When a utility network is created, a common domain network, called the structure network, is included to be shared across different domain networks. Utilities commonly carry more than one type of resource on a common set of structures. For example, a pole may support electric lines, telecommunication wires, and fiber optic cables. Similarly, a duct bank may carry many types of utility resources. Sharing a structure network across multiple traditional domain networks or telecom domain networks eliminates redundancy and allows you to better track joint usage on poles and ducts.
A structure network does not have any resources (such as water or electricity) flowing through it; however, the structure network can support other features that are part of the resource-delivering network. For example, a vault (which is a structure) can contain valves and regulators that are part of the active network delivering the resource. One of the key capabilities of the structure network is the support for structural attachment and containment associations with various domain networks. Structural attachment associations provide an efficient method to identify structures supporting a circuit or subnetwork. Containment associations allow you to model a dense collection of features using a single structure feature that contains other network features. For example, a substation can contain other features such as power transformers, circuit breakers, and busbars. Likewise, a duct can contain multiple cables and fibers. These association types satisfy an organization’s need to rapidly identify which structure, such as a pole, rack, or vault, is associated with a device that may be experiencing an outage.
The illustration below shows conceptually how a transformer and a connection point on the electric distribution line is attached to a pole in the structure network:
Classes in a structure network
The structure network consists of the StructureJunction, StructureLine, and StructureBoundary feature classes, and the StructureJunctionObject and StructureEdgeObject tables. These feature classes and tables are created with system-provided attribute domains assigned to system fields for use by the utility network and require additional configuration for use.
The following image shows the feature classes and tables that comprise the structure network:
The feature classes are more fully described as follows:
- StructureJunction—Represents structural point features such as poles, pads, vaults, cabinet, or central office that support other features. These are compact features that are tracked in an organization's asset inventory system.
- StructureLine—Represents linear features such as trenches, span guy, or duct banks. Structure lines contain other network features carrying a resource such as electricity, gas, data, or water.
- StructureBoundary—Represents polygon container features that contain other network features. For example, a structure boundary can represent the outline of a substation or central office.
The tables are described as follows:
- StructureJunctionObject—Represents structural junction objects that contain other objects such as fuses or racks.
- StructureEdgeObject—Represents structural edge objects that contain other objects such as a trench, duct, or microduct.
Structure network attributes
All classes in a structure network share the following attributes:
| Field name | Field alias | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ASSETGROUP | Asset group | A subtype field with the major classification of feature types. |
| ASSETTYPE | Asset type | A field with minor classifications implemented as attribute domains for each asset group type. |
| ASSOCIATIONSTATUS | Association status | Describes the type of association in which a feature participates, the role it plays in the relationship, and visibility properties for content features. For more information, see Association status attribute. |
| SUBNETWORKNAME | Supported subnetwork name | The name of the subnetwork in which the feature resides. Note:The field alias is set to Supported subnetwork name for utility networks created using Utility Network Version 4 and later. Utility networks that are upgraded from version 3 or earlier will have an alias of Subnetwork name.Note:The Supported subnetwork name field is only used with traditional domain networks. |
| CLUSTERKEY | Cluster key | An optional attribute that enables improvement of object clustering in the network index. |
The StructureLine feature class and StructureEdgeObject table have the following additional attribute:
| Field name | Field alias | Description |
|---|---|---|
| FLOWDIRECTION | Flow direction | Specifies whether resources flow with or against the digitized direction of a line, or the From and To global ID of the edge object in the association, or whether flow is indeterminate when modeling flow using the digitized direction of lines. To learn more, see Flow direction in a utility network. Note:Utility Network Version 7 and later. |