Features and problems of Cabling Management Software

The wiring management software is flexible and scalable.

To analyze the requirements of cabling management software, we usually conduct surveys to understand possible device types, device properties, and hierarchical relationships, then, the information is designed into a database, and network data management is provided. However, this method has two problems:

(1) It takes a long time to constantly communicate with network cabling members, and the property variables involved expand due to the different concerns of each person;

(2) being inflexible, the demand analysts always want to understand all the requirements of users. After understanding the requirements, we assume that all the requirements are understood and then design and code them, in this way, the wiring management software cannot be flexibly processed when new attributes are to be concerned in the future.

To solve this problem, we believe that using user configuration and templates can reduce the time required to implement the wiring management software and ensure maximum flexibility. The user configuration function is provided, and the user configures according to the attributes he cares about. The template function is provided, and the user can use the template that has been configured by others for network design. This reduces the time consumption and the complexity of wiring management software.

There are various devices and connections in a specific network. The devices may be routers, switches, etc. The connections refer to the links connecting devices, and may include optical fibers and copper cables, connections are connected to devices through ports. As devices and links emerge with the development of new technologies, the attributes of devices and connections are constantly changing.

To meet this dynamic requirement, the wiring management software must be built on an abstract model, and the element-related attributes in the model can be dynamically modified to meet this need. Therefore, the network is abstracted into a mesh structure with nodes and links. nodes can be materialized into devices, and the device may have endpoints. Links refer to connections used to connect devices.

At the same time, designers introduced the concept of hierarchy during Internet planning, such as the current TCP/IP protocol. For this model, the concept of hierarchy is introduced here, which can include actual hierarchies, such as buildings, floors, rooms, and virtual hierarchies such as Intranet, Internet, and campus networks, this facilitates network planning.

During the design process, the layer, device, link, and device port have default logical attributes, such as the ID number used for marking. This number is provided to the wiring management software system and invisible to users, the name attribute visible to the user is also provided and set by the user.

In addition, the device must have the port number attribute. Id Identifier of the ports at both ends of the link. These required attributes constitute the required parameters of the model. Other attributes of interest to the user can be dynamically configured. These required properties can constitute a network. A link can be described as follows: port p1 of the device whose id is d1 is connected to port p2 of the device whose id is d2, numerous links constitute a network, which is described from the endpoint or the device, that is, the connections between numerous devices constitute a network, the device description can simplify the complexity of network connections, avoid the complexity of wiring management software implementation and the computing workload during query.

The wiring management software provides the link searching function.

The wiring management software mainly provides network planning and link management functions. network planning refers to the design of the network structure based on the hierarchy, adding devices to the appropriate hierarchy, and connecting devices; after the network is built, you can query the link from the endpoint to the endpoint, and query the properties of each device and port on the link. You need to have more experience in network planning. After configuring layers, devices, and links, you can fully describe your intentions. After the network is built, you can use the ransom stored in the database to provide link queries, that is, when the network fails, find the connection port of the faulty device to the active data center or to the link through which the specified port is sent, and provide information about the devices and links to the network administrator for identification of the link that may be faulty.

Link search is an end-to-end query provided after the network is built. Its central idea is to use the in-depth traversal algorithm of the network to find all the paths. The idea of the algorithm center is to obtain the adjacent matrix of the connections between devices. First, determine the devices connected by the links between two points, and then determine the connections between devices. For example, the number of links between devices and the properties related to links.

After determining all the links between the two points, the network administrator can determine the link where the network connection fails. The entire network is composed of simple connections between the endpoint and the endpoint. when looking for a link, using the endpoint as a node will lead to the following problems: first, there are many links and a large amount of computing; second, it does not reflect users' concerns. Users always grasp information from a macro perspective, such as the connection between devices, rather than the connection between ports between devices. Therefore, first locate the devices that pass through the endpoints, then consider the links between devices. In this way, the number of nodes to be considered is much less, and the amount of computing is much smaller.

The links between devices constitute a undirected network. You can search for nodes between two nodes in the network. You can use the depth-first traversal algorithm and the breadth-first traversal algorithm, where the depth-first algorithm is used. The figure is accessed in the form of an adjacent matrix, that is, starting from the data in the port table, the device is obtained to form an adjacent matrix between devices for the algorithm to access. At the same time, a temporary array is provided to save whether the algorithm time passes through a certain device, and a variable is provided to store the devices that pass through a link. V indicates the start point of the search, des indicates the target point, and length indicates the next point in the entire path. The gVisited array is used to store the traversal footprint; The gmExistLink variable is used to store existing paths; The gPath array is used to store a path; The gDevice-Count is used to Count the number of devices in the network and the adjacent matrix connecting devices between the gAdjMax devices.

Visual Design of Cabling Management Software

The wiring management software manages various system structures, stores data information, and describes associations in a graphical manner. It is also a data front-end development tool that dynamically displays different graphics states based on changes in data information. In daily work, people may think of drawing with a variety of drawing tools, such as CAD and Visio, you can also use some information systems to manage various drawings, equipment resources, pipe network resources, and technical documents. However, what users have learned is that it is difficult to clearly express a large number of device information and connection relationship information by purely drawing and wiring management software, there is no intuitive connection between different design drawings, and the equipment materials used in the design drawings cannot be quickly located and accurately analyzed.

However, it is difficult for a table-based MIS system to clearly express the complex system structure and connection relationship. That is, some units that spend huge sums of money on GIS management have also fully realized that the geographic information data used to manage equipment resources alone is far from enough, there is also a large amount of information such as technical documents and device details that cannot be expressed through a design page. Therefore, no matter which method is currently used, it is found that there are obvious defects. In fact, the reason is very simple: even if it is a very simple drawing, every object in it has its own data attributes, technical parameters and specific business characteristics, it is also associated with other objects in the system. However, common static chart Cabling Management software cannot reflect these relationships, attributes, and business features one by one, and cannot match images with physical objects one by one.

In addition, drawing materials alone cannot meet the requirements. Users often need to use various database tools, text processing systems, and third-party wiring management software to calculate, Count, maintain, or access the manufacturer's website. The use of a large number of tools has caused problems such as insufficient personnel skills, difficult coordination, increased errors, and low efficiency.

The wiring management software uses Visual Design and uses different identifiers for different devices to construct the topology of the entire network based on the configured hierarchical relationship, at the same time, you can manage the properties of device, level, and link data to combine graphics, data, and connection relationships and store them in databases. This provides an easy-to-use management platform, it helps ensure project decision-making and network design.

Wiring Management Software Test Results

After adopting the above design method, the wiring management software has implemented a flexible and configurable architecture, and the search algorithm can quickly find all links in a project database, it is currently used in the management system of a ministry.