Configuring the ServiceNow actor adapter

You configure an adapter in BMC Atrium Orchestrator Grid Manager. The configuration provides information about how the adapter interacts with the ServiceNow application. Although each adapter must have a unique name, you can create multiple adapters with the same adapter type to allow for different configuration properties.

The form view provides an easy-to-use interface for configuring adapters. The form view prevents human errors that might occur as a result of copying the configuration XML from the adapter user documentation into the UI when configuring an adapter.

The following video (9:16) describes how to configure the ServiceNow actor adapter. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP1sudTC4sI&t=17s

To configure the actor adapter

1. Log on to the BMC Atrium Orchestrator Grid Manager.
2. To access the adapters page, click the Manage tab and then click the Adapters tab.
3. In the Adapters in Repository list, select the check box corresponding to the type of adapter to be added.
4. Select bmc-adapter-service-now-actor to add an actor adapter to the Grid.
5. To include the adapter in the Adapters on Grid list, click Add to Grid.
6. Click Configure corresponding to the newly added adapter.
7. On the Add an Adapter Configuration page, perform the following sub-steps to configure the adapter by using the form view, or jump to step 8to configure the adapter by using the XML view:

   1. Enter a name for the adapter.

      Tip

      The default name of the adapter is ServiceNowActor.

   2. Enter a description for the adapter.
   3. Under Properties, enter or select values for the configuration elements.
      
      The configuration elements for actor adapter are described in the following table. Include all required elements indicated with an asterisk (*).
   4. (Optional) Click Switch to XML View and use the following steps to specify elements and attributes that are not in the form view.

8. (Optional) Configure the adapter in the XML view by using the following sub-steps:

   Note

   Switching to the XML view to specify those elements and attributes not included in the form means that you cannot thereafter use the form for modifying that configuration.

   1. Enter a name and a description for the adapter.
   2. Click Switch to XML View.
   3. On the Warning message that appears, click Switch View.

   4. Copy the configuration elements and attributes from the adapter user guide into the Properties text box, and then click OK.

      Note

      If the default value for an optional element is acceptable, omit the element. Do not include empty elements.

   5. On the Warning message that appears, click Save.
      
      The adapter configuration with settings is saved in the XML view permanently. The newly configured adapter is now listed in the Adapters on Grid list.
      
      The following table describes the adapter configuration elements and attributes for the ServiceNow application actor adapter that you can specify by using the form view, XML view, or both. You cannot use the form view to configure elements and attributes that do not have an entry in the UI label column.

