Similix CIM Adaptor is an advanced technology for integrating ArcGIS Utility Network and systems for network planning and operation like power calculation applications, ADMS, OMS and EMS. The CIM Adaptor supports IEC 61970 and 61968 standards (Common Information Model Standards) and any CIM Profile compliant with these standards, e.g., CGMES 2.4 and 3.0.

The Similix CIM Adaptor has two significant innovative parts: A graphic user interface for mapping Utility Network Asset Types to Classes in a CIM profile, and a transaction engine that ensures data integrity between the systems participating in the integration.

CIM Designer

The user interface for mapping from Utility Network to CIM is called CIM Designer. In the CIM Designer advanced mappings can be configured allowing for a no-code approach for CIM based integrations. Most implementations of the CIM Adaptor can be performed without any custom code needed.

Transaction Management

The transaction management capabilities of the CIM Adaptor supports five overall patterns:

  1. Request based, synchronous: This is the simplest transactional pattern and allows to call the REST API to deliver a CIM file of a given Subnetwork or a set of Subnetworks. 
  2. Request based: asynchronous: CIM export requests are queued, and the calling client is provided with a transactionID to follow up on the CIM export jobs related to the request.
  3. Time-based, Full feeder: This pattern monitors the Utility Network in defined time intervals and calculates which subnetworks have changed. The changed subnetworks are queued for re-export
  4. Event-based, full feeder changed in branch version: With this pattern a client application is responsible for calling the REST API of the CIM Adaptor. The request includes the version that will be used to calculate the changed subnetwork. After posting the version, the REST API of the CIM Adaptor can be requested to re-export the subnetworks that was changed in the version.
  5. Event-based, patch based: This transactional pattern exports the objects that have been added, changed or deleted in a branch version compared to the default version. The changes are delivered in a CIM Difference file.

Technology Overview

The functionality of the SImilix CIM Adaptor is accessed through a REST API. The API makes it possible to integrate the CIM Adaptor into any existing systemlandscape using the supported transactional patterns or customized to meet specific requirements and workflows.

References

Similix CIM Adaptor is becoming the de facto standard for integrating Utility Network with other CIM compliant systems and the technology is already in production in several utilities and systems around the world.