Managing data sources and datasets in BMC CMDB

A dataset is a logical grouping of data in BMC CMDB and is used to capture data from different data sources. It can represent data from a particular source, a snapshot from a particular date, and so on. You must create datasets in BMC CMDB to store data provided by different data sources. Creating datasets is the first step when importing data.

You can also use datasets for partitioning data. For example, you could use datasets to represent production data or obsolete data. Your datasets do not all need to contain different versions of the same CIs and relationships. For example, you could use datasets to hold:

• Subsets of your overall data, such as departments or regions
• Data from different companies for multitenancy
• Test data

A dataset can contain only one instance of a given CI. An instance of that CI might also exist in other datasets to represent the CI in the contexts of those datasets. Instances representing the same CI or relationship across datasets share the same reconciliation identity, or reconciliation ID.

Each CI and relationship in BMC CMDB must reside in a dataset, meaning that they have a DatasetId attribute that must contain a value.

Overview of working with datasets

These are the high-level steps required to create datasets:

1. Identify your data sources.
2. Create a dataset for each data source that you have identified.
3. Import your data source content into the relevant dataset.

The image below gives you an overview of the recommended dataset model