following existing entities from the Search by Entity section of the Canvas Diagram page:
-
Equipment
-
Logical Device
-
Network/Entity Location
-
Physical Device
-
Place
-
Pipe
-
Network
After adding the existing entities onto the canvas, you can perform various tasks on the entities, such as associating a connectivity between logical devices, associating a pipe between logical devices, associating network locations to entities, and so on.
To add existing entities from the Search By Entity section:
-
In the Tasks - All Tasks group of the navigation section, click Business Interactions.
-
In the Search Results section, click Create.
The Business Interaction - New page appears.
-
From the Specification list, select Planning Diagram.
Note:
Only the user who has a role of NetworkRole can create a business interaction based on the Planning Diagram specification. See UIM System Administrator's Guide for information about granting application roles.
-
In the Name field, enter a name for the business interaction.
The Effective Date field is auto-populated with the effective date and time of the last activity in the workflow. This field is read-only.
-
Click Save and Continue.
The Canvas Diagram page appears.
-
Click the Palette icon in the top-right corner of the diagram pane.
-
In the Search by Entity section, select any Entity Type from the list:
-
Equipment
-
Logical Device
-
Network/Entity Location
-
Physical Device
-
Place
-
Pipe
-
Network
-
-
In the Name field, type the name of the entity and select the entity from the list.
An icon representing the entity appears beside the Name field.
-
(Optional) Click the Browse icon to select name by searching the entity.
The corresponding entity search page appears.
-
Enter the search criteria and then click Search.
The search results appear.
-
Select the entity and then click OK.
The selected entity name appears in the Name field and its icon appears beside the Name field.
-
-
Drag and drop the entity icon onto the canvas.
The entity is added onto the canvas area and is represented as a node.
Note:
Network with nodes of type Custom Object, Custom Network Address, Device Interface, Party, and Physical Port cannot be added to Canvas Diagram.
Related Topics
Opening the Canvas Diagram Page
You can open the Canvas Diagram page in one of the following ways:
-
Create a new business interaction by selecting Planning Diagram from the Specification list.
-
In the Search Results section of a Business interaction Search page, click the ID link for a business interaction that was created using the Planning Diagram specification.
Related Topics
Creating Entities Using the Canvas Diagram Toolbar
You can create new entities by selecting the following icons from the toolbar of the Canvas Diagram page:
-
Quantity
-
Create Network
-
Create Logical Device
-
Create Physical Device
-
Create Equipment
-
Create Connectivity
To create entities using the toolbar:
-
In the Tasks - All Tasks group of the navigation section, click Business Interactions.
-
In the Search Results section, click Create.
The Business Interaction - New page appears.
-
From the Specification list, select Planning Diagram.
Note:
Only the user who has a role of NetworkRole can create a business interaction based on the Planning Diagram specification. See UIM System Administrator's Guide for information about granting application roles. -
In the Name field, enter a name for the business interaction.
The Effective Date field is auto-populated with the effective date of the last activity in the workflow. This field is read-only.
-
Click Save and Continue.
The Canvas Diagram page appears.
-
Adjust the Quantity slider control to specify the number of entities that you want to create. For example, set the slider to 3 to create three quantities of a specific entity type.
Note:
You can select Quantity only while creating new entities. The entities are represented by nodes on the canvas area. -
Click Create Network icon to create a new network.
The Network - New page appears. See "Creating Networks" for more information.
-
Click Create Logical Device icon to create a new logical device.
The Logical Device - New page appears. See "Logical Device - New Page" for more information.
-
Click Create Physical Device icon to create a new physical device.
The Physical Device - New page appears. See "Physical Device - New Page" for more information.
-
Click Create Equipment icon to create a new equipment.
The Equipment - New page appears. See "Equipment - New Page" for more information.
-
From the Create Connectivity list, select the following:
-
Select Connectivity to create a new connectivity.
The Connectivity - New page appears. See "Creating Connectivity Entities" for more information.
-
Select Pipe to create a new pipe.
The Pipe - New page appears. See "Creating Pipes" for more information.
Note:
A pipe or a connectivity can be created between two nodes. You can select two nodes by pressing Ctrl key from your keyboard. -
You can create child entities with in any network. See "Creating Child Entities" for more information.
Related Topics
Changing the Canvas Diagram Layout and View
You can change the layout of the canvas diagram as:
-
Force Directed Layout: This layout displays all one-to-one connections between the nodes. This is the default layout.
-
Circular Layout: This layout displays the nodes of the canvas diagram in a circle.
-
Grid Layout: This layout displays the nodes of the canvas diagram in a grid. This layout has the pipe or connection crossings.
You can change the canvas diagram view as:
-
Collapsed Network View: This view displays all the parent network nodes and independent nodes in the canvas diagram. The child nodes of a network node are not displayed in this view. This view provides an overview of the canvas diagram.
-
Expanded Network View: This view displays all the nodes, including the child network nodes, in the canvas diagram. This view provides a detailed view of all nodes and their corresponding pipes or connections.
Adding Preferences to Canvas Diagram
You can set the following preferences to canvas diagram:
-
Node type
-
Display label
-
Label position
To set preferences to canvas diagram:
-
In the Tasks - All Tasks group of the navigation section, click Business Interactions.
-
(Optional) Open an existing by entering the search criteria and clicking Search.
-
In the Search Results section, click Create.
The Business Interaction - New page appears.
-
From the Specification list, select Planning Diagram.
Note:
Only the user who has a role of NetworkRole can create a business interaction based on the Planning Diagram specification. See UIM System Administrator's Guide for information about granting application roles. -
In the Name field, enter a name for the business interaction.
The Effective Date field is auto-populated with the effective date of the last activity in the workflow. This field is read-only.
-
Click Save and Continue.
The Canvas Diagram page appears.
-
Create a canvas diagram using the toolbar options.
See Creating Entities Using the Canvas Diagram Toolbar for creating canvas diagram.
-
Click Preferences icon.
The Preferences window appears.
-
In the Node Type field, select the node type as follows:
-
Icon: Displays the corresponding icons of the entities in the canvas diagram.
