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Ask Slashdot: Best Software For Tracking Fiber Optic Networks?

Posted by timothy on from the do-you-want-it-as-a-particle-or-as-a-wave? dept.

An anonymous reader writes "We operate a wide area network that has a large amount of fiber optics, and provides service to our various departments in locations across the state. The network is reasonably complex, with splices, patches, and the general type of ad-hoc build that makes knowing where things go difficult. I'd like to implement some type of software to record where the fiber cables run, what pit number they are jointed in, which fiber is spliced to which, and what internal customer is using which fiber path through the system. Knowing what fibers are free for use is also a requirement, and I'd love to record details of what equipment was put in where, for asset and warranty tracking. Extra points if I can give Engineering access to help them design things better!"

32 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. KISS principle by girlintraining · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'd like to implement some type of software to record where the fiber cables run, what pit number they are jointed in, which fiber is spliced to which, and what internal customer is using which fiber path through the system. Knowing what fibers are free for use is also a requirement, and I'd love to record details of what equipment was put in where, for asset and warranty tracking. Extra points if I can give Engineering access to help them design things better!"

    At the risk of appearing less geeky than my peers... use a sketch pad. I'm perfectly serious about this. We've been using building blue prints since the Roman times and they've served humanity pretty well. Expensive software solutions and asset management databases solve the problem too, but they're invariably varying degrees of out of date and did I mention they cost a lot?

    Engineers understand blue prints. I know paper is a little 90s, but it works, it's universally understood, and it's cheap. If you were dealing with high level IT people for this, maybe I'd suggest the high priced software solution because they'd be happy to waste hours maintaining it and sending out e-mails reminding people to update the information in it... don't ask me why computer geeks love that kind of overhead, I don't know. I'm guilty of it too.

    But these are not those people. They're engineers that block print everything and have marginal computer skills on the best of days. Give them a pencil and tell them to write neatly. You'll save on aspirin.

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re:KISS principle by niftymitch · · Score: 1

      I'd like to implement some type of software to record where the fiber cables run, what pit number they are jointed in, which fiber is spliced to which, and what internal customer is using which fiber path through the system. Knowing what fibers are free for use is also a requirement, and I'd love to record details of what equipment was put in where, for asset and warranty tracking. Extra points if I can give Engineering access to help them design things better!"

      At the risk of appearing less geeky than my peers... use a sketch pad. I'm perfectly serious about this. We've been using building blue prints since the Roman times and they've served humanity pretty well. Expensive software solutions and asset management databases solve the problem too, but they're invariably varying degrees of out of date and did I mention they cost a lot?

      Engineers understand blue prints. I know paper is a little 90s, but it works, it's universally understood, and it's cheap. If you were dealing with high level IT people for this, maybe I'd suggest the high priced software solution because they'd be happy to waste hours maintaining it and sending out e-mails reminding people to update the information in it... don't ask me why computer geeks love that kind of overhead, I don't know. I'm guilty of it too.

      But these are not those people. They're engineers that block print everything and have marginal computer skills on the best of days. Give them a pencil and tell them to write neatly. You'll save on aspirin.

      Gotta agree here. Us network engineers in the biz since the Inet went live use MS Visio and spreadsheets for this. We call them circuit layer records (CLRs) for a low level view. We build higher level circuit maps for the rest.

      There is not product that will take care of this issue. This is a documentation skill issue. State govs are like this. Union workers with no brains.

      Yes and if you do not give the crew a page to mark up so you can correct it you are missing the most important bit.

      Blue print technology lets you keep a ink an pencil master and print copies as needed. The printing equipment and material costs for modest sheet sizes is much less than you might expect.

      It is not just union workers with no brains. It is workers and managers that need glasses. It is working in places where things break.

      Combine with well considered spread sheets (Excel) and you are a well on your way. Supplement with new iPad or iPhone camera images for stand up show and tell content and Bob's your Uncle.

      The #1 criteria is the ability to correct and annotate.

