Connectivity

Connectivity allows you to view all the connections that are created within your database.  The list displays the device, whether a set or circuit, and the associated facilities information including all cross connects.  You can double click on any record to open the Connectivity window, within this window you can manipulate the facilities.

You can also create new dedicated plant records.  For a record to be dedicated you have to take the connection all the way to the room and jack in the assigned building.  This kind of record is called Dedicated without port.  The other type of dedicated plant, is dedicated with port, this means you are dedicating the connection from the port all the way to the room and jack in the assigned building.  This report displays which records are ‘Dedicated’ or ‘Not Dedicated’.

Viewing Connectivity

1. Click the Facilities
2. Click the Connectivity menu on the Navigation
3. Depending on the amount of records you have within your database, the list may not immediately populate. To populate the list, perform one of the following actions:

• • Within the search box, type the building name or portion of the name and then click the magnifying glass.
  • Click the Show All

4. Within the list, you can view the complete connectivity for the device. As you scroll to the right, the cross connects are listed.
5. The Terminal Position, Building and Terminal are bolded, these are the location of where the device is located. All cross connects work from this location back to the MDF.

Creating a New Dedicated Plant

1. Click the Facilities
2. Click the Connectivity menu on the Navigation
3. Within the Actions pane, click on the Add New Dedicated Plant link.
4. The Connectivity – Detail window opens. The window will look familiar as it is a copy Facilities pane you see in Sets and Circuits.  There are two sections of information the top pane displays a few basic items regarding the connectivity and dedicated plant.  The lower half allows you to assign the complete facilities package with cross connects.
5. Within the top section, complete the following fields the required fields are marked with an asterisk (*):

• • Assigned Site – click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of the sites, there are two columns of information. The first column displays the site that you are associating, the second column is the complete path to the site this includes the parents of the site.  You can either scroll through the list to find the site or you can type in any portion of the site name within the textbox, once the site appears, click on the name to associate to the device.  The site name displays in the field.
  • Assigned Building * – click the drop-down arrow to access a list, you can either scroll through the list to find the building or you can type in any portion of the building name into the textbox, once the building name appears, click on the name to associate to the device. The building name appears in the field.
  • Alternate Location – type in any alternate location information relating to the device. This field can appear in the 911 interface
  • Directory Building Name – this field auto-populates with the Directory Building Name that appears on the Building Record. The Directory Building name is defined as the common name for the building, for example, the assigned building name is 100 and the directory building name is Post Office. This field is read only.
  • Floor – type the floor number, if applicable.
  • Room – type the room number, if you are creating a dedicated plant you must enter a room number
  • Jack – type the jack number, if you are creating a dedicate plant you must enter a jack number
  • Connectivity Misc 1-3 – use these fields to enter in any other information regarding this connection that you want to track
  • Dedicated Plant * – click the arrow to access a drop-down list, from the list select the type of dedication. The field automatically defaults to ‘Dedicated Without Port’. You can change the selection to ‘Dedicated with Port’ by clicking the dropdown arrow and making the selection.
  • Latitude – type in the latitude coordinate of the building
  • Longitude – type in the longitudinal coordinate of the building
  • Elevation – type in the elevation of the building

6. It is a good idea to save the changes you have just made, within the Actions ribbon group click on the Save button.
7. Within the lower pane there are three tabs of information; Edit, Dedicated Plant and Imported Data By Path.
8. The Edit tab allows you to change the connectivity to the device. There are two lines of information for each portion of the connection. The top line displays the following information, when you change any field in this row it will cause the rest of the section to be delete.

• • Site – click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of the sites, there are two columns of information. The first column display the site that you are associating, the second column is the complete path to the site this includes the parents of the site.  You can either scroll through the list to find the site or you can type in any portion of the site name within the textbox, once the site appears, click on the name to associate to the device.  The site name displays in the field.
  • Building – click the drop-down arrow to access a list, you can either scroll through the list to find the building or you can type in any portion of the building name into the textbox, once the building name appears, click on the name to associate to the device. The building name appears in the field.
  • Terminal Name – if the building contains only one terminal this field auto-populates with terminal name. If the field is blank click on the dropdown arrow to access a list of terminals, you can either scroll through the list to find the terminal or you can type in any portion of the name within the textbox, once the terminal appears, click on the name to associate to the device. The terminal name displays in the field.

9. In the second row allows you to add the connection and path information, click on the row marked with an asterisk (*) to add a new connection or click into any field to edit the information. The following fields are available:

• • Connection Name – click the drop-down to access a list, you can either scroll through the list to find the connection or you can type in any portion of the name within the textbox in the upper right hand corner of the dropdown, once the connection appears, click on the name to associate to the device. The name displays in the field
  • Path Number – this field auto-populates with the next available path in the terminal. To change this selection, click the drop-down arrow to access a list, there four several columns of information that display the binding post or frame location of the path.
  • Path Usage – click the drop-down arrow to access a list, you can either scroll through the list to find your selection or you can type in any portion of the name within the textbox in the upper right hand corner of the dropdown, once your selection appears, click on the name to associate to the connection. The name displays in the field.  This is a list that is pre-defined within Facilities and indicates how the path is being used, for example, data, voice, transmit, etc.
  • Out Binding Post or Out Frame Location – these fields auto-populate with number(s) corresponding to the path number. This information is defined within Facilities; each terminal is designed with either a Binding Post or Frame Location. This field is a Read Only field.
  • In Binding Post or In Frame Location – these fields auto-populate within number(s) corresponding to the path number. This information is defined within Facilities; each terminal is designed with either a Binding Post or Frame Location. This is a Read Only field.

10. You can continue to add-in cross connect buildings, terminals, and connection information for the device by entering in another site, building name, and terminal.
11. The Dedicated Plant tab allows you to view all existing dedicated plant within your database. You can click on any record in the list to load the complete connectivity to view or edit.
12. The Nearest Building tab lists the building that are closest to the Assigned Building based on latitude and longitude coordinates.
13. Once you have added the complete plant connectivity, within the Actions ribbon group, click Save (to save and stay) to continue working with this connectivity, or click Save & Close (to save and exit) to return to the Connectivity list.