-
Shape: Displays the entities of canvas diagram as colored circles. Similar entities appear in one color.
-
-
Select Display Label.
The Display Label option displays the names of the entities in the canvas diagram.
-
In the Label Position list, select a position for the entity names.
-
Click OK.
The canvas diagram appears according to the preferences.
Opening Summary Pages for Entity Nodes
To open a Summary page for an entity node:
-
Open the Canvas Diagram page of a business interaction. See "Opening the Canvas Diagram Page".
-
Right-click an entity node and select View Summary.
The Summary page for the entity that represents the node appears. For example, if the entity node represents a logical device, the Logical Device Summary page appears.
Related Topics
Creating Child Entities
You can create child entities within a network. A child entity can be either of the following entities:
-
Network
-
Logical Device
-
Physical Device
-
Equipment
To create child entities within a network:
-
In the Tasks - All Tasks group of the navigation section, click Business Interactions.
-
In the Search Results section, click Create.
The Business Interaction - New page appears.
-
From the Specification list, select Planning Diagram.
Note:
Only the user who has a role of NetworkRole can create a business interaction based on the Planning Diagram specification. See UIM System Administrator's Guide for information about granting application roles. -
In the Name field, enter a name for the business interaction.
The Effective Date field is auto-populated with the effective date of the last activity in the workflow. This field is read-only.
-
Click Save and Continue.
The Canvas Diagram page appears.
-
From the Canvas Diagram Toolbar, create a network.
See Creating Entities Using the Canvas Diagram Toolbar for more information.
-
Drag and drop any of the following icons on to the network:
-
Create Network icon
-
Create Logical Device icon
-
Create Physical Device icon
-
Create Equipment icon
The corresponding entity creation page appears.
-
-
Enter the details in the entity creation page.
-
Click OK.
Note:
Click Expanded Network View icon to view the child entity.
Editing Entity Nodes
To edit an entity node:
-
Open the Canvas Diagram page of a business interaction. See "Opening the Canvas Diagram Page".
-
Right-click an entity node and select Edit Node.
The Information page for the entity that represents the node appears. For example, if the entity node represents a logical device, the Logical Device Information page appears.
-
Make any changes required for the entity and click Save and Close.
Related Topics
Isolating Entity Nodes
To isolate an entity node:
-
Open the Canvas Diagram page of a business interaction. See "Opening the Canvas Diagram Page".
-
Click an entity node.
The node is surrounded by a black rectangle and two icons appear. The icon on the left is the Isolate icon.
-
Click the Isolate icon.
All nodes disappear except the one whose icon you clicked.
-
Click the Restore icon (two arrows facing each other) to return to the full display of nodes.
Related Topics
Deleting Entity Nodes
To delete an entity node:
-
Open the Canvas Diagram page of a business interaction. See "Opening the Canvas Diagram Page".
-
Click an entity node.
The node is surrounded by a black rectangle and two icons appear. The icon on the right is the Delete icon.
-
Click the Delete icon.
The node is deleted from the canvas.
Related Topics
Managing the Business Interaction Life Cycle
Business interactions have a life cycle that begins at their creation and ends with their completion or cancellation. See UIM Concepts for more information about the business interaction life cycle.
You manage the business interaction life cycle with menu commands. In some cases, you can make lifecycle changes for an entire business interaction life cycle with one command. Some commands apply only to business interactions created by web services.
For multiple pending configurations of non-network service entities, the life cycle is managed from the business interaction.
See the following topics for more information about managing business interaction life cycles:
Approving a Service Configuration in a Business Interaction
Business interactions created by web services can contain service configurations. Their lifecycle transitions are normally executed by web services, but you can also perform these operations manually.
The Approve Configuration command in the Business Interaction Summary page Actions menu changes service configurations in the business interaction from In Progress to Designed status. Service configurations already in Designed status are not affected.
The status of the business interaction itself is not affected by Approve Configuration command. Only the statuses of the service configuration and its items are affected.
To approve a service configuration in a business interaction:
-
Open the Summary page of the business interaction whose service configurations you want to approve.
-
From the Actions menu, select Approve Configuration.
The statuses of service configurations in the business interaction change from In Progress to Designed.
Issuing a Service Configuration in a Business Interaction
Business interactions created by web services can contain service configurations. Their lifecycle transitions are normally executed by web services, but you can also perform these operations manually.
The Issue Configuration command in the Business Interaction Summary page Actions menu changes service configurations in the business interaction from Designed to Issued status. Service configurations already in Issued status are not affected.
The status of the business interaction itself is not affected by Issue Configuration command. Only the statuses of the service configuration and its items are affected.
To issue a service configuration in a business interaction:
-
Open the Summary page of the business interaction whose service configurations you want to issue.
-
From the Actions menu, select Issue Configuration.
The statuses of service configurations in the business interaction change from Designed to Issued.
Completing a Business Interaction
You can complete a business interaction when all changes included in it have been made and are ready to be executed. The changes become effective when the business interaction is completed. Any service configurations included in the business interaction are completed when the business interaction is completed.
You cannot complete a parent business interaction when it has one or more open child business interactions (not in Canceled or Complete status) or if it includes service configurations in In Progress or Designed status. You can, however, complete the entire hierarchy in a single operation. If you use the Complete Hierarchy menu command, UIM completes all business interactions in a parent business interaction's hierarchy, starting from the lowest level.
Note:
You cannot reopen a business interaction after you have completed it.
To complete a business interaction:
-
Open the Summary page of the business interaction you want to complete.
-
From the Actions menu, select Complete or Complete Hierarchy.
The business interaction is completed. If you selected Complete Hierarchy, all business interactions in the hierarchy are completed. The Actions menu now contains no commands.
Canceling a Business Interaction
Canceling a business interaction makes it permanently unavailable. You cannot reactivate it. Any incomplete service configuration versions included in the business interaction are also cancelled.
You cannot cancel a business interaction when it has one or more active child business interactions (not canceled or incomplete) or if it includes any completed service configurations. You can, however, cancel the entire hierarchy in a single operation. If you use the Cancel Hierarchy menu command, UIM cancels all business interactions in a parent business interaction's hierarchy, starting from the lowest level.
