Steward Asset Matrix systems DRAFT rev-April 22, 2004 9:32 pm ~Reference Guide for a Grid Based Schema~
Purpose
This document will describe in detail, eVectory’s development of Steward~GBS, the Grid~Based~Schema as used in STEWARD, and how this database schema is compliant with the ANSI/TIA/EIA-606-A specifications adopted May 16, 2002 as
The Administrative Standard for Commercial Telecommunications Infrastructure.
Executive Overview Summary
A company’s telecom assets, connections and virtual circuits have become the central nervous system for a successful business today; but the answer can not be found in constantly upgrading the best of breed software.
There are some business processes that simmer on the back burner for years – without ever moving to the front. Until recently, acceptance of infrastructure management systems had lukewarm acceptance and remained at the bottom of the budget list far too long. While only a few of the many issues will be discussed here - the most important one has been the lack of a set of standards for application in the real world.
Management on all levels must ensure that sound business terminology and processes are established and constantly reviewed. Otherwise, efforts to coordinate and communicate can result in chaos - or inefficiency at best.
Now that 606-A has provided a solid framework with which to work - eVECTORY has designed an organized, compliant Grid~Based~Schema for database or spreadsheet implementation. This Designator System can be readily understood, customized and utilized by technicians and staff alike.
Steward~GBS has been a collaborative effort. It is a system designed to meet the needs of Technicians, Labeling, Database Administrators and Management Reporting too. For this reason, eVectory has chosen to fully integrate GBS in version 2.1 of the Steward Asset Matrix - establishing on a fundamental level, a business Lexicon of well-anchored Designator Script that can be used across a global landscape.
Steward ~ GBS provides a geographical and architectural mechanism that will support growing your business. You are encouraged to adopt and use it extensively. Your criticism, corrections and suggestions for improving this open-schema will be sincerely appreciated. Thank you
Table of Contents
Purpose
Executive Overview
Table of Contents
Item Section
Definitions & Explanations 1
Fonts 2
Campus (sites) 3
Buildings (facilities) 4
Annexed or Attached Areas
Global Positioning Satellite 5
Floors 6
Mezzanines
Basement Sub-floors
Quadrant Spaces 7
Grid Based Schema 8
Business, Cable, Equipment & Work~Space Information
Work~Spaces, Rooms, Suites & Cubes 9
Suffix Characters
Large Area Designators
Routes: Pathways, Virtual 10
BackBone Cables and Horizontal Links
Galvanic BackBone Cables 11
Galvanic Horizontal Cables 12
Fiber Cables 13
Coaxial Cables and Waveguides 14
Originating and Terminating Devices
Blocks 15
Patch Panels 16
Equipment 17
AutoCAD 21
Hyperlinks to Webpages http://www.evectory.com/
entrust Vectory enterprises 22
the noahsArk project 23
Steward Asset Matrix system 24
entrust Verified base 25
Miscellaneous 26-31
CIDs~Labels Screen Capture 32
Block Layout Screen Capture 33
Suggestions for Managing a Telecom Project 34
ANSI/TIA/EIA-606-A and GBS Comparison Tables 35
Section
1) Definitions & ExplanationsA Descriptor is a Script assembled from GBS~Designators and a User’s amended Preferences. GBS is based on the use of Vertical and Horizontal Coordinates derived from a 2’ X 2’ Master Grid Layer, overlaid on Building Floor plans.
2) Font Specifications
§ All Descriptors and Designators should use Upper-Case letters.
§ The use of a non-proportional font like Courier New will improve visual alignment of database Table Views.
§ Colors are used in this document for clarification only. Please do not confuse them with 606-A recommended colors.
§ The number of characters used should be consistent for each type of Designators.
§ The use of a consistent character count improves visual alignment of database Table Views; but avoid the misuse of the letter “O” for the number Zero.
§ A Numeric value should always have one or more prefix alpha characters.
Examples: V049H049
§ Avoid the use of Quotations, Asterisks, Vertical-bars, Dashes, Question marks, Virgules and Spaces, since these characters / \ * ( ) | ? - are restricted by various file systems.
§ The following characters can be used to draw attention to, and facilitate faster database sorting by generic connection types.
Examples:
Campus: # = Company ! = Non-company
Connections: % = Fiber; = Copper; or @ = Coaxial types
$ = EQ. or Hardware = Pathway
§ Separator characters and symbols should be kept to a minimum,
yet be specific and consistent.
Separators: . Periods are used to separate distinct numbers and
between a Floor number and Work~Space Designator
~ Tildes are used between typically paired Designators
; semicolon for miscellaneous information
Examples: Campus~Building.Space KOA~NAT15.123A
Campus~Building.GBS KOA~NAT15.123A;V14H23
3) Campus Designators
Consist of two to four characters.
