Bulk Circuit Tool
The Bulk Circuit tool facilitates the process of creating multiple circuits at the same time. For example, if an entire patch panel is designated to provide service to a college campus, the Bulk Circuit tool can create a circuit for each port on that panel. In that process, the tool increments the names of the circuits (to avoid duplicates) and also lets you set common attributes across all circuits such as status, contact information, and other high-level attributes.
There are a few permutations when creating multiple circuits:
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Individual circuits on multiple headers - For example, you have 6 ports on a patch panel, each port can act as a header for 1 circuit. This results in 6 total circuits.
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Multiple circuits on different wavelengths on a single header - For example, you have 1 port on a patch panel, and it acts as the header for 3 circuits, with each circuit on a different wavelength. This results in 3 total circuits.
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Multiple circuits on different wavelengths on multiple headers - For example, you have 6 ports on a patch panel, and each port acts as the header for 3 circuits, with each circuit on a different wavelength. This results in 18 total circuits.
The Bulk Circuit tool can handle all of the above.
Incrementing Wavelengths
When using the tool, you have a decision point on whether or not to increment the wavelengths of the circuits. The out-of-the-box behavior is to manually input the wavelength and increment amount, and no additional configuration is needed for this functionality. Or, you can choose the wavelengths from a pre-defined domain.
For this functionality, there is additional configuration covered in the topic Configure the Bulk Circuit Tool to use Lambda Domain.
Plan Ahead for the Naming Convention
In Fiber Manager , all circuits must have unique names, and the application prevents a new circuit from being created with a name already in use. Thus, the Bulk Circuit tool provides numeric incrementing naming functions that you include in the Name field itself. These increment upward at a scale you provide. For example, perhaps the first circuit should start at the number 10, and subsequent circuits should increment upward by 5s. This results in a series such as Circuit 10, Circuit 15, Circuit 20, Circuit 25, etc. Plan ahead for this naming convention, as the Bulk Circuit tool requires these inputs before it generates the circuits.
Here is how to use the tool:
- Locate and zoom to the fiber facility where you want to start your circuits. Usually, circuits start at a patch location or device location, but you can also run the Bulk Circuit tool from a fiber optic cable.
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Start editing or open a design/session.
IMPORTANT: This is a powerful tool that can create hundreds of circuits in a matter of minutes. All edits performed by this tool are immediately saved to your session or design. In practice this means there is no undo for this tool while in your session or design. You can delete your session or design (or do not post it) if you do not want your circuits to be saved to the default version of the database. If you are using this tool for the first time, Schneider Electric strongly recommends testing first in a development or test environment to become comfortable with the various increment options available.
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On the Fiber Manager
toolbar, click the Bulk Circuit
tool. With the tool enabled, your cursor changes into a crosshairs 
icon.
- Click the fiber facility, such as a patch location or device location, where you want to start your circuits.
- Under Feature tree, expand the related records until you find the fiber assets to use as the circuit headers.
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Double-click the ports or fibers you want to use as circuit
headers. Alternatively, you can drag and drop them from the Feature
tree to the Headers list. For example, in the following image, six
ports on a patch panel card have been added to the Headers list:
TIP: You can drag the ports or fibers in the Headers list to re-order them. - Set the number of circuits you require per header. The default is 1 circuit per header. The following steps use 3 circuits per header in order to discuss incrementing both the names and wavelengths for the circuits.
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Decide if you want all upcoming circuits to be marked as
Available or Unavailable. This attribute is seen throughout Fiber Manager
, in particular when viewing fibers in Connection Manager and
in fiber reports. Typically, circuits are marked as Unavailable to
indicate to all users that particular fibers and ports are already
allocated to a designated circuit.
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Determine the values by which the circuit names should
increment. The purpose of the increments is to ensure each circuit
receives a unique name. You have two increments you can use, either
by themselves or in conjunction with each other, depending upon the
number of circuits you are creating per header:
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The %i% increment is a placeholder you type in the Name field to uniquely identify circuits. When you generate the circuits, the %i% in the Name field is replaced with the numeric values you provide.
