Creating a Computer System CI
Follow this procedure to create a Computer System CI. The procedure for creating other CI types is similar.
To create a Computer System CI
- In the navigation pane of the Asset Management console, choose Functions > Manage CIs.
- In the Select a CI Type dialog box, choose System > Computer System, and click Create.
The Computer System (New) form appears.Note
When creating a CI, only the Quick Links and Functions menus in the left navigation section are active, and will expand. The Advanced Functions and Create Other Requests menus will get activated only after you save the CI.
- At the top of the Computer System form, specify general information.
Bold field names indicate required fields. You must specify information into these fields before you can save the CI. - In the CI Name field, specify a name for the CI.
Recommendation
When creating a CI name, follow a consistent naming convention. According to IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) guidelines, identifiers should be short but meaningful, and for hardware, not based on supplier device names. For example, the name might include an indicator of the item's function followed by a numeric code, such as MONITOR100.
- In the CI ID field, type a unique alphanumeric value for the CI.
- Specify whether the item is supported by selecting Yes or No from the Supported list.
This field provides information for your records. - From the Company list, select the company to which this item belongs.
For more information about this field, see Providing access to a CI for multiple companies. - From the Primary Capability and Capability List fields, select or type the roles this item performs in your company's topology.
- Select a status from the Status list.
You can select one of the following options:Status
Description
Deployed
The item has been deployed and in use. This is the default value.
Received
The item represented by the CI was received in shipping.
Being Assembled
The item is being assembled.
In Repair
The item is down for maintenance.
Down
The item is down, but not yet in maintenance.
End of Life
The item is no longer being deployed.
Transferred
The item was transferred to another location.
Delete
The CI is marked for deletion.
In Inventory
The item is in inventory but not yet deployed.
On Loan
The item is on loan to another location.
Ordered
The item has been ordered but is not yet available.
Disposed
The item is no longer available and was disposed of.
Reserved
The item was reserved and taken out of inventory.
Return to Vendor
The item must be returned to the vendor as damaged or unwanted.
- Select the impact, urgency, and priority that apply when this item goes down (becomes unavailable).
- In the Users Affected field, specify the number of people who use this item.
Alternatively, specify the number of users who are affected when the item goes down. - Complete the other fields in this area:
Field name
Description
Tag Number
The CI tag number. This number is usually placed on the product by a member of your IT department to track the CI.
Serial Number
The item's serial number
Part Number
The item's part number
System Role
The role this item plays in your company
Status Reason
The reason for the current CI status
- Click the General tab.
- Use the Tier fields to categorize the item, as described in Categorizing CIs.
- In the Location area, use the lists and fields to specify the location of the item.
- Specify the dates of the CI in the Lifecycle area.
Field name
Description
Received Date
This field is automatically populated when the CI is received using the Requisition, Purchase/Receive feature.
Installation Date
This field is populated when the CI is put into Deployed state.
Available Date
Enter the date the CI will be available.
Return Date
Enter the return date of the CI.
Disposal Date
Enter the disposal date of the CI.
Last Scan Date
This field is automatically populated when the CI instance has been discovered using a discovery tool such as BMC BladeLogic Client Automation or BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping.
- Enter the owner information in the Owner Name and Owner Contact fields.
Note
Owner information appears only on the Computer System, Application, and Business Service CI forms. For more information about service context, see Using BMC Atrium Service Context.
- Click the Specifications tab.
Add additional information about the CI and the item that it represents. - Click Save.
If you see a message instructing you to complete additional fields, which might be necessary for this particular CI, do so.
Comments
When creating a Computer System CI that is later to be discovered by ADDM or other data providers to CMDB, is important to enter the attributes used by the Reconciliation Identification Activity to ensure the discovered CI will merge correctly with the manually created one.
Using out of the box reconciliation identification rules, the following attributes must be entered manually, not necessarly when the CI is created, but before the CI is imported to CMDB from any of the discovery data sources:
(Other attributes are used by the reconciliation identification rules as well but these are not presented in the Asset UI)
This is an excellent addition to this page. Is there anyway to get this propagated to newer versions? Or an obvious link to the same information. Also, does the data in any of these fields affect other tools like AIS and whatnot?
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