It may be prefixed by a # or ! character and followed by the suffix tilde ~
Examples:
Emory University Decatur: #EUD~ #GTA~ #UGA
Bell Operating Company: !BOC~ !MCI~ !ATT~ !SPT
General Motors, Atlanta: #GMA~ #KOA~
4) Building Designators
§ Consist of two, three or four alpha-characters
§ Should be obvious and easily understood by all employees and technicians
§ Meet all corporate approved legal requirements
§ Reference a street name whenever possible
Examples:
North Avenue Tower: NAT
Ten Peachtree Place: TPP
One Atlantic Centre: OAC
Other Attached or Annexed Buildings or Facilities
For referencing an adjacent, external or other large area, the letter "X" can be added to a Building Designator to indicate parking decks or attached buildings.
Examples: NATX
5) Global Positioning Satellite System (G.P.S.)
Values of Longitude, Latitude and Elevation can be determined,
assigned and tracked for the exact location of a Building’s
four exterior corners.
6) Floor Designators
Floors are represented by a Building Designator; and a 2 or 3 digit sub-set using
01 for the primary entry level floor through 99 for roof mechanical structures, sometimes referred to as Mechanical Penthouse.
By combining Designators for Campus, Building and Floor -
the Descriptor might look like the following:
Examples: #GMA~NAT01 #GMA~NAT99
Entrance Level Designators
The primary Building entrance level is Designated as either
Examples: NAT01. or NAT00G
Where a Building has two different Ground level entrances -
the lower level can be Designated as NAT00G and
the upper level can be Designated as NAT01.
Basement Designators
Are represented by: ~1B, ~2B, ~3B, etc. for 2 and 3-digit floors.
Examples: NAT~1B123 NAT~2B123 NAT~3BV13H25
Mezzanine Designators
In place of the period, use the letter ” M ” following the Floor Designator
below the Mezzanine level.
Examples:
Floors: NAT01. NAT01M NAT99.
Work~Spaces: NAT01.123 NAT01M123 NAT99V13H25
7) Quadrant Space Designators
Would typically be assigned to each of the four primary areas
of each Building Floor: NW, NE, SW & SE.
Examples: NAT15NW01 Fire Control
An alternate form using a Suffix Quadrant, Designator and Sequential numbers to define Space-01 located in the NW-Quadrant.
i.e.: USA12SE02 Telecom and/or Mechanical
Space-02 in the SE-Quadrant.
Telecommunications, Mechanical or other Equipment Spaces
Can use GBS coordinates to specifically locate and reduce confusion.
i.e.: USA12V49H49~Data Center - A door label at entrance to a space.
8) Grid Based Schema Designators
For Location Spaces
§ Coordinates are always defined by the use of the Grid~Based~Schema.
GBS Designators are the relational database equivalent of a Work~Space.
The GBS gird is based on the use of an AutoCAD or similar software programs
2’ X 2’ Master Grid Layer, overlaid on each Floor plan of a Building.
A 2-Digit Grid can accommodate nearly 40,000 sq. ft.; 3-Digits 3,900,000 sq.ft..
§ Each 2’x2’ Grid Segment is assigned a Vertical and Horizontal Coordinate.
This is similar to a spreadsheet, beginning with column-V01 and row-H01.
The first block would be located at the NW corner of the building through V999 and H999 located at the SE corner. Even larger Buildings could use more digits.
§ Important Note:
GBS vector~coordinate Designators Are Never Repeated on a Floor.
Consideration should be given to the Raised Access Floor and Overhead Ceiling tiles commonly found in data centers. The Grid Design for these tiles is usually based on the center of the local space. Because of this, non-standard tiles are found along the perimeter of a local space and around support columns.
The GBS numbers assigned to Interior Spaces should be physically aligned with the Master GBS Floor Grid Segments.
Examples: NAT15V01H08 NAT15V48H53
Business, Cable, Equipment and Work~Space Information
Cables, Pathways, Phone#’s, User Names, Cost Centers, Departments, Closets, Cubicles, Rooms, Suites and Equipment are all located and linked by their GBS Coordinates, stored in indexed database fields.
9) Work~Spaces, Room, Suite and Cube Designators
A two or preferably three-digit character sub-set may be used to accommodate 999 primary spaces; which may then be segmented by Quadrant Areas.
i.e. NW=001-249 NE=250-499 SW=500-749 SE=750-999
Initial location numbers would skip according to User Preference settings.
i.e. USA15.005, USA15.010, USA15.015, etc.;
Interval skipping allows for future additions to be added in-between.
i.e. USA15.006, USA15.011, USA15.017, etc.;
Suffix Alpha-Characters (A-Z)
Should only be used for sub-spaces within a permanent hard-wall Work~Space.
i.e. USA15.005 Hard Wall Office or Suite Designator
i.e. USA15.005A Individual Cube Designator
i.e. USA15.005(A-Z) Signage to a Large Work~Space with 26 sub-spaces
i.e. USA14.V03H18 Fax, Printer or other Common Equipment locations
Large Space Designators
Begin with Building, Floor, Separator Tilde, Period or none
and a User Defined Preference which forms a Unique Large Area Descriptor.
i.e. USA02~CAFÉ USA02.CommCtr USA02DataCtr
10) Routes and Pathway Designators
The prefix letters ‘R’ ‘P’ and ‘V’ represent Route, Path and Virtual followed by
two to eight digits. These unique, alpha-numberic names are also indexed.
(Note: see Page-2, Section-3 Non-Campus Designators for External circuits.)