      Too many managers put themselves first in the requirement list.
      They should however facilitate getting the job done correctly above all.

      --
      Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. Mark Twain.
    2. Re:KISS principle by DadLeopard · · Score: 1

      The one problem with this is that you have to make sure that the master is periodically updated with the changes from all the blueprints out on the floor! I once saw a new maintenance Foreman, throw away a dirty, ragged marked up print and order a new one from the office, only to find none of the changes had been entered on the master! This entailed ~16 hours of work by the Electricians tracing and documenting were and what all the wiring in 3 Large panels went to and did. this was for one small part of an Automotive assembly plant, just lines for the Paint Department, less the controls for the ovens and paint booths which had separate panels! Today it would be easier for the Electricians to take a picture of the changes and send them to the front office to be entered!

  2. Graph editor? by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 2

    How about a graph editor, such as yEd?

    Take a map image of your state and overlay it with a yEd diagram, click on nodes to bring you to a more detailed (but localized) sub-mapof the local graph.

    (If you do this, consider using a dedicated huge, transparent display (such as this one) just for the awesome factor.)

    1. Re:Graph editor? by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Thanks for that. I don't think I had run into yEd before. I now plan to use it for ERDs.

      I've tried other tools for the job, and I'm just not terribly happy with them.

  3. PRISM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Muahahaha.

  4. Oh really? by lesincompetent · · Score: 2

    Nice try, NSA! Still can't get enough snooping around?

  5. ESRI's ArcGIS by tysonedwards · · Score: 1

    ArcGIS works *VERY* well for this task, especially when it comes to planning for new runs and forecasting costs.

    --
    Thirty four characters live here.
    1. Re:ESRI's ArcGIS by JRHelgeson · · Score: 1

      Agreed - ArcGIS is what your county government uses to track utilities and maintain them.

      --
      Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
    2. Re:ESRI's ArcGIS by wmorrow · · Score: 1

      A sister company of where I work adds some fiber-specific layers on top of ArcGIS. It's worth checking: http://www.telvent-gis.com/products/fiber_manager.shtml

  6. It's a discipline thing by Animats · · Score: 1

    There are packages for this, like UltiCam. But the real problem is numbering and labeling. Telcos have been doing this for a century. Everything has a number. There are pair numbers, cable numbers, rack numbers, tray numbers, terminal numbers... Everything has labels or color coding. So there's an ID string for everything, and an end to end connection is a sequence of ID strings. Each change is tied to a work order. Since many people are constantly modifying a telco's cable plant, this is essential.

    Cable databases are a revision control system. Each change has a work order, and all the history is retained. Some systems let you extract a drawing of selected connections, but giant wiring diagrams are not too useful.

    1. Re:It's a discipline thing by niftymitch · · Score: 1

      Yes what he said. "Cable databases are a revision control system. Each change has a work order, and all the history is retained. Some systems let you extract a drawing of selected connections, but giant wiring diagrams are not too useful."
      Combine with audit and check... errors slip in and corrections are critical. Think inventory cycle count.

      --
      Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. Mark Twain.
  7. Ask Slashdot by Fnord666 · · Score: 2

    Why do we even have an "ask slashdot" section if none of the editors are ever going to post a story there? Of course the story is relevant in other sections or it wouldn't be posted here at all. That's not a reason to post it to a different section ough. Either post question type stories to the "ask slashdot" section or get rid of it. And no, putting "ask slashdot" in the title or adding it as a tag is not an acceptable alternative. It's a section for a reason.

    /me steps down from the soapbox

    --
    'The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny.' - Aesop's Fables
    1. Re:Ask Slashdot by loosescrews · · Score: 1

      If you look in the Ask Slashdot section, you will see that *some* of the new Ask Slashdot articles are there. It is clearly being used, just not all of the time. I agree that this is a problem.

  8. Take a page from the MBA handbook by Richy_T · · Score: 1

    Excel and email.

    Those guys know what they're doing. That's why they get the big bucks.

