Organizing your utility network with tiers and subnetworks allows you to use the advanced functionality built into utility network tools and commands with a traditional domain network. 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 configured with traditional domain networks:
- Traditional domain network properties—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 and define the characteristics or composition of the subnetworks in traditional domain networks. These characteristics can help you with tracing tasks, management of subnetworks, diagram events, and export operations.
A utility network has a structure that matches how electric, gas, water, and wastewater organizations 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 or close status of switches and valves.