’D’ and ‘Q’ represent Details and Qualifying information - written or abbreviated.
A Route consists of two or more Campus or Virtual pathways.
A Pathway is a cable support system or vessel that mechanically provides a means for the orderly management of cables between two or more spaces -
within a Campus or Building.
Cables should be installed and run to the nearest Pathway - at right angles to the exterior walls or existing Pathways whenever possible.
A Virtual pathway may be used to manage circuits external to the control of the Campus Administration. A Virtual path tracks expanded information for Carrier, Carrier Circuit-ID, Contacts, Phone Numbers, Dates and more.
The Verticle & Horizontal coordinates for the Originating and Terminating ends of each Pathway are tracked in separate database fields using validation.
Auto-Routing software requires a system of coordinates to be able to compute which combinations of pathways a cable will take and its final length.
The complete RPV is setoff with a pair of less than -greater than symbols.
Example: 606-A Class-4 Pathway Descriptor R66:P01;P02;P03>
i.e.: GBS~ Descriptor between Customer and Carrier sites.
#KOA~NAT~1BV48H49 <R66:P01;P02;P03> !BOA~BOP02 V45H46 <R123:V999>
BackBone Cables and Horizontal Links
Backbone and horizontal cables may involve copper, fiber optic and coaxial cables, waveguide and virtual circuits. Route, Pathway and Virtual information is designated by <R:P:V>.
11) Galvanic Backbone Cable Designators
A Galvanic connection consists of one or more metallic conductors, which can pass Direct Current Voltage.
Since 25-Pair Binder Groups can be split-out from a larger cable, each 25-pair group is tracked as a unique Cable of Five Sub-Binders, with five pairs each.
If an additional cable is installed to increase the pair-count, the existing cable is expanded to include the new pairs.
Both UTP and STP Types are counted and labeled to match standard binder color codes used for five-pair groups.
Pathway: <R:P~D~Q> Route: Pathway, Detail, Q information
Cable-Size: ID, Size, Color and Number of pairs or conductors.
Pairs: Color and Number are tracked for pairs 1-25.
Binder G01: T01, 06, 11, 16, 21 Binder G02: T26, 31, 36, 41, 46
Cable Types: STP and UTP= Shielded and Unshielded Twisted Pair;
Example: #KOA~NAT~1B.CommCtr;V48H49A001T26 <R:P> #KOA~USA~1B.DataCtr;V45H46A005T26
12) Galvanic Horizontal Cable Designators
A Copper Cable consists of one or more conductors -
which can pass Direct Current Voltage.
Pathway: <R:P~D~Q> Route:Pathway~Detail~Q information
Cable-Size: ID, Size, Color and Number of pairs or conductors.
Pairs: Four-Pairs and Conductor Colors and Numbers are tracked
Every 4th Terminal Labeled is used as part of the Designator.
T01, 05, 09, 13, 17, 21, 26, 30, 34, 38, 42 and T46
Conductor: T= Tip/Low Potential and R = Ring/ High Potential Conductor Circuit: Up to 25 Circuits are tracked in Primary Cable database.
Larger cables use a linked database for unlimited identifiers.
Example 1: #KOA~NAT015NW01A001T01 <R:P>
Example 2: #KOA~NAT015V48H49A001T01 <R:P>
13) Fiber Optic Horizontal CABLE DESIGNATORS
A Fiber Cable typically consists of one or more strands, which can consist of un-limited Virtual Circuits. Each strand is considered the equivalent of a primary cable of one-pair and 25-circuits. Additional circuits are tracked in a linked database with unlimited virtual circuits.
Pathway: <R:P:V> Pathway, Detail, Q information
Fiber-Duct: ID, Size, Color and Number of Strands
Strands: FM=Fiber Multimode; FS=Fiber Singlemode
Tx/Rx: Tx = Transmit and Rx = Receive. Fields are provided if needed
Circuit: Unlimited Number of Circuits may be added
Example 1: #KOA~NAT015NW01%C044F09;S04P01;96 <R:P:V>
Example 2: #KOA~NAT015V48H49%C023F07;S04P10;96 <R:P:V>
14) Coaxial type Cables and Waveguide Designators
Coaxial Cables have wide bandwidth and are capable of carrying many circuits.
Waveguides are mechanical transmission lines with wide bandwidth capacity.
Both are capable of carrying many circuits like a Fiber Cable Strand.
Pathway: <R:P:V> Route: Pathway~Detail~Q information
Wave-Guide: ID, Custom field description
Other:
Tx/Rx: Tx = Transmit and Rx = Receive. Fields are provided if needed.
Circuit: Up to 25 Circuits are tracked.
Cables with more than 25-Pairs or Circuits use a linked relational database
for unlimited Circuits and Spans.
Example 1: #KOA~NAT015V45H46~ER@X03P01;24
Example 2: #KOA~NAT015NW01@X03P01;24 <R:P~D~Q>
Example 3: #KOA~NAT015NW01~ER@X03P01;24 <R:P~D~Q>
Originating and Terminating Devices
15) Block Designators
§ Reference the Block Type and consecutively number them within a
Telecom-Space without regard to rack or other installed location.