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The %h% increment is a placeholder you type in the Name field to uniquely identify headers. When you generate the circuits, the %h% in the Name field is replaced with the numeric values you provide.
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For example, a Name could be “College Circuit %i% - Service %h%.”
Then, you determine at what number %i% and %h% should start and what interval they should use to increment upward.
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The dialog uses the order of the Headers list to determine the increment order. In other words, whichever header is first in the list receives the start value, and subsequent headers receive the incremented value.
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You do not have to incorporate both placeholders, but at least one is required in the Name field. Two placeholders are provided to give you more flexibility, and the %h% placeholder can be set to restart its sequence per header.
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For example, let’s say you are servicing 18 circuits
at a college campus. These circuits start at a network operation center.
They start at 6 ports in a patch panel, with each port supporting
3 different wavelengths: 1470 nm, 1490 nm, and 1510 nm. These 3 wavelengths
per 6 ports result in the 18 circuits.
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You want all circuit names to start with the words “College Circuit.”
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You want the circuits to start at “100” and increment upward by the value of “10,” so that you have College Circuit 100, College Circuit 110, College Circuit 120, etc.
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You also want to track a service designator per header, starting at “5” and incrementing upward by the value of “5,” so that you have Service 5, Service 10, and Service 15. Further, you want that to repeat with each header.
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In sum, the circuit names would appear like the following examples:
Port 1
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College Circuit 100 – Service 5
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College Circuit 110 – Service 10
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College Circuit 120 – Service 15
Port 2
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College Circuit 130 – Service 5
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College Circuit 140 – Service 10
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College Circuit 150 – Service 15
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etc.
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- To achieve the example above, the Start Value %i% is 100. This is the start value of the circuit identifier.
- The Increment %i% is 10. This is the value that the circuit identifier increments upward.
- The Start value %h% is 5. This is the start value of the header identifier, which is being used as a service designator.
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The Increment %h% is 5. This is the value that the header
identifier increments upward.
TIP: Increment by a unit larger than 1. The example above uses 5 and 10 as the increments. This allows for greater flexibility in the future, in case additional circuits are created along the same fiber paths.
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Type the Name to incorporate the increment placeholders.
After typing the Name, press Enter or click out of the field so that
the Name title turns blue (this indicates the field has been updated
and is not currently active). Using the example above, the Name is
“College Circuit %i% - Service %h%”
IMPORTANT: The increments %i% and %h% are placeholders that you literally type into the name. Depending on the number of circuits you are creating, you can use one or both of the placeholders in any order.
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Decide if you need to track and increment the wavelengths.
The placeholders %i% and %h% are just for the circuit names, and they
do not influence the actual wavelength of service. There are two ways
to increment the wavelengths: manually or using a domain of pre-defined
values. To increment manually is the out-of-the-box behavior, and
no additional configuration is required. To increment using a domain,
additional configuration is required.
See the topic Configure the Bulk Circuit Tool to use Lambda Domain.
To increment the wavelengths manually:- Type the Start wavelength. The following example uses 1470.
- Click out of the Start wavelength field (or press Tab to move out of that field). This makes the Increment wavelength field active.
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Type the Increment wavelength value. The following example
uses 20.
To increment the wavelengths using a domain:-
By Start wavelength, click the up and down arrows to
choose the desired wavelength. The field toggles through the pre-defined
domain of possible values. If you type a value in the field, the application
ignores it and re-displays whatever value was there previously. In
other words, always use the up and down arrows to choose your starting
wavelength.
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The increment refers to the number of records in the
domain it should move in order to grab the next wavelength value and
assign it. It does not refer to the actual wavelength value.
For example, let’s say your list of wavelengths from the domain looks like the following:
Record Number
Coded Value
Description
1
850
850 nm
2
1310
1310 nm
3
1470
1470 nm
4
1490
1490 nm
5
1510
1510 nm
With an increment of 1, the application would move 1 record forward per circuit. So, if you started at 1470 with an increment of 1, the next circuit would get 1490, and the subsequent circuit would get 1510. In other words, it would move through the table 1 record at a time.