To cancel a business interaction:
-
Open the Summary page of the business interaction you want to cancel.
-
From the Actions menu, select Cancel or Cancel Hierarchy.
The business interaction is canceled. If you selected Cancel Hierarchy, all business interactions in the hierarchy are canceled. The Actions menu now contains no commands.
Viewing XML Data for Business Interactions with External Systems
Business interactions can be created as the result of web service requests from external systems. For these business interactions, you can view the XML data passed into UIM by the web service. If the business interaction includes data that was sent from UIM to an external system, the output data is also visible in the transaction log.
The Summary pages of business interactions created by web services include a Transactions Log section. This section lists all of the XML inputs and outputs for that business interaction. The XML inputs and outputs are listed in descending order by date. Each row includes a hyperlinked sequence number, a timestamp, and a description.
Clicking a link opens a dialog box in which the XML data is displayed.
To view XML data:
-
Open the Summary page of a business interaction that was created by a web service.
-
In the Transactions Log section, click the hyperlinked sequence number of an XML input or output.
The XML data is displayed, replacing the Business Interaction Summary page.
-
Click the Back button in the upper-right corner of the XML page to return to the Business Interaction Summary page.
Business Interaction - New Page
You use the Business Interaction - New page to create new business interactions.
Note:
The fields that appear on this page are determined by the specification used to create the entity. The specification is created in Design Studio. The fields in the following table are common to most specifications of this type.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
|
Specification |
Select a Business Interaction specification. You use Business Interaction specifications to define arrangements or transactions that affect entities in the inventory. After you create an entity from the specification, you add the resources that are included in the interaction to the business interaction. |
|
ID |
If the entity specification requires a manually entered ID, enter a unique ID for the entity. Most entity specifications are defined in Design Studio so that IDs are generated automatically. The ID field for these specifications contains the text AUTOGENERATE. |
|
Name |
Enter a name for the business interaction. |
|
Effective Date |
Enter the date and time by which the business interaction becomes active. Note: If you select Workflow Template, the system displays current date and time in Effective Date and changes the field to non-editable. |
|
Workflow Template |
(Optional) Select a workflow template to associate with the business interaction. If you associate a workflow template with the business interaction, its Summary page includes two additional tabs, the Activity Details tab and the Gantt Chart tab. |
|
Status |
Displays the current business interaction status. See UIM Concepts for more information about business interaction life cycles and statuses. |
|
Description |
(Optional) Enter a description of the business interaction. |
Business Interaction - Information Page
You use the Business Interaction - Information page to edit the information that appears in the Summary page Information section. Some data elements, such as the ID, cannot be changed after the entity is created.
Note:
The fields that appear on this page are determined by the specification used to create the entity. The specification is created in Design Studio. The fields in the following table are common to most specifications of this type.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
|
Specification |
Displays the specification used to create the business interaction. This field is read-only. |
|
ID |
Displays the unique ID for the business interaction. This field is read-only. |
|
Name |
Edit the name for the business interaction. |
|
Effective Date |
Displays the date and time by which the business interaction becomes active. If the business interaction is associated to a service configuration version, changing this field will affect the date on the service configuration version. |
|
Status |
Displays the status of the business interaction. For example, after creating a new business interaction, the status is automatically set to Created. This field is read-only. See UIM Concepts for more information about business interaction life cycles and statuses. |
|
Description |
Edit the description of the business interaction. |
|
Workflow Template |
Displays the workflow template associated with the business interaction, if any. (Optional) You can select a workflow template to associate with the business interaction. If you associate a workflow template with the business interaction, its Summary page includes two additional tabs, the Activity Details tab and the Gantt Chart tab. |
|
Arrangement |
(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The cooperation model for the entity as defined by the parties or systems exchanging entity data. |
|
Entity Name |
(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The name of the entity in the context specified in the Other System field. |
|
Entity ID |
(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The identifier of the entity. This identifier is unique in the context specified in the Other System field. |
|
Other System |
(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The name of the external system or domain that is participating in the data cooperation. |
Business Interaction Summary Page
You use the Business Interaction Summary page to define the content for a business interaction.
If you associate a workflow template with a business interaction, the Summary page includes two additional tabs:
See the following topics for more information about summary pages:
Note:
The sections listed in the following table are specific to the Business Interaction Summary page. See "Entity Summary Page" for information about Summary page fields that are common among all entities.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
|
Information |
Displays basic information about the entity, most of which was defined when you created the entity. Click Edit to change this information. Some data elements, such as the ID, cannot be changed after the entity is created. See "Creating Entities" and "Business Interaction - New Page" for more information. Click Other System to view fields related to systems with which UIM is cooperating. These fields are visible by default when populated and are hidden by default when not populated. |
|
Business Interaction Hierarchy |
Displays a tree view of the business interaction and any child business interactions. Business interactions can include hierarchies of other business interactions. For example, a capital improvement project could be broken into smaller engineering projects, each of which is broken into work orders. Options available in the View and Format menus enable you to control how the business interactions appear in the Business Interaction Hierarchy section. See "Working with Entity Hierarchies" for more information. |
|
Parent Business Interactions |
Displays the parent business interaction if the business interaction is a child of another business interaction. Click the value in the ID field to navigate to the Summary page of the parent business interaction. |
|
Business Interaction Items |
Do one of the following:
|
|
Transactions Log |
For business interactions created by web services, contains a list of all XML inputs. Click the sequence number of an XML input to view its full contents. |
|
Arrangement |
(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The cooperation model for the entity as defined by the parties or systems exchanging entity data. |
|
Entity Name |
(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The name of the entity in the context specified in the Other System field. |
|
Entity ID |
(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The identifier of the entity. This identifier is unique in the context specified in the Other System field. |
|
Other System |
(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The name of the external system or domain that is participating in the data cooperation. |
Business Interactions - Bulk Edit Page
You use the Business Interactions - Bulk Edit page to edit the characteristics of one or more Business Interaction entities with the same specification. The Bulk Edit option appears only after you select one or more Business Interactions from the search results.
To enable the Bulk Edit option, you must do the following:
-
Navigate to Business Interactions.
