Try the Utility Network Migration Wizard

In this tutorial, you'll assume the role of a GIS analyst at a small municipal government tasked with a pilot project to migrate your organization's geometric networks to Utility Network. Your small city has departments that manage data for electric, gas, water, wastewater, and stormwater. This tutorial includes sample data and instructions for migrating each of these five geometric networks, so you can focus on using the dataset that interests you most. You'll use the Utility Network Migration Wizard to create a utility network using an existing geometric network. While you are guided through this process by the wizard, you must understand the basic workings of the network so you can set sources and sinks, set the tier definition for the network, and map source classes to the proper asset types. Once you complete the wizard, your geometric network features will be migrated into a utility network.

This tutorial was last tested on November 6, 2025, using ArcGIS Pro 3.5. If you're using a different version of ArcGIS Pro, you may encounter different functionality and results.

Requirements

• ArcGIS Pro Standard or Advanced (see options for software access)

Set initial migration parameters

First, you'll explore the potential geometric networks to migrate, choose one of them, and start running the Utility Network Migration Wizard.

Identify a service territory

Every utility network requires a service territory to define the extent of the utility data that it manages. Before you begin your data migration, you'll ensure you have a polygon feature class that fully covers your current and future assets in the same spatial reference as the rest of your network data.

1. Download the sample project and open it.

   The project includes sample geometric networks and maps for the following utilities: electric, gas, sewer, stormwater, and water.

2. In the Catalog pane, expand Folders, expand Utility Geometric Networks, and expand commondata.

   

   There are five geodatabases, one for each sample utility.

3. Expand the utilities geodatabase that interests you.

   

   In the image, the geodatabase for the water utility is expanded. Each utility network requires a Service Territory polygon to define the extent of the data to be managed in the utility network. You must make sure you select or create a layer that completely covers your current and future service territory because the extent cannot be expanded once you've created your utility network.

Open the migration wizard

Next, you'll run the Utility Network Migration Wizard to migrate your data to a utility network.

1. In the Catalog pane, locate a utility geodatabase that you want to migrate and expand the feature dataset.

   If you chose to migrate the water network, the feature dataset is named WaterDistribution_Net.

   

   Note:

   If you're migrating a utility different than the water network, their names are as follows: electric is named E_Distribution_Net, gas is named P_PipeSystem_Net, sewer is named SewerStormwater_Net, and stormwater is named Stormwater_Net.

2. Right-click the geometric network and choose To Utility Network.

   

   The Utility Network Migration Wizard pane appears.

   

3. Read through the high-level steps of the wizard to learn what will occur in each step of the process.
4. Click Next.

   First, you'll specify the domain networks that will form the foundation of your utility network. You'll set the values for Name, Source Type, and Tier Definition based on the type of network you're migrating. Keep the following in mind about each type of network:

   • Electric is typically represented as a source-based, partitioned domain network.
   • Gas is typically represented as source-based, hierarchical domain network.
   • Sewer is typically represented as a sink-based, hierarchical domain network.
   • Stormwater is typically represented as a sink-based, hierarchical domain network.
   • Water is typically represented as a source-based, hierarchical domain network.
5. For the utility you chose to migrate, enter the following parameters for the domain networks:
   • Electric—For Name, type Electric and accept the remaining defaults.
   • Gas—For Name, type PipeSystem and for Tier Definition, choose Hierarchical.
   • Sewer—For Name, type Sewer; for Controller Type, choose Sink; and for Tier Definition, choose Hierarchical.
   • Stormwater—For Name, type Storm; for Controller Type, choose Sink; and for Tier Definition, choose Hierarchical.
   • Water—For Name, type Water and for Tier Definition, choose Hierarchical.

   The following image shows the domain network settings for electric:

   

   The following image shows the domain network settings for gas:

   

   The following image shows the domain network settings for sewer:

   

   The following image shows the domain network settings for stormwater:

   

   The following image shows the domain network settings for water:

   

   This Source Network value is populated with the geometric network you selected.

   Note:

   You can add additional geometric networks using the Add Geometric Network button. If you launched the tool without a geometric network, click the Add Domain Network button to add a domain network for the classes you want to migrate.

