Creating a Suite Rollup rule

This topic introduces the Suite Rollup normalization feature, provides recommendations for using the Suite Rollup rule, and describes the procedure for configuring a Suite Rollup rule.

Purpose and behavior of Suite Rollup normalization

You can use Suite Rollup rules to create a new suite definition in the Product Catalog, to set the products that are members of a suite, and to set the ProductType attribute for instances:

If the Normalization Engine identifies an instance as part of a suite, it sets that CI's ProductType attribute to Component.
If the Normalization Engine identifies an instance as a suite, it sets that CI's ProductType attribute to Composite Product.

The instances for which the ProductType attribute is not set to Composite Product or Component are considered to be stand-alone products.

When you select products as part of a suite, the Suite Rollup rule applies only if all the requir are found in a relationship to the same system. If they are not, the rule does not apply.

Default configurations

The default configuration settings available for the Suite Rollup feature are:

The Normalization Engine includes sample Suite Rollup rules for Microsoft and Adobe products. You must create rules for the other suites.
You cannot define composite suites that contain other suites.
By default, the Suite Rollup feature is not enabled for data sets. If you enable the Suite Rollup option for an individual data set, the Normalization Engine checks all active Suite Rollup rules. You cannot select particular rules to apply to individual data sets.
Suite Rollup rules do not run if the MarketVersion, Model (Product Name), and ManufacturerName attributes are not normalized.
You can use Suite Rollup with batch and continuous normalization jobs. It does not work with inline normalization.
It is recommended that you use Batch normalization for Suite Rollup rules.
If you enable the continuous normalization mode and then create a new Suite Rollup rule, that rule is applied only to new or updated product CIs related to the systems that are pushed to BMC CMDB. To apply a new Suite Rollup rule to previously normalized data, you must re-run the continuous normalization job with the Normalize All Instances option selected.

Best practices

Before enabling the Suite Rollup feature or continuous normalization mode, perform the following actions:

Verify that the Product Catalog contains trusted product entries for normalizing CIs, and that the product and manufacturer aliases are defined, as needed.
Create and enable the Version Rollup rules, as needed.
With Product Catalog entries, aliases, and Version Rollup rules in place, create Suite Rollup rules to take advantage of the normalized Model, ManufacturerName, and MarketVersion attributes.
If you modify the Product Catalog data, add aliases, or add new custom Version Rollup rules after running a batch job, enable the Normalize All Instances option and run the batch job again.

Before you begin

Know what values to use for the Suite Name, Active, Manufacturer, Market Version, and Precedence.
Products must already exist in the Product Catalog. You cannot define new products in the Suite Rollup rule.
The Suite Rollup feature works on non-normalized data, and because it is an optional feature, it must be enabled.

To create a Suite Rollup rule

On CMDB Portal, click Configurations.
From the list, select Manage Normalization Rules > Features.
Click the Suite Rollup tab.
To create a new Suite Rollup Rule, click the icon.

On the Create Suite Rollup rule page, configure the following Suite Information parameters, and click Next.

Parameters	Description
Suite Name	Enter the name of the suite that you want to create in the Product Catalog.
Manufacturer	Select from a list of manufacturers that are defined in the Product Catalog. If required, you can create a new manufacturer in the Product Catalog.
Market Version	Select from a list of market versions that are defined in the Product Catalog. If required, you can create a market version by entering the value.
Model/Version	Enter the `VersionNumber` attribute value for the suite.
Tier 1 (Category)	Enter the `Category` attribute value for the suite.
Tier 2 (Type)	Enter the `Type` attribute value for the suite.
Tier 3 (Item)	Enter the `Item` attribute value for the suite.

On the Product List page, select the products to include in the suite, and click Next.
1. Search for products by the following methods. You can include the % wildcard.
  - By product name — Click Product, and enter a value for Name.
  - By product version — Click Product, and enter a value for Version.
  - By products in existing suites — Click Suite, and select the product from the available product list.
    Note
    
    Searches are case sensitive.
2. To add a product to the suite, select it from the Product Catalog list, and click the > button.
3. To designate a required product in the suite, under Product List , select the Is Required check box.
On the Suite Summary page, review the suite definition, set the following options, and click Next.
- Active — Click to activate the rule so that the Normalization Engine applies the rule on data sets.
- Precedence — Enter a value to determine the rule's execution order. The value can be 0 to 9999999, both inclusive, with higher numbers determining a higher priority. If more than one rule applies to an instance, the Normalization Engine applies the rules sequentially from the highest precedence value to the lowest, until a match is found.
Click Done to complete the process.

A new suite is added in the Product Catalog with the defined Suite Name, Manufacturer, and Product List information. It also creates a Normalization Suite Rule with the Suite ID, Active, and Precedence values.

The new suite appears in the Current Suites list of the Suite Rollup tab.

To edit a Suite Rollup rule

On CMDB Portal, click Configurations.
From the list, select Manage Normalization Rules > Features.
Click the Suite Rollup tab.
Select a Suite Rollup rule that you want to edit, and click .
On the Edit Suite Rollup rule page, modify the fields according to the steps in To create a Suite Rollup rule.
Click Save.

To delete a Suite Rollup rule

On CMDB Portal, click Configurations.
From the list, select Manage Normalization Rules > Features.
Click the Suite Rollup tab.
Select the Suite Rollup rule you want to delete, and click .
In the Delete Suite Rollup rule dialog box, click OK, to confirm the deletion.

To enable or disable Suite Rollup for a data set

On CMDB Portal, click Configurations.
From the list, select Manage Normalization Rules > Dataset Configurations.
On the Dataset Configurations page, select the data set for which you want to enable or disable the Suite Rollup rule, and click .
On the All Datasets Configurations page, in the Supported Features section, select or clear the Suite Rollup check box to enable or disable the feature.

Note

Only active Suite Rollup rules are executed.

5. Click Save to apply the change.