The Asset Key of an asset is the information required by V-Suite CORE Synchronization to find the asset in the asset database and synchronize that asset with updated information. The asset key should preferably be unique and non-volatile, meaning it is unlikely to change.

For example, consider a person. A person has a name, address, age, and a government-assigned id number such as the American Social Security ID. Address and age change over time and are not unique to a person, so are poor choices as ways to identify a person. Names are less likely to change but are not unique either--there are many people named "John Smith". Companies often issue employee ids to provide a unique identifier for people that does not change over time.

An asset key can consist of one or more of the following information:

  • One or more asset attributes
  • The asset key of the asset's parent
  • The geometry of the asset

Consider some examples:

Asset Attributes:

Suppose the asset database contains an asset "Pump", which has an attribute named "Tag" with a value of "P-101A". There are no other pumps (or any other assets) in the asset database that have the same tag and it is unlikely to change. Thus specifying that a Attribute "Tag" is the asset key, this pump is now uniquely identified and can be updated by V-Suite CORE synchronization.

The Asset Key of the Parent:

Suppose the asset database contains an asset "Nozzle" which has an a attribute n amed"Tag" with a value of  "Suction". There are many nozzles that may have a tag "Suction" so this attribute does not uniquely identify the nozzle. However there is only one nozzle "Suction" that belongs to pump "P-101A". By specifying that the parent of the nozzle is part of the nozzle's asset key, the nozzle is now uniquely identified and can be updated by V-Suite COREsynchronization.

The Geometry of the Asset:

Suppose the asset database contains an asset "Pump Foundation"which does not have any attributes or properties that uniquely identify this asset. However the geometry of the asset is described by a Box/Block. By specifying that geometry of the asset is the asset key, V-Suite CORE Synchronization will be able to find the pump foundation as long as the geometry (box dimensions, location and orientation) does not change. Only when the geometry of the pump foundation changes V-Suite CORE synchronization will no longer be able to find the pump foundation, and will remove the old asset and add the new pump foundation. Please note that V-Suite CORE Synchronization does not "know" the old asset is being replaced by the new pump foundation--it only knows that the old asset no longer exists, thus must be removed, and the new pump foundation can not be found in the asset database, thus must be added.


V-Suite CORE will in most cases assign default asset keys which cannot be changed by the V-Suite CORE user. You must specify custom asset keys if V-Suite CORE cannot exactly predict which information will be provided by the CAD Provider Adapter that is the case for asset i Information provided by the XMpLant provider adapter. Asset keys for assets provided by the XMpLant provider adapter can be configured via the Schema Mapping Page of the CAD Source Wizard. CAD provider adapters may or may not always be able to provide unique, non-volatile asset keys. Refer to the appropriate CAD Provider Adapter  for more details on its ability to provide unique non-volatile asset keys and how this affects V-Suite CORE Synchronization behavior.