-
Select a specification in the Business Interaction search criteria.
-
In the Search Results section, select one or more entities.
-
Click Bulk Edit.
The Business Interaction - Bulk Edit page appears.
To bulk edit the characteristics of Business Interaction entities:
-
In the Business Interaction - Bulk Edit page, click Add Fields to select the characteristics.
The Add Fields page appears.
-
Use the arrow buttons to move fields from the Available Fields column to the Selected Fields column to select the fields to display and edit. You can also move fields from the selected fields column back to available fields.
Note:
If there are no characteristics for the selected specification, the page columns appear empty. In this case, you need to add characteristics to the specification. See UIM Concepts for information on characteristics. -
Click OK.
The selected characteristics appear in the bulk edit page.
-
Enter values in the relevant fields for the characteristics.
-
Click Save And Close.
The following confirmation message is displayed:
You are about to update all the selected entities of specification specificationName. The following characteristics values will be updated. characteristic1 - value1 characteristic2 - value2 . . characteristicN - valueN Do you want to proceed?Note:
The confirmation message displays the selected characteristic values along with their updated values. For characteristics with no values,nullis displayed. -
Click Yes.
The characteristics with updated values are added to all selected entities.
Canvas Diagram Page
You use the Canvas Diagram page of a business interaction to do the following:
-
Search for and add existing entities onto the canvas and perform actions on them.
-
Create new entities by clicking the corresponding icon on the canvas diagram toolbar.
The following controls appear in the Canvas Diagram page:
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
|
Search By Entity section |
This section is collapsible. It contains the following options: Entity Type drop-down list: Enables you to search for and add the following entities onto the canvas area:
Name field: Enables you to search for the selected entity type by specifying the entity name. |
|
Quantity slider control |
Drag the Quantity slider control to choose the number of entities you want to create. |
|
Toolbar section |
The Toolbar section enables you to create entities, change diagram view, change diagram layout by clicking the following icons:
|
|
Preferences icon |
Enables you to set the display preferences of the entities. Contains the following options:
|
|
Editor section |
Displays information about the entity node selected in the canvas area, including the name, ID, network/entity location, and the characteristics associated to the entity specification. Clicking the ID link opens the Summary page of an entity. Clicking the Network/Entity Location link opens the Property Location page. The Editor section is read-only and collapsible. |
|
Actions menu |
Contains the following options:
|
|
Control Panel icon |
Clicking this icon displays the following icons:
|
|
Overview section |
Displays a rectangle around the portion of the diagram that you have zoomed in on. If you zoom out, the rectangle becomes larger until it disappears when the entire diagram is displayed in the main view. |
Working with Engineering Work Orders
You use engineering work orders to plan and implement resource infrastructure changes and have your changes all take effect at the same time.
Engineering work orders are closely related to business interactions and share almost identical functionality. Unless otherwise noted in the UIM documentation or Help, you should follow the same procedures when working with engineering work orders that you do when working with business interactions.
For example, you use the same context indicator to set an engineering work order context that you use to set an business interaction context. You also add items to engineering work orders the same way that you add items to a business interaction.
Like business interactions, you associate workflow templates with engineering work orders. See "Creating an Engineering Work Order".
See the following topics for more information about working with engineering work orders:
Controlling Configuration Version Life Cycles from Engineering Work Orders
Configuration version life cycles are controlled by engineering work orders or by the configuration versions themselves. For example, if you include a Service entity with a configuration in an engineering work order, you can determine whether the life cycle of the work order controls the status transitions of the Service configurations.
You control this behavior with the Controls Configuration Lifecycle check box in Engineering Work Order pages. You can enable or disable this check box at any time, even if the engineering work order already includes items.
-
When Controls Configuration Lifecycle is selected, completing the engineering work order means that all included inventory items are set to Installed status and all related entity configurations are completed.
-
When Controls Configuration Lifecycle is not selected, completing the engineering work order means that all inventory items are set to Installed status, but all related entity configurations remain in In Progress status.
Note:
The Controls Configuration Lifecycle setting is ignored for Pipe and Connectivity entities in Pending Disconnect status. Their design versions are always completed when an engineering work order to which they belong is completed.
To control configuration version life cycles from engineering work orders:
-
In an Engineering Work Order - New or Engineering Work Order - Information page, select Controls Configuration Lifecycle.
The setting applies to all configurations currently in the engineering work order and to configurations added subsequently.
Engineering Work Order - New Page
You use the Engineering Work Order - New page to create new engineering work orders.
Note:
Additional fields may be displayed if the Engineering Work Order specification has been modified in Design Studio.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
|
Specification |
(Read-only) Displays the name of the Engineering Work Order specification. |
|
ID |
If the entity specification requires a manually entered ID, enter a unique ID for the entity. Most entity specifications are defined in Design Studio so that IDs are generated automatically. The ID field for these specifications contains the text AUTOGENERATE. |
|
Name |
Enter a name for the engineering work order. |
|
Type |
(Optional) Select a type that applies to this engineering work order. The following types are available by default:
Additional types may be available if the Engineering Work Order specification has been extended in Design Studio. |
|
Standard Operating Procedure |
(Optional) Enter a URL that points to a standardized document such as a schedule or job definition. |
|
Desired Due Date |
Enter the date and time by which the engineering work order should be competed. |
|
Actual Completion Date |
Enter the date when the engineering work order was actually completed. |
|
Engineering Drawings |
(Optional) Enter a URL that points to a drawing related to this engineering work order. |
|
Effective Date |
Enter the date and time by which the engineering work order becomes active. Note: If you select a Workflow Template, the system displays current date and time in Effective Date and changes the field as non-editable. |
|
Workflow Template |
(Optional) Select a workflow template to associate with the engineering work order. If you associate a workflow template with the engineering work order, its Summary page includes two additional tabs, the Activity Details tab and the Gantt Chart tab. |
|
Status |
Displays the current engineering work order status. See UIM Concepts for more information about engineering work order life cycles and statuses. |
|
Description |
(Optional) Enter a description of the engineering work order. |
|
Work Order Document |
(Optional) Enter a URL that points to a document related to this engineering work order. |
|
Organization |
(Optional) Enter the organization responsible for completing this engineering work order. |
|
Assigned To |
Select the person who is responsible for completing this engineering work order. |
|
Controls Configuration Lifecycle |
(Optional) Select if you want the engineering work order to control the life cycle of entity configurations associated with it. |
Engineering Work Order - Information Page
You use the Engineering Work Order - Information page to edit the information that appears in the Summary page Information section. Some data elements, such as the ID, cannot be changed after the entity is created.
