Identifying changes to CIs by using the Compare activity

A configuration manager uses the Compare activity to compare instances between two datasets. The Compare activity produces a detailed report with the differences in the two datasets. You can compare only those dataset instances that have been identified during the identification activity and that have the same Reconciliation ID.

Example

Calbro services created a dataset TEMP.Test and merged that data with BMC.ASSET. They now want to delete the TEMP.Test dataset. Before deleting TEMP.Test dataset, Chris, the configuration Manager, wants to compare the CIs in TEMP.Test and BMC.ASSET to check if any CIs were excluded from the Merge activity with BMC.ASSET dataset. Chris can create a Compare activity to compare the data between TEMP.Test and BMC.ASSET. 

Before you begin

• Make sure the CIs that are being compared have an identity.
  For running the Identify activity. See Identification activities to match instances across datasets.
• (Optional) Create a qualification ruleset to restrict the instances and classes that are compared.
  For creating a qualification ruleset, see Creating qualification rules for reconciliation activities.

To compare data between two datasets

1. On CMDB Portal, go to Jobs > Manage Reconciliation.

   • To add the Compare activity in a new job, click Create Job. 
     For information about creating a reconciliation job, see Creating a reconciliation job.

   • To add the Compare activity to an existing job, on the reconciliation dashboard, select an existing reconciliation job from All Job Run Activities and then click Edit Job.
     
     
     

2. Create a Compare activity in the reconciliation job.

   1. In the Activities area, click Add activity and select Compare from the list.

      

   2. Enter the following information:

      Field	Description
      Name	Type a unique name for the activity. The name must contain only those characters that the operating system of your server allows for file names. For example, on a windows server, your job name cannot contain the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > |.
      Namespace	Select a Namespace from the list. Only classes in the selected namespaces can participate in the activity. For more information, see Namespaces and reconciliation.
      Status	Active - Runs the activity when the reconciliation job runs. Inactive - Does not run the activity when the reconciliation job runs.
      Continue on Error	Defines whether the job continues if the activity has an error. Selected - The job continues to run even if an error occurs in this activity. Cleared - The job is terminated if an error occurs in this activity.
      Sequence	Specify the sequence value for this activity in relation to other activities in a job. For example, if this activity has a sequence value of 2, it runs before an activity with a sequence value of 3. The sequence can be from 0 to 1000.

   3. Select the datasets to compare from the list in Dataset 1 and Dataset 2.

   4. (Optional) Add Exclusion Rules to select classes and attributes that you do not want to compare. 
      Select Class > Select Attribute > Click Add Rule . You can add multiple classes and attributes.

   5. (Optional) In Qualification, add a qualification to select the classes and instances to compare. 

      • Clear Use all classes and instances to restrict the Compare activity by using a qualification set.

      • Click Select qualification rulesest to select a qualification set.

   6. In the Schedule area, select the frequency and condition to run the job.
      Click Add Schedule to specify the time and day to set the frequency.
3. Click Save to save the reconciliation job with the Compare activity.

4. (Optional) To run the job immediately, open the job from All Job Run Activities and click Start Job.

If there are multiple activities in a reconciliation job and you want to run a specific activity, use the Status button to make the other activities inactive.

You can view the job on the Reconciliation dashboard. To see only the jobs that have Compare activity, select Compare from the Activity Type list.

To view the Compare activity report

After the Compare activity is complete, you can view the Compare activity report on the reconciliation dashboard or by opening the job.

On the reconciliation dashboard, filter the jobs to show only jobs with Compare activity and click Executed to view the completed jobs.

To open the comparison report on the dashboard

1. On the desired job row, click the arrow to expand the row.
   
2. Open the Events tab and click Show Comparison Report.
   
3. From the report window, click Export To File.
4. Save a local copy of the text file.

To open the comparison report from the job

1. To open the job, click on the job with the Compare activity that you created.
   
2. In Job Run Statistics, click Show Comparison Report.
   
3. From the report window, click Export To File.
4. Save a local copy of the text file.

The following video (2:10) shows an example for a compare activity and the steps required to create a compare activity in a reconciliation job:

 https://youtu.be/T-_ZzGo_p6U

Where to go from here

Editing CIs and relationships in BMC Helix CMDB Explorer