Cable Maintenance

Navigate to the Cable Maintenance Grid. Main > Cable > Cable Maintenance (see Cable module navigation).

On the Cable Maintenance Grid, Users can add new cables, edit existing cables, transfer existing cables to new locations, and delete existing cables.

Adding a Cable

To add a new cable to the Cable Maintenance Grid, click the

button on the Grid Toolbar above the Grid. This opens a Cable Maintenance data entry form.

The User must first input data into the Required fields. In this case, the User must input the Cable Name and choose a Cable Type from a drop-down list of default options. At this point, the User can choose to add in-depth identification information, including Length (feet) and Signal Loss (decibels). The greyed-out data fields are automatically generated when the User adds specific Pairs/Strands to the newly created cable.

How To Add A New Cable

Go to Main > Cable > Cable Maintenance.
Click the button.
Enter a unique Cable Name.
Choose a value on the Cable Type drop-down.
You may optionally enter the Owner, the Length and Signal Loss for the Cable.
Next we are going to specify the capacity of the cable either in terms of pairs or strands, enter the capacity of the
cable by specifying the Low and High Pair/Strands. (center of screen)
Choose the initial Status of the Pairs/Strands for this cable. (Spare, Reserved, Unknown, etc.)
You may optionally choose the Type of cable (Voice or Data) from the Type drop-down.
Choose the equipment the cable pair/strands originate from (note: the pair/strands in an individual cable can originate
from different frames/devices) You may enter the frame/device name or chose it from the picker.
If known you may also specify the destination frame/device for this pair range.
Click the button.

If the destination frame/device is not specified it can be entered later. Any time changes are made here and Save is clicked
the settings will be applied to the specified range of Pairs/Strands.

Any time you access this Cable from this screen you will get a summary section to give you an overview of the Cable.

Saving a New Cable

Upon fulfilling all the Required fields, click

at the bottom of the Cable data entry form. This action results in three distinct outcomes. First, the new Cable is visible in the original Cable Maintenance Grid. Second, the PCR-360 application automatically generates inputs for the greyed-out data entry form data fields referenced in the Adding a Cable section. Most importantly, the PCR-360 application automatically generates the new cable's pairs/strands information in a previously absent data entry form tab entitled Pairs and Strands (see Managing pairs and strands below).

Bulk Adding Pairs/Strands to a Cable

Considering the high volume of Cables employed by a modern business, it is typically much easier to manage Cables in bulk. To bulk Create or Edit Pairs/Strands, select the cable in the Cable Maintenance grid, and click the

button. Then use the section labeled Pairs/Strands.

In this section, the User can input the new cable's origination and destination equipment – that is, what the cables are plugged into on either end. To select a piece of origination or destination equipment, click on the Search Icon (

) in the 'Equipment' data field. This opens a list of the User organization's Equipment from which the User can select the appropriate equipment.

Once the User has defined the appropriate origination and destination equipment, the next step is to define the number of Pairs/Strands and add further identification information. In the data field labeled Low, enter the '1' to indicate that there is at least one strand/pair in the cable. In the data field labeled High, enter the maximum number of strands/pairs that is applied to the cable. For example, if a User wants to input 10 strands/pairs, the appropriate Low/High input would be 1/10.

Note: Though this function allows Users to input Pairs/Strands in bulk, Users can also input single pairs/strands. To input a single pair or strand, input 1/1 as the Low/High ratio.

After the User indicates the number of Pairs/Strands applied to the cable, the Cable data entry form automatically updates to reflect the changes. The 'Status' drop-down menu, for example, becomes a Required field as well as the Origination Equipment from which the pairs/strands begin. Critically, the tab labeled 'Pairs/Strands' also appears and lists each pair/strand in a Grid format (see Managing pairs and strands below).

Status

More information on Pair/Strand statuses is available here

Transfer Pair/Strand Range

This button allows the User to Transfer a range of existing Pairs/Strands from one Cable to another.

To access this form, from the Cable Maintenance grid, click the button.
This brings up the 'Manage Cable' dialog.
Manage Cable form
Select the Cable to transfer to.

4. Select the Low range to be associated with the moved Cable.

5. Click the

button.

All Pairs/Strands in the range will be transferred from the Origination (Transfer from) to the Destination (Transfer to) Cable.

Managing Pairs and Strands

Using the Grid within the 'Pairs/Strands' tab in the Cable data entry form, Users can add more pairs/strands to the cable, edit individual pairs/strands, view, and edit the paths that the pairs/strands follow, and delete existing pairs/strands.

More Information

More information on Pairs/Strands is available here

View and Edit Paths

Path building and editing are covered in the Cable article, Paths. However, in this section, a User can view the path(s) for one or multiple pairs/strands by highlighting each Grid item and clicking the button on the Grid Toolbar above the Grid.

Adding Conduits and Access Points

The roles of Conduits and Access Points are examined in Cable articles Conduits and Access Points, respectively. However, in this section, a User can add new or existing Conduits and Access Points by navigating to the appropriate tabs and selecting either 'Add New' or 'Add Existing'.

Access Points

The 'Access Points' tab allows the User to associate Access Points with a Cable. The User can 'Add' a new Access Point from this tab or 'Add Existing' Access Point(s) from the Access Points Grid.

Add

Click the button.
This opens the 'Add New Access Points' form.
Add New Access Points form
Enter the information into the fields if desired.
Click the button.

The Access Point is added to the 'Cable' as well as the Access Points Grid.

Add Existing

Click the button.
This opens the 'Existing Access Points' form.
Existing Access Points form
Select the Access Point(s) desired.
Click the button.

The Access Point is added to the 'Cable' from the Access Points Grid.

Conduit

The 'Conduit' tab allows the User to associate Conduit with a Cable. The User can 'Add' a new Conduit from this tab or 'Add Existing' Conduit from the Cable Maintenance Grid.

Add

Click the button.
This opens the 'Add New Cable' form.
Add New Cable form
Click the button.

The Conduit is added to the 'Cable Maintenance' as well as the Conduits Grid. When Conduit is deleted from the Cable Maintenance Grid, the Conduit remains on the Conduits Grid since there is only an association record on the Cable Maintenance Grid.

Add Existing

Click the button.
This opens the 'Existing Conduits' form.
Existing Conduits form
Select the Conduit(s) desired.
Click the button.

The Conduit is added to the 'Cable Maintenance' from the Conduits Grid.

Add New Cable