Note:
Additional fields may be displayed if the Engineering Work Order specification has been modified in Design Studio.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
|
Specification |
(Read-only) Displays the name of the Engineering Work Order specification. |
|
ID |
If the entity specification requires a manually entered ID, enter a unique ID for the entity. Most entity specifications are defined in Design Studio so that IDs are generated automatically. The ID field for these specifications contains the text AUTOGENERATE. |
|
Name |
Enter a name for the engineering work order. |
|
Type |
(Optional) Select a type that applies to this engineering work order. The following types are available by default:
Additional types may be available if the Engineering Work Order specification has been extended in Design Studio. |
|
Standard Operating Procedure |
(Optional) Enter a URL that points to a standardized document such as a schedule or job definition. |
|
Desired Due Date |
Enter the date by which the engineering work order should be competed. |
|
Actual Completion Date |
Enter the date and time by which the engineering work order was completed. |
|
Engineering Drawings |
(Optional) Enter a URL that points to a drawing related to this engineering work order. |
|
Effective Date |
Enter the date and time by which the engineering work order becomes active. Note: If you select Workflow Template, the system displays current date and time in Effective Date and changes the field to non-editable. |
|
Status |
Displays the current engineering work order status. See UIM Concepts for more information about engineering work order life cycles and statuses. |
|
Workflow Template |
Displays the workflow template associated with the engineering work order, if any. (Optional) You can select a workflow template to associate with the engineering work order. If you associate a workflow template with the engineering work order, its Summary page includes two additional tabs, the Activity Details tab and the Gantt Chart tab. |
|
Description |
(Optional) Enter a description of the engineering work order. |
|
Work Order Document |
(Optional) Enter a URL that points to a document related to this engineering work order. |
|
Organization |
(Optional) Enter the organization responsible for completing this engineering work order. |
|
Assigned To |
Select the person who is responsible for completing this engineering work order. |
|
Controls Configuration Lifecycle |
(Optional) Select if you want the engineering work order to control the life cycle of entity configurations associated with it. |
Engineering Work Order Summary Page
You use the Engineering Work Order Summary page to define the content for an engineering work order.
If you associate a workflow template with an engineering work order, the Summary page includes two additional tabs:
See the following topics for more information about summary pages:
Note:
The sections listed in the following table are specific to the Engineering Work Order Summary page. See "Entity Summary Page" for information about Summary page fields that are common among all entities.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
|
Information |
Displays basic information about the entity, most of which was defined when you created the entity. Click Edit to change this information. Some data elements, such as the ID, cannot be changed after the entity is created. See "Creating Entities" and "Business Interaction - New Page" for more information. Click Other System to view fields related to systems with which UIM is cooperating. These fields are visible by default when populated and are hidden by default when not populated. |
|
Engineering Work Order Hierarchy |
Displays a tree view of the engineering work order and any child engineering work orders. Engineering work orders can include hierarchies of other engineering work orders. For example, a capital improvement project could be broken into smaller engineering projects, each of which is broken into work orders. Options available in the View and Format menus enable you to control how the engineering work orders appear in the Engineering Work Order Hierarchy section. See "Working with Entity Hierarchies" for more information. |
|
Parent Engineering Work Order |
Displays the parent engineering work order if the engineering work order is a child of another engineering work order. Click the value in the ID field to navigate to the Summary page of the parent engineering work order. |
|
Engineering Work Order Items |
Do one of the following:
|
|
Transactions Log |
For engineering work orders created by web services, contains a list of all XML inputs. Click the sequence number of an XML input to view its full contents. |
Creating an Engineering Work Order
You can create an engineering work order from the Engineering Work Order - New page.
To create an engineering work order:
-
In the Tasks - All Tasks group of the navigation section, click Engineering Work Orders.
-
In the Search Results section, click Create.
The Engineering Work Order - New page appears.
-
In the Name field, enter a name for the engineering work order.
-
In the Desired Due Date field, enter the date and time by which the engineering work order should be competed.
-
In the Effective Date field, enter the date and time by which the engineering work order becomes active.
Note:
If you select a Workflow Template, the system displays current date and time in Effective Date and changes the field as non-editable. -
(Optional) From the Workflow Template list, select a workflow.
You can optionally associate a workflow template with an engineering work order. A workflow template defines an ordered, managed set of activities. The workflow must be completed before you can complete the engineering work order.
When you associate a workflow with an engineering work order, the Engineering Work Order Summary page adds two tabs: the Activity Details tab and the Gantt Chart tab. You use these tabs to manage the workflow and its activities.
When you select a workflow from the Workflow Template list, the following occurs:
-
The Name field is autopopulated with a name in the format:
templateName_user_sequenceNumber
where:
templateName is the name of the workflow template.
user is the name of the UIM user.
sequenceNumber indicates the nth workflow that the user is associating with the engineering work order. For example, a sequence number of 3 indicates that this is the third workflow that the user is associating with the engineering work order.
For example, EWOWORKFLOWTEMP_inv_3
You can edit the autopopulated name in the Name field.
-
The Desired Due Date field is autopopulated with the effective date of the last activity in the workflow. This field is editable.
-
The Effective Date field is autopopulated with the effective date of the last activity in the workflow. This field is read-only.
-
-
(Optional) Enter information into non-required fields.
-
(Optional) To create an additional engineering work order, click Save and Add Another.
-
Click Save and Continue.
The Activity Details tab appears, displaying a list of all the activities in the workflow in chronological order. See "Managing Activities" for more information.