  9. Facilities: learn from the telcos by vinn · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've worked in the IT industry for 20 years, 7 of which were in telecom.

    I find it so damn amusing that all the computer geeks still struggle with basic things the telecom world figured out 30 - 50 years ago. There's a lot to be learned from the old school carriers, and this is one of them.

    Most of the bigger carriers have their own stuff that'll track everything from pairs/strands to binding posts, etc. You need to know sizes of entrance protectors and all kinds of other things. Sizes of splice cases and the number of trays are nice to know. Everything needs to go into GIS, and that used to mean a second system that references locations. These days there are integrated packages. The exact system we used was purchased by NEC and no longer exists. And actually, I wouldn't recommend it, we used it primarily because the work order system was quite robust and we were willing to sacrifice some of the documentation features for that.

    Would something like this work?
    http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Products/Bentley+Fiber

    --
    ----- obSig
    1. Re:Facilities: learn from the telcos by jafo · · Score: 1

      I used to work doing IT for the ILEC and the more I worked with their systems the more surprised that I was able to pick up the phone and get a dial-tone. A friend of mine worked on the systems that managed the in-the-ground cables, he's the one that said the previous sentence. I worked mostly on the billing and ordering systems. They were not the most robust systems.

  10. OpsInsight by sivasamyk · · Score: 1

    check this out : http://ospinsight.com/content/?page=87

  11. Did it on a smaller/different scale.. by SuperCharlie · · Score: 1

    I was rented out to a local TV station for a few years from my IT shop.. they had a jillion wires and connects to track and keep track of for the engineers.. not exactly the same.. but in the ballpark..

    I got the basic specs of what they were trying to do and within a few weeks had whipped up a db app which was a local network only kinda thing.

    Maybe Im too old now and no one actually does this kinda thing for themselves any more or maybe the job is too big for someone to whip up the db.. its always the data entry that is a pain.. always the data entry..

    In any case.. under the right circumstances and at the right scale to balance the cost/benefit ratio.. maybe a simple db app is really what you might need...

  12. Best tracking software! by Alsee · · Score: 2

    Best Software For Tracking Fiber Optic Networks?

    I believe NORAD has the best available tracking software. That might be a bit overkill though, considering the typically zero velocity of fiber optic networks.

    -

    --
    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  13. Re:Visio by gagol · · Score: 1

    ping?

    --
    Tomorrow is another day...
  14. Re:Frosty Piss by gagol · · Score: 1

    ping?!

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    Tomorrow is another day...
  15. Lode Data by apenzott · · Score: 1

    Although this product is part of a larger selection of CATV design software, it is well written for the lifecycle installed metro fiber with the ability to pre-allocate either fiber or individual lambdas based upon anticipated needs and stakeholders. In addition, it incorporates storage of OTDR results and allows some extrapolation for expected signal strength should future cuts and splices be needed in the future. Their traditional copper plant design tools are nice to have should this be part of a campus network design with a traditional (institution owned) CATV plant.

    Results are linked through AutoCAD files for both the metro fiber map out in the field as well as documenting terminations inside the (head-end and distro) facilities as well.

    Disclaimer: I have taken their Lode Data training as part of college campus CATV upgrade and have been please with what I saw on their fiber plant software.

    --
    The Roman Rule: The one who says it cannot be done shall not interrupt the one who is doing it.
  16. Network inventory with GIS features by boogiewonder · · Score: 1

