We have a spec we are working right now that is calling for Windoows based computer cable management software for producing T5 drawings with a licensed copy being provided to the end user. Anyone have any software recommendations?
Thanks...

According to the following, a T-5 drawing is just a schedule showing completion dates. If that's the case then something like Microsoft Project would do the job. If it's actual cabling drawings, then I've always been successful with Visio.

I used a number of different software packages over the years and had the best results with Visio. I will say that since Microsoft bought them, development of the product seems to have stalled, but it still works pretty well.

There are some high-end products - notably itracs and Absia (Building 1) that I understand are very good but I have not personally used them. I believe that they are very expensive.

How big a job is this for? If it's some 12 station architects office then I wouldn't go for anything big. If it's a 5,000 station Silicon Valley business, then that's something else entirely.

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Sample Technology and Communications Systems Drawings
("T" Series)

To prepare these drawings, the technology industry must be able to obtain accurate base files (floor plans) to prepare a set of “Technology” Drawings to plan and communicate the technology requirements with clients and other design professionals. The following is a summary of the general types of drawings that can be created:

T0 – Campus or Site Plans - Exterior Pathways and Inter-Building Backbones

T1 – Layout of complete building per floor - Serving Zone Boundaries, Backbone Systems, and Horizontal Pathways

T2 – Serving Zones Drawings - Drop Locations and Cable ID’s

T3 – Communication Equipment Rooms - Plan Views - Tech and AMEP /Elevations - Racks and Walls Elevations

T4 – Typical Detail Drawings - Faceplate Labeling, Firestopping, ADA, Safety, DOT, etc...

T5 – Schedules (Cabling and Equipment Spreadsheets) for cutovers


Sam

Thanks Sam, Did you get the definitions from Division17.com? I have used Brady NetDoc and we are getting ready to try out UltiCam. NetDoc is affordable but does not generate drawings. Ulticam sounds good and you can import CAD drawings and then use visio to make your changes. We'll see when we put in to action next month.
This job is not too big and around 300 cables plus feeders, WAPs, room buildouts, etc.. What's throwing me is the language in the spec "cable management software". I also use Visio occasionally for simple drawings and I am no expert but would not consider that to be "cable management software". Know what I mean???
Thank you again for your comments and I will let you know what we decide to do....if we win the job! Cheers...

Instead of dropping big bucks for software contact local architects, CE's or builders and see what they would charge to produce this for you. It's always good to have a few customers in this field.

Our spec requires us to provide a licensed copy of the software to the customre.

Velcro wrote:
I'm wondering if the phrase "cable management software" means something like the software packages for outside plant maintenance that are supposed to help you keep track of what goes where, line test data, etc. Ideally, such a package would be integrated with whatever CAD system was used to create the drawing groups T1-T5 given in the above list. Such integration is the holy grail of many industries, and I have yet to see a good one that integrates with AutoCAD, for example.

If the objective is to have a software package that the IT department can use to keep track of what their cabling is, where it goes, and what it goes through to get there (cross-connect locations, etc.), then such a system is only of any use if it is constantly updated in real time, every time something is moved, changed, or added. This is a tough order to fill, just ask any OSP tech how much they trust the outside plant records they have.

It would be nice if the customer could clarify exactly what they want the software to do, but I know you are probably not holding your breath waiting for that. Customers often put this stuff out to bid using a generic spec provided by their architect, without really knowing what it says or what it means.

Jim
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Speaking from a secure undisclosed location.

My thouhgts exactly Jim. I'll let you know how the UltiCam works. We have training set up for the end of March. It looks promising and should be for the price!!

Originally posted by Jim Bennett:

such a system is only of any use if it is constantly updated in real time, every time something is moved, changed, or added. This is a tough order to fill

Jim - You are on the money.

I remember being tasked by my valued customer [insert flourish of trumpets here, please] The Bank of New York,[now please clash cymbals. Thank you.] to come up with a cable management software that would track every cable run in the network (voice and data) and would completely comply with the EIA/TIA 606 spec. (This was about 30,000 runs split 60/40 Data & Voice.)

I found one (this was in 1996 or so) that ran on a DEC PDP-11 and cost a gazillion or so dollars. The gazillion dollars wasn't the problem. When I asked the SVP which two or three people were going to administer it as their full time jobs, he got a sick look on his face and said he'd get back to me.

I'm still waiting.

The IT people never seem to get it. What are you going to do - follow the installers around while they pull the cable? Design a nomenclature for all your pathways and spaces? Pay extra for cable with footage markings, take down the footage and record it each time? Draw up the whole business? Redraw it whenever there's construction and renovation?

It never happens.

Even if they go into this with the best of intentions, it never lasts past the first corporate cutback.

And the big question, that no one seems to ever ask (or answer) is:

TO WHAT END? WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS FOR?

If you know where a cable starts, and which closet it terminates in and where it is in the closet, then how it gets there is really unimportant. If it passes certification at Cat-X, then does it really matter if it's 65 feet or 294 feet long?

Put together a general plan of how your cable runs and keep a nice database, or at least a spreadsheet and you're in business.

Fancy cabling systems work fine for jobs of 50 cables or less - and for jobs that size - what do you need it for?

Sam