      Node elements required to configure the actor adapter

      UI label	Element	Definition	Required
      None	<config>	Specifies a container element for all other elements	Yes
      None	<proxy-settings>	Indicates a parent tag that contains information about the proxy server Note To configure <proxy-settings>, you must switch to XML view as <proxy-settings> are not available as fields in a form view.	No
      None	<host>	Specifies the IP address or host name of the proxy server	Conditional; required only if <proxy-settings> is provided
      None	<port>	Specifies the port on which the proxy server listens for requests	Conditional; required only if <proxy-settings> is provided
      None	<user-name>	Specifies the user name required for proxy server authentication	No
      None	<password>	Specifies the password that corresponds to the proxy server <user-name> The password element can contain an encryption-type attribute.	No
      None	<encryption-type>	Indicates whether the password specified is encrypted; is an attribute of the <password> element and not an element itself Valid values: Base64, Plain (default)	No
      Target	<target>	Specifies the domain name of the ServiceNow application server	Yes
      User Name	<user-name>	Specifies the user name required for remote host authentication	Yes
      Password	<password>	Specifies the password that corresponds to the <user-name> The password element can contain an <encryption-type> attribute.	Yes
      Encryption Type	<encryption-type>	Indicates whether the password specified is encrypted; is an attribute of the <password> element and not an element itself Valid values: Base64, Plain (default)	No
      Timeout Secs	<timeout-secs>	Specifies the duration in seconds, after which timeout occurs Default value: 180	No
      Min Thread Pool Size	<min-thread-pool-size>	Specifies the minimum number of threads that are created and stored in a thread pool for parallel processing of requests Default value: 50	No
      Max Thread Pool Size	<max-thread-pool-size>	Specifies the maximum number of threads that are created and stored in a thread pool for parallel processing of requests Default value: 100	No
      None	<tables>	Indicates a parent tag of one or more <table> elements Allows you to specify a custom table	No
      None	<table>	Indicates children tags nested within the <tables> element This is optional. You can specify a custom table here. Change Management: In case of change, the table in which records must be inserted is specified as follows: <table entity="change"> MyChangeTable </table> The table name specified in the above example is "MyChangeTable". If you do not specify the table name, the default change table, "change_request", is considered. Incident Management: In case of incident, the table in which records must be inserted is specified as follows: <table entity="incident"> MyIncidentTable </table> The table name specified in the above example is "MyIncidentTable". If you do not specify the table name, the default incident table, "incident" is considered. Import_set Management: In case of import sets, the table in which records must be inserted by using the "Create Import Set Record" action, is specified as follows: <table entity="import-set"> MyImportsetTable </table> The table name specified in the above example is "MyImportsetTable". Note It is mandatory to specify the import _set table name either in the request or while configuring the adapter, or else the request execution fails.	No
      None	<import-set>	Indicates a parent tag Contains the configuration for performing the following operations, which are specific to Import Sets: Create Change Using Import Set Update Change Using Import Set Create Incident Using Import Set Update Incident Using Import Set	No
      None	<change>	Indicates the parent tag if an import set configuration for entity "Change" needs to be specified	No
      None	<incident>	Indicates the parent tag if an import set configuration for entity "Incident" needs to be specified	No
      None	<table-name>	Specifies the name of the table Required only if an import set configuration is defined for either a Change or an Incident, and any of the following actions are used: Create Change Using Import Set Update Change Using Import Set Create Incident Using Import Set Update Incident Using Import Set  If this element is specified under "change", then it should contain the import set table name for entity "Change". If this element is specified under "incident" then it should contain the import set table name for entity "Incident".	Conditional
      None	<import-set-coalesce-field>	Specifies the name of the field that identifies a unique record in the Import_Set table This field also coalesces to a certain field in the corresponding Change/Incident table.	Conditional; required only if an import set configuration is defined
      None	<incident-coalesce-field>	Specifies the name of the field that identifies a unique record in a table configured for entity "Incident" This field also coalesces to a certain field in the corresponding import set table for "Incident". Valid only if an import set configuration is defined for "Incident".	Conditional; required only if an import set configuration is defined
      None	<change-coalesce-field>	Specifies the name of the field that identifies a unique record in table configured for entity "Change" This field also coalesces to a certain field in the corresponding import set table for "Change". Valid only if an import set configuration is defined for "Change".	Conditional; required only if an import set configuration is defined
      Allow Unsigned Certificate	<allow-unsigned-certificates>	Specifies whether unsigned certificates are permitted for SSL authentication Valid values: true, false (default)	No
      Install Certificate	<install-certificate>	Updates the default keystore file (<java.home>\jre\lib\security\cacerts) with the certificates sent by the target URL during the SSL Handshake Valid values: true, false (default) Note To successfully install certificates, the user that installed the peer that executes the request must have read and write access to the keystore file. If the verification of a certificate fails, that certificate is not installed.	No
      Passphrase	<passphrase>	Specifies the passphrase for the keystore file, used for installation of certificates Default value: changeit Note This value must match the passphrase in the keystore. The passphrase can be changed using keytool. If a change is made, this value must be updated to reflect the new passphrase.	No
      None	<protocol>	Specifies the communication protocol used by the adapter Valid values: HTTP, HTTPS (default)	No

The following figures describes the XML sample for the actor adapter configuration:

