All managed objects are in one or more categories. These categories may be defined by Planet Associates (for “Library” objects, more on that later) or by the customer.
It is important to note that there can be different sorts of categories, for example, one sort of category can be “Manufacturers” (for example, “Cisco” or “Dlink”), while another sort of category can be “Functions” (such as “Switches” or “Servers”). A single piece of equipment can be in multiple categories at once, for example a switch can be in both the “Dlink” and “Switches” categories.
Allowing a Type to be defined within multiple Categories provides users with the ability to structure and organize their data to meet their specific needs.
Categories and Types form a tree structure, much like the folder or directory structures on computers.
There is another level of organization above the Categories, called the Super Categories, which correspond to major areas of functionality in IRM, such as equipment, cables, and pathways.
The list of Super Categories is built into IRM and does not change, except possibly in major new releases of the software.
The Super Categories in IRM v1.0 are
Equipment
Cable
Software
Circuit
Pathway
Location
Space
Maintenance Hole
Area
Contact
User
Vendor
Grouping
Contract
MAC
Project
Consumable
There is a separate Categories and Types sub-tree under each Super Category. We often refer to the entire structure, including the Super Categories, as the Categories and Types Tree or C&T Tree for short.
