There are three approaches to create and configure a utility network which are considered best practice: using the Utility Network Migration Wizard, the Migration toolset, or the Utility Network Foundations. The migration wizard and toolset are built around the Migrate To Utility Network tool, and are ideal for organizations seeking a straightforward path to create a generic utility network that inherits their existing schema and workflows. This approach is best suited to those with modest requirements who prefer to gradually enhance network capabilities over time. In contrast, the Utility Network Foundations provide industry-specific data models that align with Esri best practices, for customers aiming to maximize their investment in the utility network and use advanced capabilities such as associations, nonspatial objects, and network diagrams. This approach delivers a comprehensive framework tailored to specific industry needs.
Core tools are also available in ArcGIS Pro to create and configure a utility network manually. These may also be used to modify and extend a configuration after the initial implementation.
Before creating and configuring a utility network, it is important to understand the different deployment types and options for configuration. The geodatabase type that stores the utility network will determine the type of deployment, which also impacts the configuration, sharing capabilities, and licensing of the utility network. You can create and configure a utility network using the Utility Network Foundations solutions to create a utility network based on a predefined industry, migrate existing geodatabase data into a utility network using the Utility Network Migration Wizard or Migrate To Utility Network tool to maintain your current schema, or use a set of core tools to manually create and configure a utility network.
Review the sections below for details on deployment types and the options available for configuring a utility network.
Deployment types
There are two deployment types for a utility network. The geodatabase type used to store a utility network will determine the deployment type.
- Enterprise deployment—The primary deployment pattern for a utility network that employs an enterprise geodatabase. This services-based architecture allows multiuser editing and the sharing of a utility network across all platforms (desktop, mobile, and web).
- Single-user deployment—An alternate deployment pattern for a utility network stored in a file or mobile geodatabase. While concurrent access is enabled for read-only operations, editing operations are limited to a single user.
Reference the following table to review the properties of each deployment type:
| Deployment | Number of editors | Geodatabase type | ArcGIS Pro license level | User type extension |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Many | ArcGIS Advanced Editing | |||
One | N/A |
Note:
A utility network can be transferred between geodatabases following creation using the core copy and paste tools in ArcGIS Pro or by using the Export XML Workspace Document and Import XML Workspace Document tools or Utility Network Package toolbox. To learn more, see Transfer a utility network dataset.
Utility Network Foundations
Predefined templates known as the Utility Network Foundations are provided by the ArcGIS Solutions team for various industries to reduce the time and effort required to implement a utility network. For those who want to access all of the functionality available in the utility network, it is considered best practice to begin your implementation with a Utility Network Foundations solution if one is available for your industry. These solutions provide a set of tools to aid network creation and configuration along with a baseline model that you can extend or modify to suit your needs.
Each Utility Network Foundations solution provides all the necessary components to get you started, along with detailed help documentation to guide you through the process. Review the Utility Network Foundations solutions available for your industry to learn more:
The general workflow to create and configure a utility network with the Utility Network Foundations is as follows:
- Deploy the Utility Network Foundations solution.
- Choose a model for your industry using the gallery links above.
- Install the Utility Network Package toolbox. The Utility Network Package toolbox contains tools to simplify the configuration and export of a utility network.
- Perform data migration.
- Review the schema to perform data mapping and modify the information model. Schema reports allow you to explore the models and their configurations.
- Data mapping tools allow you to map your source data to target datasets and identify whether you need to extend or modify the existing model to suit your needs.
- Migrate your data to the asset package from the foundation for deployment to a file or mobile geodatabase and to perform quality assurance.
- Configure the utility network environment.
- Deploy your utility network to an enterprise geodatabase.
- Configure editing maps, enable the topology, and publish your utility network.
To learn more about the steps required to create and configure a utility network using the foundation models, review the help topics for each solution.
Note:
If a Utility Network Foundations solution is not available for a specific domain, the utility network can be created and configured manually or by using the Migration toolset.
Migrate existing data into a utility network
The Migration toolset in the Utility Network toolbox contains three tools designed to provide a simplified process for the migration of existing data into a utility network to support basic editing and tracing workflows.
The Migrate To Utility Network tool creates a mobile geodatabase containing a utility network based on the existing source feature classes you provide. You can also access and work with the migrate tool using the Utility Network Migration Wizard to simplify mapping of existing data to utility network classes. Designed with existing geometric network users in mind, these tools facilitate access to the network management capabilities of the utility network for those whose current requirements are limited in scope. They allow you to preserve and map the existing schema for each class, assign domains for the creation of asset types, and optionally specify which asset types can be used to define the source or sink in the network as subnetwork controllers. Once the utility network is created, the Analyze Network Data tool can be used to identify errors or data quality issues and prescribe the editing operations that are required to address the problems. This tool creates an output that can be modified and used by the Apply Error Resolutions tool to automate the resolution of common error types in your network.
Learn more about migrating existing data to a utility network
Manual configuration
A utility network can be created and configured manually using the suite of geoprocessing tools available in the Utility Network toolbox. This process can be scripted and combined with tools found in the Utility Network Package toolbox to help simplify the configuration of a utility network. The same tools that are used during the initial phase of implementation can be revisited when additional configuration is needed for the utility network.
See Configure a utility network for more information.