XML sample for configuring the actor adapter with a plain password

<config>
    <proxy-settings>
      <host>11.111.111.1</host>
      <port>808</port>
      <user-name>username</user-name>
      <password>password</password>
    </proxy-settings>
    <target>demo.service-now.com</target>
    <user-name>username</user-name>
    <password>password</password>
    <timeout-secs>120</timeout-secs>
    <min-thread-pool-size>50</min-thread-pool-size>
    <max-thread-pool-size>100</max-thread-pool-size>
    <tables>
        <table entity = "change">change_request</table>
        <table entity = "incident">incident</table>
        <table entity = "import-set">imp_notification</table>
    </tables>
    <import-set>
        <change>
            <table-name>u_changeview</table-name>
            <import-set-coalesce-field>u_change_uid
</import-set-coalesce-field>
            <change-coalesce-field>correlation_id
</change-coalesce-field>
        </change>
        <incident>
            <table-name>u_incidentview</table-name>
            <import-set-coalesce-field>u_incident_uid
</import-set-coalesce-field>
            <incident-coalesce-field>correlation_id
</incident-coalesce-field>
        </incident>
    </import-set>
    <allow-unsigned-certificate>true</allow-unsigned-certificate>
    <install-certificate>true</install-certificate>
    <passphrase>true</passphrase>
</config>

XML sample for configuring the actor adapter with an encrypted Base64 password

<config>
    <proxy-settings>
      <host>11.111.111.1</host>
      <port>808</port>
      <user-name>username</user-name>
      <password encryption-type = "Base64">cGFzc3dvcmQ=</password>
    </proxy-settings>
    <target>demo.service-now.com</target>
    <user-name>username</user-name>
    <password encryption-type = "Base64">cGFzc3dvcmQ=</password>
    <timeout-secs>120</timeout-secs>
    <min-thread-pool-size>50</min-thread-pool-size>
    <max-thread-pool-size>100</max-thread-pool-size>
    <tables>
        <table entity = "change">change_request</table>
        <table entity = "incident">incident</table>
        <table entity = "import-set">imp_notification</table>
    </tables>
    <import-set>
        <change>
            <table-name>u_changeview</table-name>
            <import-set-coalesce-field>u_change_uid
</import-set-coalesce-field>
            <change-coalesce-field>correlation_id
</change-coalesce-field>
        </change>
        <incident>
            <table-name>u_incidentview</table-name>
            <import-set-coalesce-field>u_incident_uid
</import-set-coalesce-field>
            <incident-coalesce-field>correlation_id
</incident-coalesce-field>
        </incident>
    </import-set>
    <allow-unsigned-certificate>true</allow-unsigned-certificate>
    <install-certificate>true</install-certificate>
    <passphrase>true</passphrase>
</config>

Enabling custom logging

To enable custom logging for the adapter, you must specify a log file name. You can also provide additional parameters for logging.

• Log File Name: Provide a name for the log file.
  This file will be stored in the AO_HOME/tomcat/logs directory. If Log File Max Backup Index value is greater than 0, the log file name is suffixed with the backup index. For example, if the parameter value is a.log, backup log files will have names, such as a.log.1, a.log.2.
• Log File Size: Specify a size limit for the log file. 
  If the value specified for Log File Max Backup Index is greater than 0, when the specified size is reached, the current file is renamed with the suffix .1. Otherwise, the log file will be reset and over-written. The default value is 10MB. The available units are KiloBytes (KB), MegaBytes (MB) or GigaBytes (GB).
• Log File Max Backup Index: Enter the maximum number of backup files allowed. The default value is 10.
• Log File Append: Select this option to append new log information to the existing information in the file. If unselected, the file will be overwritten with new log information.

• Log Level: Enter the logging level using one of the following choices:

  Logging level	Description
  DEBUG	The most detailed logging level; logs low-level messages, normal execution, recoverable erroneous conditions, and unrecoverable erroneous conditions
  INFO (default)	Logs normal execution, recoverable erroneous conditions, and unrecoverable erroneous conditions
  WARN	Logs recoverable erroneous conditions and unrecoverable erroneous conditions
  ERROR	The least detailed logging level; logs only error conditions that are not usually recoverable