What place do attribute rules have in Utility network conversion

[BrandoCrozier]

We are in the early stages of our conversion from a geometric network to Utility Network. We are trying to learn about all the rules that can have an impact on this conversion. My basic understanding is that network rules handle the connectivity. Is there a place for Attribute Rules in assisting with the conversion or will they only have their place when we have migrated?

[gis_KIWI4]

@BrandoCrozier - In my experience, the attribute rules exist to assist with streamlining the editing experience (so post migration) and they are set up for different triggers eg update, inserts, etc. It will be hard to control these triggers during the migration. You could technically use them build associations, assign terminals, etc.

There exist much simpler tools to create connectivity. Just to name a few - Import associations tool or the Modify Terminal Associations tool 

There is a plethora of migration tools available that will be more effective than having to set up attribute rules.

[BrettRosso]

Just wanted to point out that there are pre-defined attribute rules already in place that come across if you're using a foundation asset package from ESRI.

[PatrickGCowan · Accepted solution]

If you previously used the attribute assistant add-in with your geometric network, you should determine whether you need that functionality in the Utility Network and how to port it over to your new model in the form of attribute rules. These will not affect your migration process, but you should consider their implementation post-migration. In Pro 3.4, templated attribute rules were introduced. These will help you with setting up things like symbol rotation, generating IDs, and spatial joins, which were some of the most common use cases of the attribute assistant. These are essentially post-migration attribute rules.

If you are using one of the Utility Network Foundations, you should explore some of the included attribute rules to see how they would work with your data. You can use the included sample data to get a feel for how they work and what they do. If you are implementing a custom model, you can always see if the attribute rules included with the foundations could be customized for your specific model.

The expanded models in the Utility Network Foundations include some calculation attribute rules. These can be customized to meet your needs. They aid the functionality of the model and simplify editing.

In the essential models for the Utility Network Foundations, there is a suite of pre-configured validation attribute rules, which are actually data reviewer rules. These can be used during your migration process to help you identify and fix errors before you enable the topology. You can also implement your own data reviewer rules as well.

[RobertKrisher · Accepted solution]

@BrandoCrozier Good question! Attribute rules work best for handling data quality and automation tasks after your migration. This is largely because attribute rules are triggered on a row-by-row basis, so using them to bulk calculate data isn't scalable. If you do have information you need to batch calculate during migration, considering using Python or ArcGIS Data Interop (or FME Desktop) to do your heavy lifting.