Deleting an Engineering Work Order
You can request a delete of an Engineering Work Order from the search page. You can only delete an Engineering Work Order that is cancelled. A delete of an Engineering Work Order requires you to have an additional security role of ProjectManager. See UIM System Administrator's Guide for information about granting application roles.
Working with Projects
You use projects for two purposes:
-
To create and manage channelized connectivity maintenance activities such as grooming and rehoming. Each project can include any number of activities.
Note:
Projects can be used only for maintaining channelized connectivity. You cannot use projects for maintaining packet connectivity.
-
To manage related business interactions and engineering work orders.
See the following topics for more information about working with projects:
Editing Project Information
After you create a project, you can edit some of the basic identifying information you supplied when you created it.
To edit project information:
-
Open the Project Details page of a project.
-
In the Project Details tab, click the Edit button.
The Name, Description, and Due Date fields become editable.
-
Make changes to the editable fields.
-
Click Save or Save and Close.
Your changes are saved. If you clicked Save and Close, the fields are no longer editable.
Related Topic
Completing a Project
You can complete a project to indicate that you have finished working with it. You can complete a project even if it has maintenance activities in Ready or Finished status.
Note:
After you complete a project, it cannot be made active again. Its activities are no longer available to be processed.
To complete a project, do one of the following:
-
In a Project Search Results table, select a project and then select Complete from the Actions menu.
-
In a Project Details page, select Complete from the Actions menu.
Associating Business Interactions and Engineering Work Orders with Projects
You can associate business interactions and engineering work orders with projects so that you can manage them collectively. For example, if you have a complex network infrastructure project, it might be useful to divide it into several engineering work orders that you include in a project.
To associate a business interaction or engineering work order with a project:
-
In the Business Interactions section of the Project Details tab, click the Associate button.
The Business Interaction Search page appears.
-
Search for and select a business interaction, and then click OK.
The dialog box closes and the business interaction appears in the Business Interactions section.
Related Topics
Viewing Business Interaction Activities
You can view the activities included in the workflows of business interactions and engineering work orders associated with projects.
To view activities in associated business interactions:
-
In the Business Interactions section of the Project Details tab, select a business interaction.
UIM displays the activities in the workflow of the selected business interaction in the Business Interaction Activities section.
Working with Maintenance Activities
You add activities, such as grooming or rehoming connectivities, to projects. You perform actions on activities individually or in groups rather than as part of the entire project.
See the following topics for more information about working with maintenance activities:
Adding a Maintenance Activity to a Project
When you add an maintenance activity to a project, you specify its type. There are four maintenance activity types:
-
Groom
-
Rehome
-
Insert Node
-
Remove Node
To add a maintenance activity to a project:
-
In a Project Details page, click the Project Activities tab.
-
In the table toolbar, click the Create button.
-
In the dialog box that appears, select the activity type and enter a name.
-
Click OK.
The dialog box closes and the activity is added to the list.
Submitting Maintenance Activities
You can submit maintenance activities to UIM individually or in groups. When you submit an activity, UIM processes it in the background. A progress bar indicates its percentage of completion. Activities must be in Ready or Failed status when you submit them.
To submit maintenance activities:
-
In the Project Activities tab of a Project Details page, select one or more activities in Ready or Failed status.
-
From the Actions menu, select Submit.
UIM begins to process the activities. Their status changes to In Progress and the progress bar indicates their completion percentage. The Change Items tab is updated to include a list of entities changed during the processing of the activities. When UIM finishes processing, the status of the activities change to Completed.
Canceling Maintenance Activities
You can cancel maintenance activities that are in In Progress status (submitted, but not yet complete). Canceling an activity rolls back all actions already taken.
To cancel maintenance activities:
-
In the Project Activities tab of a Project Details page, select one or more activities in In Progress status.
-
From the Actions menu, select Cancel.
UIM stops processing the selected activities and rolls back any changes already made. The activity is placed in Canceled status.
Deleting Maintenance Activities
You can delete maintenance activities that you have added to projects. You can delete only activities that are in Ready status.
To delete maintenance activities:
-
In the Project Activities tab of a Project Details page, select one or more activities.
-
From the Actions menu, select Delete.
-
In the confirmation dialog box that appears, click OK.
The activities are removed from the Project Activities tab.
Validating Maintenance Activities
You can validate maintenance activities to ensure that they can be completed successfully. If the activity is not configured properly, UIM displays error messages that list issues that must be addressed.
You can validate activities that are in Ready or Failed status.
To validate maintenance activities:
-
In the Project Activities tab of a Project Details page, select one or more activities.
-
From the Actions menu, select Validate.
-
In the confirmation or error dialog box that appears, click OK.
Creating a Project Activity
UIM includes features that enable you to create a new activity and add it to your project.
You can perform the following maintenance operations:
You configure and perform these operations as activities in a project. See "Working with Projects" for information about projects. See "Working with Maintenance Activities" for information about adding activities to projects and about submitting activities to UIM for processing.
Performing a Groom Activity
After you have added a groom activity to a project, you specify the source and target entities and the source and target channels, riders, and locations provided by the corresponding entities. The source is the connectivity or pipe you are grooming and the target is the connectivity or pipe where the riders will be reassigned.
The source and target entities can be within the connectivity or pipe (intra-facility grooming) or different (inter-facility grooming).
You can perform the groom activity on the following entities:
-
Connectivities
-
Pipes
Note:
The Groom Activity does not work for the pipes having signal structure.
After configuring the grooming activity, you can preview the changes, then submit the activity for processing.
To perform the groom activity:
-
In the Activities tab of a Project Summary page, select a grooming activity.
The Groom area displays Source, Target, and Activity Items sections for this activity.
-
In the Source section:
-
Click the Connectivity or Pipe icon.
The corresponding Search dialog box appears.
-
Search for the entity that you want to groom.
-
Select one or more source entities in the search results, then click OK.
The entity Search dialog box closes and the selected entities appear in the Source section visualization.
-
-
In the Target section:
-
Click the Connectivity or Pipe icon.
The corresponding entity Search dialog box appears.
-
Search for target entity to which groomed riders will be reassigned.
-
Select one or more target entities in the search results, then click OK.
The entity Search dialog box closes and the selected entities appear in the Target section visualization.
