Organizing your utility network allows you to use the benefits of advanced functionality built into utility network tools and commands. This structure allows a utility network to manage information about features relative to the rest of the system.
The following are the main architectural pieces and properties of a utility network:
- Domain networks—Tier definition and subnetwork controller type
- Tier groups—Hierarchical domain networks only
- Tiers—Rank, topology type, and subnetwork definition
- Subnetworks—Subnetwork name and subnetwork controller
- Subnetwork controllers—Controller name
Each element has properties that allow you to model different types of systems. Such properties help you define the characteristics or makeup of your subnetworks. These characteristics drive tracing tasks, management of subnetworks, diagram events, and export operations.
A utility network has a structure that matches how electric, gas, water, and telecommunications companies are organized. The simplified example below shows how an electric utility is organized by voltage levels. The utility network structure includes tiers for common voltage ranges, subnetworks for circuits, and subnetwork controllers for the starting point of each subnetwork. Subnetworks are terminated either at the ends of lines or by barriers that can model the current open/close status of switches and valves.