6. Click Next.

   The Geodatabase Options pane appears. In this pane, you can configure various options for the output geodatabase and utility network, such as its folder location and output geodatabase name. There are also options for field migration and data loading. You'll populate the Geodatabase Options pane based on the type of utility you are migrating.

7. For Service Territory Polygon, click Browse. Browse to Folders > Utility Geometric Networks > commondata and click the utility geodatabase.

   

8. Click the Service Territory feature class and click OK.

   

   Note:

   While most network features are stored in the feature dataset, the Service Territory feature class is not, so you'll find it at the geodatabase level.

9. For Output Folder, click Browse. Browse to Folders > Utility Geometric Networks > commondata and click Save.

   

   If your network features have attachments or other relationships you want to migrate, you can select those options here. For this tutorial, you'll accept the defaults for the rest of the parameters.

10. Click Next.

    The Utility Network Mapping pane appears.

    

    This pane shows all the feature classes from the geometric network that you can migrate to the utility network.

You have learned how to prepare your data to be migrated to a utility network and how to launch the Utility Network Migration Wizard on geometric network datasets. You have also learned that you do not need a geometric network to use this wizard. You can learn more about the parameters of this tool by reading the Use the wizard to migrate data into a utility network page.

Map source data

Next, you'll finish mapping the source classes to features in a new utility network and run the migration.

Map feature classes

You'll update the mappings for all the classes in your geometric network to ensure they are properly migrated into the new utility network.

1. Review the Source Class column to ensure all the classes you want to be migrated to your utility network are present.

   

   Note:

   The image shows water utility classes.

   When classes are imported from a geometric network, the Target Class value is selected automatically based on the geometry type of the layer. You can adjust the Target Class value to a different domain class or structure class, depending on your model. You can also add more classes using the Add Feature Class button.

   Next, you'll set the sources and sinks in the network using the Is Controller column.

2. For the utility you are migrating, in the Is Controller column, check the box for any sources or sinks in the network:
   • For electric, check the Is Controller box for the DynamicProtectiveDevice class.
   • For gas, check the Is Controller box for the P_TownBorderStation class.
   • For sewer, check the Is Controller box for ssDischargePoint and ssNetworkStructure.
   • For stormwater, check the Is Controller box for the swDischargePoint class.
   • For water, check the Is Controller box for the wNetworkStructure class.

   

   The example image shows the Is Controller box checked for the wNetworkStructure source class for the water network.

   A layer that is configured as a controller contains the features that act as the ultimate sources and sinks in the network. Selecting this option will configure asset types in that asset group in the network to be capable of acting as subnetwork controllers. If you aren't certain which layers to use, leave the column blank. You can configure sources and sinks after you migrate your data and are more familiar with the utility network.

   Next, you'll set the Asset Type values for the classes in the network. The following are general guidelines for setting Asset Type for each type of utility:

   • Electric geometric networks typically use a subtype field to differentiate features in each class.
   • Some classes in a gas geometric networks use a subtype field to differentiate features in each class.
3. For the utility you are migrating, set the Asset Type values accordingly:
   • For electric, set all classes' Asset Type value to Subtype, while not setting the last class, E_Distribution_Net_Junctions.
   • For gas, for the P_Service class, set Asset Type to Material. For P_Pipes, set Asset Type to Material. For P_NonControllableFitting, set Asset Type to Subtype.
   • For sewer, for the ssDischargePoint class, set Asset Type to Discharge Type. For ssLateralLine, set Asset Type to Liner Type. For ssNetworkStructure, set Asset Type to Structure Type. For ssFitting, set Asset Type to Fitting Type.
   • For stormwater, for the swNetworkStructure class, set Asset Type to Structure Type. For swFitting, set Asset Type to Fitting Type. For swDischargePoint, set Asset Type to Discharge Type.
   • For water, the wNetworkStructure class, set Asset Type to Structure Type. For wServiceConnection, set Asset Type to Service Type. For wFitting, set Asset Type to Fitting Type. For wLateralLine, set Asset Type to Line Type.

