{"id":888451,"date":"2020-07-15T07:48:03","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T14:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=888451"},"modified":"2026-09-30T14:54:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T21:54:47","slug":"introducing-the-trace-network-with-arcgis-pro-2-6","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/data-management\/introducing-the-trace-network-with-arcgis-pro-2-6","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the Trace Network"},"author":9712,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23851],"tags":[42181,677911,677901,582651],"industry":[],"product":[36561],"class_list":["post-888451","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-data-management","tag-arcgis-pro","tag-geometric-network","tag-network-management","tag-trace-network","product-arcgis-pro"],"acf":{"short_description":"Introducing the trace network, designed to provide a network management solution for non-utility users of the geometric network in ArcGIS Pro.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

(This blog has been updated on multiple occasions, most recently September 30, 2026 to reflect updated capabilities.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Throughout the first half of the 2020, the geodatabase team was busy at work building new network capabilities with the traditional geometric network community in mind.<\/p>\n

The trace network<\/a>, provides a simple yet comprehensive network s solution for connectivity modeling and tracing to our non-utility users in ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Enterprise.<\/p>\n

Since its introduction, the trace network has continued to evolve <\/span>and,<\/span> a<\/span><\/span>s of ArcGIS Pro 3.7, the Trace Network supports enterprise deployments,<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0named trace configuration<\/a> network diagrams, and a variety of tracing enhancements that extend the capabilities available in the original release<\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

What is a trace network?<\/h1>\n

A trace network is a controller dataset that models simple connectivity between line and point features in your geodatabase.\u00a0 Unlike the utility network, it has no predefined information model. You get a flexible schema and a blank canvas, to model the network the way your organization already thinks about it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the common questions we receive is whether that makes it a lightweight utility network or something else entirely. It is a valid question, and it is best answered through a comparison of the two datasets.<\/span> While similarities exist, there are key pieces of functionality that differentiate the utility network from the trace network. <\/span>Let\u2019s take a look:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2983393,"id":2983393,"title":"UN\/TN Comparison Matrix","filename":"Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956.png","filesize":33838,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/data-management\/introducing-the-trace-network-with-arcgis-pro-2-6\/screenshot-2026-09-29-140956","alt":"Matrix comparing trace and utility network functionality in ArcGIS Pro 3.7","author":"446600","description":"Matrix comparing trace and utility network functionality in ArcGIS Pro 3.7","caption":"","name":"screenshot-2026-09-29-140956","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":888451,"date":"2026-09-29 21:11:22","modified":"2026-09-29 21:11:55","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":566,"height":836,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956.png","medium-width":177,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956.png","medium_large-width":566,"medium_large-height":836,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956.png","large-width":566,"large-height":836,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956.png","1536x1536-width":566,"1536x1536-height":836,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956.png","2048x2048-width":566,"2048x2048-height":836,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956-315x465.png","card_image-width":315,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screenshot-2026-09-29-140956.png","wide_image-width":566,"wide_image-height":836}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The utility network best serves the needs of the modern utility due to its robust information model and the use of rules that govern connectivity across the various domain and structure networks. Conversely, the trace network provides a general network type for use across various nonutility disciplines such as transportation, trail systems, hydrologic networks, stormwater networks, and environmental monitoring systems.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Choosing between a utility network and a trace network depends on the complexity of your network management requirements. Organizations that need connectivity modeling and tracing but do not require utility-specific capabilities such as subnetwork or circuit management; terminals; associations; containment; rule-based connectivity, and advanced tracing may find the trace network a better fit. Organizations that require access to these advanced utility workflows should consider the utility network.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The two datasets differ in what they can model but share a common framework. The trace network gets the same advanced analytic functionality and data validation capabilities as the utility network (more on that below).<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Migrate your network management workflows to ArcGIS Pro<\/h1>\n

If you are new to network modeling outside of ArcMap, the trace network and ArcGIS Pro provide a flexible and intuitive interface to get started.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are comfortable with the geometric network, you\u2019ll feel at home with the trace network as it was designed with existing users of the geometric network in mind. You\u2019ll find similarities along with many new capabilities that leverage ArcGIS Pro to take your network management to the next level. There is even a<\/span> simple path to convert your existing geometric networks<\/a>, so migration really could not be easier!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

If <\/span>you\u2019ve<\/span> read this far and feel as though the utility network might be a better fit, fear <\/span>not,<\/span> we\u2019ve<\/span> go<\/span>t you covered as well. With ArcGIS Pro 3.5, a <\/span>new Migration toolset and <\/span>wizard was introduced to <\/span>make the process associated with migrating existing data into <\/span>a<\/span> base utility <\/span>ne<\/span>twork as quick and simpl<\/span>e<\/span> as possible. To learn more, see Introducing the Migration Toolset for ArcGIS Utility Network<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Right","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

For those making the move to ArcGIS Pro, some concepts and features may seem unfamiliar at first, but you will find that they improve your network management experience and reduce the effort associated with data integrity and quality assurance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The information below will help you become<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> familiar with some of the concepts<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>of the trace network such as <\/span>network attributes<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>network topology<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>dirty areas<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> error features<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

If you’re brand new to ArcGIS Pro, start your journey with this learn lesson<\/a> to help smooth the migration process.<\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Right","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Network attributes<\/h2>\n

If you have worked with network weights in the past, this concept has been improved with network attributes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You create Network attributes<\/a><\/span> based on fields already in your data.\u00a0 These can be used to model the cost of tracing paths and to control the traversability of features in the network. These take advantage of the network topology to improve performance by removing the need to query items in the map\u2019s feature space when performing analysis such as tracing. <\/span>In a hydrologic network such as shown in the video below, this means promoting a field like stream order to a network attribute, then running a trace that only follows features at or above the order you care about. The trace never has to open the feature class to derive this information.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Check out the following video to learn more about some of the ways network attributes can be used in the trace network:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"youtube","start_time":"0","end_time":"","youtube_video_url":"