Tracking attribute history

Tracking changes to specific attributes of an asset or configuration item (CI) is critical to users. Not only do they need to know what changes were made but also who made the changes and when. This information enables them to effectively manage the assets and CIs in their organization. For example, tracking changes to the Supported By attribute maintains a record of any changes to users who support assets or CIs, along with who made these changes and when.

System administrators can enable tracking of attribute history and configure attributes in the Base Element object for which old and new values are tracked. Changes to the selected attributes are tracked for all CMDB classes that contain these attributes. For example, when you select the Number of Slots attribute for auditing, changes to this attribute are tracked for all instances of the Computer System, Mainframe, Printer, Laptop, Switch, Hub, Router, Desktop, Server, and Storage Subsystem classes. Tracking is triggered when there is a change to the existing values of the selected attributes.

Each attribute is implemented as a field in the Base Element object. You can configure tracking for most of the fields in the Base Element object. However, you cannot track history of changes to the Created By and Modified By fields and the attributes of the Formula, Roll-up Summary, and Auto-Number data type. By default, tracking history is not configured for any attribute. Based on your requirements, you can select out-of-the-box and custom CMDB attributes for which you want to track old and new values.

Old and new values of the selected attributes are displayed on the Details > Auditing tab in the Instance Editor (Remedyforce CMDB tab). For more information, see Linking supporting information to a configuration item and Linking supporting information to an asset.

This topic contains the following information applicable to BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0:

Determining the location from which to configure tracking of attribute history

You can configure the tracking of old and new values of CMDB attributes from the following locations: 

• Base Element Field History page (Setup > Create > Objects > Base Element > Custom Fields and Relationships > Set History Tracking)
• Track Attribute History tab (Remedyforce Administration > Configure CMDB 2.0 > Track Attribute History) 

The following table lists the differences between tracking attribute history from the Base Element Field History page and the Track Attribute History tab.

Attributes that you select for tracking on the Base Element Field History page are not automatically selected on the Track Attribute History tab, and vice versa. If you select the same attribute on the Base Element Field History page and the Track Attribute History tab, duplicate entries for that attribute are displayed on the Details > Auditing tab in the Instance Editor.

The old and new values of the attributes that are selected for auditing are also stored as follows: 

• Changes to attributes selected on the Track Attribute History tab are stored in the CMDB Auditing object. 
• Changes to the attributes selected on the Base Element Field History page are stored in the Base Element History object. 

BMC recommends that you use the Base Element Field History page if you want to track history for a maximum of 20 attributes or you do not have to retain the tracking history for more than six months. However, if you want to track history for more attributes or retain the tracking history for a longer duration, you can use the Track Attribute History tab. Also, to generate a consolidated report of the old and new values, BMC recommends that you clear any existing tracking for attributes from the Base Element Field History page and select the same attributes on the Track Attribute History tab, or vice versa.

To track attribute history from the Track Attribute History tab

This section describes the procedure to track attribute history from the Track Attribute History tab. For information about tracking old and new CMDB attribute values from the Base Element Field History page, see the Salesforce Help. 

1. Click the Remedyforce Administration tab.
2. On the Home page, click the Configure CMDB 2.0 tile, and from the menu, select Track Attribute History.

3. Select the Enable tracking of old and new field values check box.
   

4. (Optional) To identify attributes from a specific class, perform the following actions:
   1. From the Highlight fields from list, select CI Classes or Asset Classes.
      If you have disabled asset management, the Asset Classes option is not displayed in the list. Similarly, if you have disabled CI management, the CI Classes option is not displayed in the list.
      

   2. From the list of classes, select the appropriate CI or asset class.
      Classes of the CI and Asset type, such as Mainframe and Printer, are displayed in the list of both asset and CI classes. Hidden classes of the Asset, CI, or CI and Asset type are not displayed in the list.

   Attributes from the selected class, including attributes that are inherited from parent classes, are highlighted. For example, if you selected the Computer System class, attributes from the Computer System, System, and Base Element classes are highlighted.
   

   Note

   The Asset Status attribute and any custom attributes in the Asset Common Attributes field set in the Base Element object are highlighted when you select Asset Classes from the Highlight fields from list and then select a class. The CI Status attribute is highlighted when you select CI Classes from the Highlight fields from list and then select a class.

5. To configure the tracking of old and new values of CMDB attributes, perform one of the following actions:
   • To start tracking the old and new values of an attribute, select the check box next to that attribute.
   • To stop tracking the old and new values of an attribute, clear the check box next to that attribute.

   The Created By and Modified By fields and the attributes of the Formula, Roll-up Summary, and Auto-Number data type are not displayed in this section because they cannot be tracked.

   Note

   If you track the Record Update Count field, each time a CI or an asset record is saved, the text "Record Update Count" with an incremented number is displayed in the Changed Field column on the Details > Auditing tab in the Instance Editor. Therefore, to track the number of times a CI or an asset is updated and by which users, BMC recommends that you track the Record Update Count field.

   The Record Update Count field is selected by default on the Base Element Field History page.

6. (Optional) To revert to the last saved selection of attributes, click Refresh.
7. To start tracking old and new values of the selected CMDB attributes, click Save.
   Changes to the selected field values are displayed on the Details > Auditing tab in the Instance Editor.

To create a custom report to view changes to CMDB attributes

You can create a custom report on the old and new values of the selected CMDB attributes. If you are tracking attribute history from the Track Attribute History tab, you must create a report on the CMDB Auditing object. Alternatively, if you are tracking history from the Base Element Field History page, you must create a report on the Base Element History object.

This section provides an example of a custom report that you can create to view changes to CMDB attributes that are selected on the Track Attribute History tab. This sample report lists the old and new values of CMDB attributes selected on the Track Attribute History tab and groups them by CMDB classes.

1. Click the Remedyforce Administration tab.
2. On the Home page, click the Create Dashboards and Reports tile, and from the menu select Reports & Dashboards (Salesforce) +.
3. On the Reports & Dashboards page, click New Report.
4. In the Select Report Type section, expand the Other Reports folder and select Base Elements with CMDB Auditing.
5. Click Create.
6. In the Fields section, expand the CMDB Auditing: Info folder, and drag the following fields to the Preview section:
   • Field
   • Field Label
   • Field New Value
   • Field Old Value
   • CMDB Auditing: Last Modified By
   • CMDB Auditing: Last Modified Date

   Note

   Adding the Field field to the report displays the API Name of the field. To display a more meaningful field name in the report, you can add the Field Label field to the report. If you update a field label, new records created in the CMDB Auditing object display the updated label in the Field Label column in the report. However, existing records continue to display the old label in the Field Label column.

7. In the Fields section, expand the Base Element: Info folder and drag the following  fields to the Preview section:
   • Instance Name
   • Class
8. Arrange the columns in the following order:
   Class | Instance Name | Field | Field Label | Field Old Value | Field New Value | CMDB Auditing: Last Modified By | CMDB Auditing: Last Modified Date 
   
9. From the Class column list, select Group by this Field.
10. Click Save.
11. In the Save Report window, specify the report name, add a description, and select the folder in which you want to save the report.
12. Click Save and Run Report.

Related topics

Configuring BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0

CI management

Asset management

Configuring CMDB 1.0