Conversely, let’s say you use an increment of 2. That means the application would move 2 records forward per circuit. So, if you started at 1470 with an increment of 2, the next circuit would skip 1490 and instead use the value 1510. And, if you requested more circuits beyond that, it would loop back to the beginning of the table, skip 850 and instead assign 1310 to the subsequent circuit.
IMPORTANT: Stepping back, what this really means is you need to have an understanding of the list of values and which ones you want to assign. Typically in a new installation, you use an increment of 1 so that the application moves one wavelength at a time while creating the circuits. If making paired circuits, you might create 2 circuits per header, and the interval allows you to choose which 2 wavelengths to use. However, if you request more circuits than the number of wavelengths available, it will loop back to the beginning of the table and continue to assign values. In other words, if you requested 8 circuits using the table above (which only has 5 wavelengths), the wavelengths would be assigned as such: 850, 1310, 1470, 1490, 1510, 850, 1310, 1470.
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Decide if you need to create transmit and receive (Tx/Rx)
pairs. If so, check the box next to Create Tx/Rx Pairs. Then, decide
if you need to increment the wavelength within the pairs.
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If you check this box, you double the number of circuits
that are created. The application automatically appends the circuit
names with the suffix “_Tx” or the suffix “_Rx.”
Using the example above, it would create:
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College Circuit 100 – Service 5_Tx
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College Circuit 100 – Service 5_Rx
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College Circuit 110 – Service 10_Tx
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College Circuit 110 – Service 10_Rx
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College Circuit 120 – Service 15_Tx
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College Circuit 120 – Service 15_Rx
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etc.
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- If you do not check Increment wavelength within pairs, the _Tx and the _Rx circuits are on the same wavelength. For example, both would be 1470 nm.
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If you check Increment wavelength within pairs, the
_Tx would be on the Start wavelength value (1470 nm) and the _Rx would
be incremented by the increment value (1490 nm).
IMPORTANT: The application creates the transmit (Tx) circuit first and the receive (Rx) circuit second.
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If you check this box, you double the number of circuits
that are created. The application automatically appends the circuit
names with the suffix “_Tx” or the suffix “_Rx.”
Using the example above, it would create:
- Decide if you need to restart the header %h% increment per header. In the example above, you would check this box because you want the 5, 10, and 15 pattern to repeat with each header.
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Decide if you need to restart the wavelength per header.
In the example above, you would check this box because you want the
wavelengths of 1470, 1490, and 1510 to repeat with each header.
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Type high-level attributes for the circuits in the attribute
list.
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The Name field is required.
IMPORTANT: Ensure the Name field title appears blue as seen in the image above. This indicates you have typed a name and then clicked out of the field or pressed Enter out of the field. If the Name title is still the normal font color of black, the field is technically still active and you receive an error when you click Run.
- Other required fields are determined by your company’s configurations and appear in yellow with red titles.
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The Name field is required.
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Double-check all entries.
IMPORTANT: All edits performed by this tool are immediately saved to your session or design. In practice this means there is no undo for this tool while in your session or design. You can delete your session or design (or not check it in) if you do not want your circuits to be saved to the default version of the database.
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Click Run to create the bulk circuits. The dialog provides
progress information in the lower, left-hand corner.
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To verify the circuits, there are a few ways you can view
them:
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Open Circuit Manager. All the new circuits display in
the list of existing circuits:
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Use Connection Manager to view the fiber facility, such
as a patch location or device, where you created the circuits. Hover
over the connection to see the circuits listed in the lower, left-hand
corner of the dialog.
- Fiber Manager reports can also include circuit information, if they are configured to do so at your company. Run a report along a circuit path to view the circuit names.
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Open Circuit Manager. All the new circuits display in
the list of existing circuits: