Best Practices for working with Utility Network: Managing a Utility Network Service

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06-02-2022 08:27 AM
MichaelHirschheimer
Esri Contributor
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In our previous Utility Network best practices blogs, @SaranyaKesavan and I discussed topics pertaining to publishing a Utility Network service.  Once the Utility Network service is published, it’s important to understand the steps needed to manage your service.  While there are a variety of data model or network changes that could be made, in this blog I'll cover best practices for these 3 administrative tasks:

  1.  Running GP tools that modify network schema
  2.  When to republish (or overwrite) the Utility Network service?
  3.  When to Disable/Enable Network Topology?

Running GP tools that modify network schema

Some Geoprocessing Tools modify your network schema.  The access level of the DEFAULT version will impact the execution of the GP tool.  In the branch versioning system used by the Utility Network, access to DEFAULT version can be either Public or Protected. 

  • Public — All portal users can edit the DEFAULT version directly and editors can post edits to it.
  • Protected — Only users who are the version administrator (portal users with higher privileges) can edit or post edits directly to the DEFAULT version. Editors must create a named version to begin editing.

This technical article lists the GP tools that are impacted and the necessary workflow changes that need to be made.

As an example, I was adding a new network rule to my Utility Network and I got this error when running the  Disable Network Topology GP tool.

MichaelHirschheimer_0-1654110565455.png

Ultimately, I changed the workflow to include changing Default’s access level to Public before adding the network rule.   Here are the steps:

  1. Stop the Utility Network service
  2. Kill all database connections
  3. Change DEFAULT to Public
  4. Run GP tool
  5. Change DEFAULT back to Protected
  6. Start the Utility Network service

 

When to republish the Utility Network service?

I was building a demo that included adding new fields and assigning attribute rules to Utility Network featureclasses.  When I created the deployment plan, I had a step to republish the service but wasn’t sure it was needed.  At the time, I assumed that the only way the service would recognize the new fields and attribute rules would be to republish.  I have since learned that many data model changes don’t require republishing the service.   

Here are some common tasks and whether they require republishing the service.

 

Description

Republish Service

1

Add a new layer to your Utility Network Service

Yes

2

Re-order existing layers in the Utility Network Service

Yes

3

Apply symbology in the Utility Network Service

Yes

4

Assign a new attribute rule

No

5

Update or delete an existing attribute rule

No

6

Add a new field

No

7

Create new coded value domain

No

8

Add a new domain value

No

9

Add a new network rule

No

10

Add a new contingent value

No

11

Add a new trace configuration

No

 

As a rule of thumb, making modifications to a layer (add, modify, remove, rename or re-order) in your publishing map will require republishing.   Whereas making data model changes will not require republishing. 

In ArcGIS Pro, follow these steps to republish the service.  Click on the Share tab, click on Overwrite Web Layer option to begin republishing your service.

MichaelHirschheimer_1-1654110669867.png

 

When to Disable/Enable Network Topology?

Another topic that was initially confusing to me was when to disable/enable network topology.  I thought that any change to the Utility Network data model would require disabling network topology, but that wasn’t the case.  Disabling network topology is needed on select administrative tasks that impact network connectivity and should only be executed when necessary.  Examples include:  Adding a network rule, altering a subnetwork definition or adding a new asset group.  

Refer to the document Utility Network management tasks to see what the network topology state must be for many tasks.  I recommend reviewing the "Modifying Components" section.

Conclusion 

The purpose of this blog is to share the knowledge gained from my firsthand experience with managing a Utility Network service. I hope these insights help you understand the steps needed when building your maintenance workflows. 

I look forward to sharing more of our findings in our upcoming blogs. Stay tuned! 

 

About the Author

MichaelHirschheimer_1-1654110999561.jpegMike Hirschheimer is a solution engineer on the Utilities Team with a focus on the Utility Network.   He is a big sports fan who enjoys watching NFL & NBA games and playing disc golf.



 

3 Comments
JosephMarsh
New Contributor II

Nice blog @MichaelHirschheimer !

VeerSingh2
New Contributor III

Very Nice Article @MichaelHirschheimer !

But again I have few questions -

1- what about i'm changing  properties of fields to make editable in UN layer

2-what about i'm deleting any existing UN rules

 

MichaelHirschheimer
Esri Contributor

Hi @VeerSingh2,

1- what about i'm changing properties of fields to make editable in UN layer

  • I'll need more information before I can provide a definitive answer.  Where are you looking to change the editable property of a field?  In a Web Map or in the Utility Network service?

 

2-what about i'm deleting any existing UN rules

  • No. There is no need to republish the Utility Network service when adding/removing network rules.