Preparing your network data to make migration easier

Implementing a new fiber network management system is a big undertaking for any organization. Change can be hard, but moving to a system that will bring more efficiency and cost savings to the management of your network will pay off in the long run. To make the transition go smoothly requires some planning at the beginning. Whether you choose to convert your existing network data or use the 3-GIS data team services, here are three steps we recommend for making your data migration as easy as possible:

1. Create or assign an unique identifier field for each feature class and table

In order for migrating features and records to sync between the original and new databases they need to have unique identification. Avoid using ObjectID & GlobalID as the designated unique identifier, because their values could change when the data is moved to its new location, potentially breaking any associations those features have. Be sure your unique identifier fields do not have any null values or blank spots.

2. Check and consolidate your attribute values

Removing any errors before the conversion will prevent query issues during migration and save time when performing your quality assurance and control processes. Correct spelling and consistent labeling is important because data conversions require large queries, reducing the number of values that need searched will speed up the process. Reduce the number of ways an attribute is spelled or labeled to one. For example a building could be labeled any of the following ways: building, buildings, bldg, BUILDING, Building; settle on one and apply it in all instances. Also be sure to remove and leading and trailing spaces.

3. Check for geometry errors

Correcting or removing any features that do not have a physical location assigned to it in your data will not only reduce the time it takes to finish the conversion, it will also help prevent breaks in connectivity. Be sure to correct any multipart features, which are features that have a break in their geometry. A multipart feature will need to be converted into component shapes in order to function properly within 3-GIS software and this could have implications of record counts and any present connectivity. It is also important to remove any test features that don’t belong in the dataset you are converting. An example would be a lone cable located in Texas would need to be removed from a dataset specifically for New York.

 To read the story of how 3-GIS converted legacy data for Eniig click here.