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Smart Client Extension for AutoCAD
Asset Management / Asset Management/ IT Asset Manager
Asset Management /Enterprise Asset Management / IT Asset Manager
Asset Management / Telecom Asset Management / Telecom Management

Draw Patch Panels

Your site can choose to document their patch panel inventory with a patch panel plan, in which patch panels are represented on CAD floor plan drawings. Patch panel plans are handy for visualizing the exact location of patch panels within a room . For example, if am IT manager needs to connect the jacks on a faceplate to a patch panel, they can check the plan to see the exact location of the item.

To create a patch panel plan, a CAD specialist needs to add patch panel asset symbols to the existing floor plan drawings.

Procedure

Prerequisite: Typically, someone at your site will have already defined patch panel standards and other background data about the facility. The CAD specialist should have previously defined faceplate blocks and developed a CAD room plan.

1. On the Process Navigator in CAD or in ARCHIBUS Smart Client, move to IT Asset Manager or Telecom Management process.
2. If you are working in Smart Client and CAD is not active, select the Draw Patch Panels task. The task presents the Drawing List so that you can choose a drawing to work on. Choose the drawing, and ARCHIBUS loads your CAD tool, displays the selected drawing, and makes CAD the active application.
3. In CAD, open a drawing (if necessary).
4. Prepare the drawing for working with faceplates by choosing Set Patch Panels on the Process Navigator.
5. Depict the floor's patch panels by inserting patch panel blocks. There are several methods. For your convenience, commands for these methods are listed on the Process Navigator.
• Insert an instance of a block drawing representing your patch panel by choosing Insert Block from the Process Navigator. Browse to find your block drawing, and then position your block.
• If patch panel standards have been defined, you can asset insert a patch panel. Choose Asset Insert from the Process Navigator and then choose a standard from the resulting list. Choose a position for your block, and the command inserts it and displays its standard as asset text.
• If Patch Panel records already exist in the database and you now want to generate asset symbols for these records, you can populate the drawing with patch panel blocks. Choose the Populate Patch Panels to Rooms task on the CAD Process Navigator. Based on the database information, the system will add the blocks to the appropriate rooms, assign them intelligence, link them to the existing records and convert them to asset symbols. If you use this method, you can skip step 6 below. Once the system generates them, you will want to position your patch panel asset symbols within the room boundary to represent their physical location in the actual room.
• Populating generates asset symbols for all patch panels in the room. If you want to create asset symbols for just some items, asset insert the standard, which will add the block to the drawing. Next, from the CAD Process Navigator, run the "Attach to Record" command, which will prompt you to select the database record to connect to this block to form an asset symbol. You can skip step 6, below.
6. Data edit the blocks to convert them to asset symbols and register them in the database. Complete the following fields:
• Patch Panel Code -- Enter a value to uniquely identify this item.
• Building Code/Floor Code -- The program may have already completed these with values from the drawing's default space hierarchy values. If not, you may select from the available values by choosing the ellipses button.
• Room Code -- Enter the room in which the patch panel is located by typing the room number or choosing the room from the ellipses button.
• Faceplate Standard -- If you asset inserted your patch panel, the block will have a standard. If you used the Insert Block command, you will need to complete the standard.
7. So that your patch panel plan can be viewed using ARCHIBUS Web Central, run the Publish Enterprise Graphics command (located on the CAD Process Navigator for your convenience) to publish your drawing as an ARCHIBUS Enterprise Graphic file. For use with the Telecom Console or Project Proposal Console (Enterprise Asset Management), the enterprise graphic files must be SVG.
8. View your patch panel plans by working with the IT Asset Manager / Telecom Console or Telecom Management / Telecom Console task in Web Central.

See Also

Representing Telecom Devices in CAD

Adding Blocks to Floor Plan Drawings

Creating Asset Symbols by Asset Inserting

Creating Asset Symbols by Populating