-
-
In the Source section, expand the entity record, and select one or more channels, locations, or riders.
-
In the Target area, expand the record, and select one or more parent circuits you are grooming to.
-
Repeat steps 4 through 7 for additional channels or riders you want to include in the grooming activity.
-
Click the Add to Groom button.
UIM validates your selections and the changes you specified are listed in the Change Items tab of the Groom area..
-
Go to Project Activities and select Submit from the Activities list.
See "Submitting Maintenance Activities" for information about submitting the activity for processing.
-
After the successful submission of the activity, open Impacted Items tab under the Groom section.
-
Verify the groom activity.
-
(Optional) Click View Design to view the assignment changes from the corresponding summary page.
Performing a Rehome Activity
After you have added a rehome activity, to a project you specify the source and target devices or equipments and device interfaces or physical ports. You can preview the results of the activity and submit it for processing.
You can perform a rehome activity on the following entities:
-
Logical device
-
Physical device
-
Equipment
To perform a rehome activity:
-
In the Activities tab of a Project Summary page, select a rehoming activity.
The Rehome area displays Source, Target, and Change Items sections for this activity.
-
In the Source section:
-
Click the Logical Device, Physical Device, or Equipment icon.
The entity Search dialog box appears.
-
Search for the entity that you want to rehome.
-
In the search results, select one or more entities, then click OK.
The entity Search dialog box closes and the selected entities appear in the Source section visualization.
-
-
In the Target section:
-
Click the Logical Device, Physical Device, or Equipment icon.
The entity Search dialog box appears.
-
Search for the entities to which you want to rehome.
-
In the search results, select one or more entities, then click OK.
The entity Search dialog box closes and the selected entities appear in the Target section visualization.
-
-
In the Source area, expand the entity record, and select a device interface or physical port you want to rehome.
-
In the Target area, expand the entity record, and select the device interface or physical port to which you want to rehome.
-
Repeat steps 4 through 7 for every connectivity you want to rehome.
-
Click the Add to Rehome button.
UIM validates your selections and the changes you specified in the dialog boxes are listed in the Change Items tab of the Rehome area.
-
Go to Project Activities section and select Submit from the Activities list.
See "Submitting Maintenance Activities" for information about submitting the activity for processing.
-
After the successful rehome, open the Impacted Items tab under the Rehome section.
-
Verify the changes.
-
(Optional) You can click View Design to view the assignment changes from the corresponding summary page.
Inserting Network Nodes
After you have added an activity for inserting a network node to a project, you select the network that contains the network nodes and edges you want to work with. You then select the network edge into which you want to insert the node and the device that you want the node to represent. The edge into which you insert the node must represent a bearer facility and not a rider.
See UIM Concepts for information about the rules that govern node insertion.
To insert a network node:
-
In the Activities tab of a Project Summary page, select an insert network node activity.
The Insert Network Node area displays a blank network canvas and an Activity Items section.
-
In the toolbar, click the Network icon.
The Network Search dialog box appears.
-
Search for a network.
The network canvas displays the network you selected.
-
Click the Insert Node button.
The Insert Node dialog box appears, displaying the Select Network Edge area. This dialog box includes a wizard interface. You can return to previous steps by clicking the Back button.
-
Select the network edge into which you want to insert a node, then click Next.
The Select Device area appears, displaying Logical Device Search and Search Results sections.
-
Search for a logical device to be represented by the node you insert.
-
From the results of the search, select a logical device.
-
Click Next.
The Select Interfaces area appears, displaying Connectivity Device Interfaces and Device Interfaces sections.
The Source area in the Connectivity Device Interfaces section displays the existing connectivity represented by the edge into which you are inserting a node. The Target area shows the two connectivities that will result from the insertion of the node. The Z interface of the first connectivity and the A interface of the second connectivity are undefined.
The Device Interfaces section shows the device interface hierarchy of the logical device you selected previously.
-
In the Target area of the Connectivity Device Interfaces section, select the first new connectivity.
-
In Device Interfaces section, select the device interface to assign to the Z interface of the first connectivity, then click the Assign button.
UIM assigns the interface and refreshes the Target area. A green check mark appears next to the icon for the Z interface of the first connectivity.
-
In Device Interfaces section, select the device interface to assign to the A interface of the second connectivity, then click the Assign button.
UIM assigns the interface and refreshes the Target area. A green check mark appears next to the icon for the A interface of the second connectivity.
-
Click Next.
The Review area appears, displaying the actions that will be performed to complete the activity.
-
Click Finish.
The Insert Node dialog box closes. The planned node insertion is displayed in the network visualization with changes highlighted in color. The actions required by the activity are listed in the Change Items tab.
See "Submitting Maintenance Activities" for information about submitting the activity for processing.
Removing Network Nodes
After you have added an activity for removing a network node to a project, you select the network that contains the network nodes and edges you want to work with. You then select network node that you want to remove.
See UIM Concepts for information about the rules that govern node removal.
To remove a network node:
-
In the Activities tab of a Project Summary page, select a remove network node activity.
The Remove Network Node area displays a blank network canvas and an Activity Items section.
-
In the toolbar, click the Network icon.
The Network Search dialog box appears.
-
Search for a network.
The network canvas displays the network you selected.
-
Click the Remove Node button.
The Remove Node dialog box appears, displaying a list of nodes in the network. This dialog box includes a wizard interface. You can return to the previous step by clicking the Back button.
-
Select the node that you want to remove, then click Next.
The Review area appears, displaying the actions that will be performed to complete the activity.
-
Click Finish.
The Remove Node dialog box closes. The planned node removal is displayed in the network visualization with changes highlighted in color. The actions required by the activity are listed in the Change Items tab.
See "Submitting Maintenance Activities" for information about submitting the activity for processing.
Project - New Page
You use the Project - New page to create new projects.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
|
Name |
Enter a name for the project. |
|
Description |
(Optional) Enter a description of the project. |
|
Due Date |
(Optional) Enter the date by which the project should be completed. |
|
Status |
Displays the status (Created) of the project. |
Project Summary Page
You use the Project Summary page to define the content for a Project entity.