   The following image shows the asset type values for the electric utility:

   

   The following image shows the asset type values for the gas utility:

   

   The following image shows the asset type values for the sewer utility:

   

   The following image shows the asset type values for the stormwater utility:

   

   The following image shows the asset type values for the water utility:

   

   You don't have to configure asset types for any of the asset groups in the utility network if you want all features in each asset group to have the same behavior. The wizard will automatically create a default asset type for each asset group. However, having different asset types within a layer allows for more flexibility when defining network rules and performing more advanced capabilities in the utility network.

   Populating the Utility Network Mappings page is the most time-consuming and thought-intensive part of the entire migration process. Now that you've completed mappings, you are only a few steps away from finishing the migration.

Finish the migration

Next, you'll review a summary of the configurations for migration and review the output.

1. In the Utility Network Mapping pane, click Next.

   The Standalone Class Mapping pane appears. You can use the Standalone Class Mapping panel to add any other feature classes or tables to the output geodatabase. If you had additional tables or feature classes you wanted to include in the output geodatabase, you would add them using the Add Class button on this page. For this, you won't add other tables or feature classes.

2. Click Next.

   The Migration Summary pane allows you to review your configuration before running the migration. You can click the Previous button to go back and make any changes.

3. Click Finish.

   The migration process will take several minutes, depending on how much data is being migrated. The Migrate To Utility Network tool will run with the configuration you specified in the wizard. This process will take longer on larger datasets.

   Note:

   If you have a map open when the tool finishes running, it will add layers for the new utility network to the active map. Otherwise, you can add a layer file that will be created during the migration to visualize the utility network features.

4. In the Catalog pane, refresh the project folder.

   Next, you'll use a layer file created during the migration to visualize the results.

5. Expand the MigrationDatabase folder. Right-click the MigrationDatabase.lyrx file, point to Add To New, and choose Map.

   

   A map appears and contains the subtype group layers for the contents of your new utility network.

   

   Note:

   Your map may be different based on the network you chose to migrate. The example image shows the water network with the Water Device group layer turned off.

   The network features appear with default symbology that may not be optimal; however, this is a quick way to visualize the results of the migration.

6. In the Contents pane, turn off an on various layers to explore the results.

   The layer file includes subtype group layers for all the features in the network, with default symbology and field properties applied to each asset group.

   

   The output of the migration is a utility network that matches the tables, fields, and domains of the classes from the source geometric network.

7. In the Catalog pane, refresh the project directory to see the MigrationDatabase folder created by the tool.
8. Expand the MigrationDatabase folder.

   

   The output folder also contains a data loading workspace and a .csv file containing any subnetwork controllers from the source data. If you want to change any settings for the migration, you can open the geoprocessing history, modify the settings, and run the migration again.

9. On the ribbon, click the Analysis tab. In the Geoprocessing group, click History.

   

   The History pane appears and shows the Migrate to Utility Network tool.

   

   To make changes to the migration, you can right-click the Migrate to Utility Network tool and open the tool with all the settings from your initial run.

   Now that you have migrated your data to a utility network, you can begin exploring your data in a utility network. If your data has topology errors, which is likely, you cannot perform any tracing or analysis using your utility network until you analyze and resolve these issues. To learn more about how to fix topology errors, read the Analyzing topology errors and Resolving topology errors articles. To try these tools on a sample dataset, go to the Ready to learn more section below for more tutorials. Once you have an error-free and enabled network topology, you can perform tracing, although you will still need to perform quality assurance to ensure that the network attributes and connectivity in your network produces valid results.

In this tutorial, you used the Utility Network Migration Wizard to migrate a geometric network into a geodatabase as a utility network. You set the sources and sinks and mapped source classes to the correct asset types. Once the migration was complete, you viewed the results on a map.

Using the Utility Network Migration Wizard, you can quickly migrate a geometric network into a utility network. Once the migration is complete, your data will be configured in a utility network, but you must perform the necessary steps to ensure connectivity among the network features. You can use the Analyze Network Data  tool to identify all the topological errors in your database.

You can find more tutorials in the tutorial gallery.

Acknowledgements

• Map data used with permission from the City of Naperville.
• World Topographic Map sources: Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community
• World Hillshade layer sources: Esri, Maxar, Airbus DS, USGS, NGA, NASA, CGIAR, N Robinson, NCEAS, NLS, OS, NMA, Geodatastyrelsen, Rijkswaterstaat, GSA, Geoland, FEMA, Intermap, and the GIS user community