Proposed "Relationship" feature for oBIX

Proposed “Relationship” feature for oBIX

Numerous conversations in the last month have caused me to focus on the relationship between systems. Inside a single control system, perhaps all components are part of a single system, but as we reach out beyond a single system, and define interactions across domains, we will want a means to put a system in context.

The relationship types I see, quickly, are

- Support – with a URI to the system it supports.

- Is Supported by – with a URI to the system it is supported by.

- Is a component of - with a URI to the system it is a component of.

- Is comprised of – with a list of URIs to its components.

- Is allied with – with URIs to all the other systems this works with, but for which no hierarchy is apparent

Note: in a world with heterogeneity, in which we cannot assume that all systems are on the same revision, or have the same capabilities, there should be no presumption that the system I point to with a URI has a reciprocal URI pointing back at me.

If the URL points to a BIM server, this gets us to “HVAC system for the 3^rd floor (and a pointer to the URI for the model of the 3^rd floor). There will have to be methods to set and remove these relationships as well.

Referring to previous committee work, this would also serve as a general case of to two of the methods requested by the power systems sub-committee:

- Service: obixps.set_location_map(location descriptions)
Description: sets the mapping of locations to specific meters.

Example:
Obixps.set_location_map(…,Murry_Hall.Floor1=subnetwork3_meter12, …)
This command maps the first floor of Murry Hall to a specific meter.

"It is the theory that decides what can be observed." - Albert Einstein

Toby Considine

Chair, OASIS oBIX TC
Facilities Technology Office
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC

Email: Toby.Considine@ unc.edu
Phone: (919)962-9073

http://www.oasis-open.org

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