Note:
The following sections and tabs are specific to the Project Summary page. See "Entity Summary Page" for information about Summary page fields that are common among all entities.
| Section or Tab | Description |
|---|---|
|
General Information |
Displays basic information about the project, most of which was defined when the entity was created. Click Edit to change the project name, description, or due date. |
|
Project Activities |
Use this tab to add and manage activities. Existing activities are listed in a table. See "Working with Maintenance Activities" for more information. |
|
Groom |
Use this section to configure grooming activities. The Groom section includes the Source section in which you select the source connectivity or pipe and the Target section in which you select the target connectivity or pipe. The Add to Groom button becomes available after you have made the source and target selections. Clicking this button adds the changes to the Change Items section, in which you can view the configuration of the activity. See "Performing a Groom Activity" for more information. |
|
Rehome |
Use this section to configure rehoming activities. The Rehome section includes the Source section in which you select a source logical device, physical device, or equipment and the Target section in which you select a target logical device, physical device, or equipment. The Add to Rehome button becomes available after you have made the source and target selections. Clicking this button adds the changes to the Change Items section, in which you can view the configuration of the activity. See "Performing a Rehome Activity" for more information. |
|
Insert Node |
Use this section to configure insert node activities. The Insert Node section includes the Source section in which you select the network that includes the network edge into which you want to insert a node. The Source section includes a network visualization that you use to make your selection. See "Visualization Area" for more information. The Insert Node button becomes available after you have made the source selection. Clicking this button opens the Insert Node dialog box in which you complete the configuration of the activity. See "Inserting Network Nodes" for more information. |
|
Remove Node |
Use this section to configure remove node activities. The Remove Node section includes the Source section in which you select the network that includes the network edge from which you want to remove a node. The Source section includes a network visualization that you use to make your selection. See "Visualization Area" for more information. The Remove Node button becomes available after you have made the source selection. Clicking this button opens the Remove Node dialog box in which you complete the configuration of the activity. See "Removing Network Nodes" for more information. |
|
Change Items |
This tab lists actions that are direct results of the activity. For example, if you selected two channels to rehome, the table in this section lists two Rehome actions. The affected entity is shown along with other information such as the source and target interfaces. This section is populated only after the activity has been fully configured. |
|
Impact Items |
This tab lists actions that are indirect results of the activity. For example, a grooming activity may result in the creation of gaps. The section lists the actions and includes links to the affected entities. Actions that cannot be completed by UIM are in In Progress status. You can follow the entity links in the table to complete the actions. This section is populated during the processing of the activity. |
Visualization Area
Groom, Rehome, Insert Node, and Remove Node sections include one or two visualization areas in which you select entities. Most of the toolbar buttons are the same for all sections, but some are specific to certain sections.
The visualization area also includes an Overview section that displays a small-scale view that you can use for navigation. A Details section shows information about the element currently selected in the visualization.
| Toolbar Button | Description |
|---|---|
|
Select |
Click this button, and then select an entity in the visualization. After you select an entity, you can perform actions on the entity. For example, you can associate resources with nodes in a network visualization. When you select an entity, information about it is displayed in the Information section. |
|
Zoom |
Click this button, and then drag out an area in the visualization to zoom into. |
|
Pan |
Click to pan within the visualization. When you click the Pan button, the cursor changes to a hand and enables you to drag the visualization. Panning is useful when the visualization is zoomed in and only part of the network is visible. |
|
Show All |
Click to refresh the visualization to the zoom level required to show all elements in the network. |
|
Zoom In |
Click to zoom into the current center point of the visualization. |
|
Zoom Out |
Click to zoom out from the current center point of the visualization. |
|
Add Connectivity |
(Groom activities only) Click to add a connectivity to the visualization. |
|
Add Device |
(Rehome activities only) Click to add a logical device to the visualization. |
|
Add Network |
(Insert Node and Remove Node activities only) Click to add a network to the visualization. |
|
Save |
Click to save the current positions in the visualization. If you do not save the current positions, changes you make to the layout or position of elements are lost when you navigate away from the page. Note: Saving positions affects only the appearance and arrangement of the visualizations, not the content of the related entities. |
|
Clear |
Click to clear the contents of the visualization. |
|
Spring Embedder Layout |
Click to arrange elements with no edge crossings or very few edge crossings. This layout is useful for depicting small- and medium-sized networks. |
|
Random Layout |
Click to arrange the elements randomly, with random-length edges. |
|
Uniform Length Edges Layout |
Click to arrange elements to create edges of approximately equal length while minimizing edge crossings. The initial position of nodes affects the layout. This layout is useful for visualizing WANs. Networks with a star topology are automatically displayed in this layout. |
|
Tree Layout |
Click to arrange elements orthogonally in levels depending on their relationships. |
|
Circular Layout |
Click to arrange elements in a circle. Networks with a ring topology are automatically displayed in this layout. |
|
Topological Mesh Layout |
Click to arrange elements so that mesh relationships are visible. This layout is valid only in networks whose topologies include loops, such as mesh topologies. You see an error message if you try to apply it another topology. Networks with a mesh topology are automatically displayed in this layout. |
Generating Bills of Materials
You can generate a Bill of Materials (BOM) for engineering work orders, business interactions, and projects. The BOM is based on the resource and activity specifications included in the associated workflow template, including any modifications made in UIM. (For projects, the BOM reflects the combined BOMs of the engineering work orders and business interactions in the project.)
You can generate the following types of BOM:
-
Activity: Lists all activities in the workflow.
-
Quote: Lists and provides the cost for all activities and resources in the workflow whose specifications have been tagged as billable in Design Studio.
-
Resource: Lists all resources associated with activities in the workflow.
-
Engineering: Combines the content of the Activity and Resource types.
To generate a BOM:
-
Navigate to one of the following:
-
The Summary page of an engineering work order or business interaction that has a workflow template.
-
The Summary page of a Project that includes engineering work orders or business interactions that have workflow templates.
-
-
From the Actions menu, select Bill of Materials, and then select the type.
UIM processes data and then displays the Bill of Materials dialog box.
-
Click the Close button to close the dialog box.
Related Topics