The Importance of Accurate Documentation for Fiber Optic Networks Randy Anderson VP – Software Advance Fiber Optics
You build the network. You test the network. It works. Move on.
Aerial $30,000 / mile ~ $18,000 / km Underground $500,000 / mile ~ $310,000 / km Typical Outside Plant Construction Costs
Companies will spend millions of dollars building a network, and more millions maintaining it. A process that would only cost them a fraction of their operations budget. But, they invest relatively nothing to document the network. Typical documentation costs are less than $100 per mile.
Why spend the time record keeping? Maybe you already have a record keeping system …
Capacity Management Sales and Marketing Network Maintenance Planning and Design Tax and Finance Investor Relations
Network Operations
Marketing
Tax and Finance
Sales
Design Engineering
An effective documentation system is composed of two parts … Software and Processes
The Data Model Software
A drawing is essential, but it is only a start
Objects need attributes Length Number of Fibers Installation Date Installation Company Etc. Objects on the drawing need attributes
: 1-12 to 2: : to 3: 1-12 The drawing also needs to include connectivity
But even with that information, a simple drawing falls far short of being able to deliver what the users need
AB Data in a fiber network management system starts off simple
AB
AB
AB
AB C
AB C
AB C
AB C D
AB C D
AB C D
AB C D EF
AB C D EF
AB C D EF
AB C D EF
AB C D EF RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX
Once we have the data in this format we can begin to use it …
AB C D EF RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX … find the location of fiber breaks Break is 2,000 m from A2 … 500 1,500
AB C D EF RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX … build rings to better understand the connectivity
AB C D EF RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX Fiber 1 – A, C, B, D, A Fiber 2 – A, D, C, B, A Fiber 3 – A, E, F, B Fiber 4 – A, B Know what is on each fiber of each cable
AB C D EF RX TX RX TX RX TX RX TX And there is much more
Now, combine all of the data
Buildings Access Points Conduit Cable Organize the Geographic Data Geographic Data
Buildings / Access Points Enclosures Cables Conduit Attribute Data Geographic DataTabular / Attribute Data
Connectivity Data : 1-12 to 2: : to 3: 1-12 Geographic DataTabular / Attribute DataConnectivity Data
Choose the Land-base MapInfo StreetPro Aerial Imagery CAD Drawings MapPoint Etc. Geographic DataTabular / Attribute DataConnectivity DataGeographic Land-base
Geographic Data Pull it all Together Tabular / Attribute DataConnectivity DataGeographic Land-base Database
What about putting the data into the system? Process
What about maintaining the data?