    The thing you're looking for is a network inventory system. There are many companies offering these products, for example Amdocs (Resource Manager product, old company name Cramer, lacks GIS features but otherwise one of the best products), Smallworld (including top-notch GIS, but less elegant when it comes to logical network), Ericsson (old company name Telcordia, including GIS and better logical network inventory support than Smallworld), and Comptel (a bunch of products). These products are not cheap. See TeleManagement Forum for lots of information on this, http://tmforum.org/ In the long run, you will need all of the stuff, and it's not an easy thing. GIS features only tie your network elements to the geography (the Earth), and then you want to know all the components you have, as objects in a database. Stupid drawings will only get you so far, and you really want everything to be completely automatic, i.e. computer-understandable. If you have to look at "paper drawings" to figure out what's wrong, ... welcome to 1980s telco management, you're about 30 years late. You also want to know all the stuff that's dependent on each component. You must be able to do "impact analysis", i.e. if I now cut this fibre, which services and which customers might be affected. That's "customer impact of resource", but then you also want to know "resource impact of customer", i.e. top-down. As the organization grows and you get more customers and a more heterogeneous network, this problem becomes less and less trivial. There are companies like OSI (Objective Systems Integrators, not the "OSI model" thing) and Ontology Systems who have products for importing stuff about the network and the services (from a big mess of multiple legacy databases) to try and figure out the relationships. Oh, and then you'll want to have a fully automatic order-delivery process. Automatic alert filtering. How do you do trouble-ticketing and resolution tracking? Your products will have to be described as objects in a database, and they'll have to connect to your customer data. And not only the "things", but the "doings" like orders and deliveries, fixing of faults, etc. You'll notice things like... the customer, product, service, resource layers. OSS and BSS. You'll want to use external contractors/suppliers/partners. You'll get data quality issues. You'll have regulatory issues. You want to let external partners access your data in a controlled fashion. You might say, you just want to do something simple at first. Good luck. Eventually, when you've had enough of the real-world stupidity of operating a physical cable network, a bigger telco will buy your assets and (hopefully) try and migrate your mess of documentation into a proper (i.e. very expensive) inventory system with all the other needed systems around it.

  17. DAD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I work in a whole fibre optic telecommunications company and I have a good answer for you: try DAD http://www.dad.net.au/v10.0/

    We use it to document POI network and FDH information, addresses of customers, if they are connected or not and type of equipment installed with serial / MAC address recorded.

    We can easily record information and trace any network pretty fast. We can also clone components easily, so we do not have to recreate them constantly.

    The system is Windows based with a per seat licensing model.They even have a demo for you to try.

  18. Re:Honestly.... by plover · · Score: 1

    So 10 seconds of Googling made you an industry expert, with years of virtual experience discovering the shortcomings and valuable features of each product? You read only the honest reviews that weren't salted by salespeople and SEO trolls? You know all the cool features of the custom implementations? And it only took you 10 seconds?

    You must be the awesomest Googler ever.

    --
    John
  19. Australian NBN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I believe the design/deployment by the main company (Opticomm) involved in the Australian NBN (nationwide fibre network) is using DAD for exactly the purpose you mention. http://www.dad.net.au/

    Last time I checked they had a free Fibre network trial model you could browse online.

  20. 3GIS by TBC · · Score: 1

    We're migrating spreadsheets and Visio drawings to 3GIS (www.3-gis.com) for the ability to track fiber paths, etc. We evaluated a number of systems. It's based on ESRI, so it's standards based.

  21. just ask NSA by kharchenko · · Score: 1

    I hear PRISM works pretty well ...

  22. You were doing so well by Vrtigo1 · · Score: 1

    Until you told us you weren't in engineering. My advice, let them deal with it instead of trying to force a solution on them.

  23. use GIS by uncwjason · · Score: 1

    I'd suggest using GIS as a facilities maintenance type of application. Points can be your equipment/connections/appliances and lines can be your fiber. You can attach as many fields as you need to a feature, and you can do calcuations and reports on them. You can overlay these on any basemap you like. I use ESRI's ArcGIS products personally, but you can find other ones, especially open source (free) ones that will do the job just the same.

  24. APEX inventory tool by bock.carlos · · Score: 1

    We have developed a GIS-based tool to inventory and manage fiber networks. It is inexpensive and easy to use We have several relevant references that we are prepared to share. You can find more details at: http://apex.apfutura.net/ Please, contact me privately if you need any further information. Regards, Carlos