A computerized model provides a display of a physical environment in which
a communications network is or will be installed. The communications
network is comprised of several components, each of which are selected by
the design engineer and which are represented in the display. Errors in
the selection of certain selected components for the communications
network are identified by their attributes or frequency characteristics
as well as by their interconnection compatability for a particular
design. The effects of changes in frequency on component performance are
modeled and the results are displayed to the design engineer. A bill of
materials is automatically checked for faults and generated for the
design system and provided to the design engineer. For ease of design,
the design engineer can cluster several different preferred components
into component kits, and then select these component kits for use in the
design or deployment process.