Managing asset classes

To be able to add, update, and delete asset classes, IT asset management must be enabled. For more information, see Enabling asset management. Depending on the asset data that you want to store, you can use the available out-of-the-box asset, CI and Asset, and Rule Based Asset classes. Based on your requirements, you can also customize the out-of-the-box classes, or add custom classes. For more information about the available out-of-the-box classes, see BMC Remedyforce CMDB Common Data Model.

This topic contains the following information:

Adding custom asset and Rule Based Asset classes

Depending on the type of class you are adding, you must perform the following actions:

• To add an asset or a CI and Asset class:
  1. Add the class details
  2. Add the class attributes

• To add a Rule Based Asset class:

  Note

  You cannot add custom class attributes for the Rule Based Asset classes. A Rule Based Asset is based on a CI class and it inherits the attributes of that parent CI class. However, after adding or updating a Rule Based Asset class, you are required to activate it.

  1. Add the class details

  2. Activate the Rule Based Asset class

To add the class details

1. On the CMDB Classes list view page, click .

2. In the CMDB Class Type list, select one of the following options:

   Note

   If the system administrator has enabled both CI and IT asset management, the CMDB Class Type list displays Asset, Rule Based Asset, and CI and Asset; if only IT asset management is enabled, the CMDB Class Type list displays Asset and Rule Based Asset.

   • To create an asset class, select Asset.  
   • To create a Rule Based Asset class, select Rule Based Asset.
   • To create a class which is both CI and asset, select CI and Asset.

3. From the Superclass lookup, and select the superclass.
   By default, the Superclass lookup displays BMC_BaseElement. When you select a superclass, the hierarchy of the selected class, starting from the BMC_BaseElement class, is displayed on the UI.

4. In the Class Name field, enter a unique class name.
   The system validates that the class name is unique. The class name can contain only uppercase and lowercase letters from A through Z, numbers 0 through 9, and the underscore (_) character. It must begin with a letter, not end with an underscore, and not contain two consecutive underscores.

5. (Optional) In the Display Label field, enter a unique display label of the class.
   By default, the entered class name is displayed as the display label, which you can update. For more information, see Updating asset and Rule Based Asset classes.

6. Depending on the type of class you are adding, perform one of the following actions:
   • If you are adding an asset or a CI and Asset class, skip to step 7.

   • If you are adding a Rule Based Asset class, perform the following actions from the Criteria section on the CMDB Class form:

     Note

     The Rule Based upon CI Class field displays the class which you have selected in the Superclass field and is not editable. To update the class displayed in the Rule Based upon CI Class field, you must update the class in the Superclass field.

     1. From the <Field> list, select the required operand value.
        

        Note

        The operand values that you can select in the <Field> list is based on the fields of the CI class that you have selected in the Superclass field. However, in the <Field> list, field types, such as Text Area, Formula, and Picklist (Multi-Select), and fields, such as Created Date, Last Modified Date, BMC_BaseElement Name, Instance Name, Inactive, Class Name, CI Status, and Asset Status are not displayed.

     2. From the <Operator> list, the only available operator is " = ". Its is automatically populated when you select the operand value from the <Field> list.

     3. Enter an operand field value in the corresponding text box.

     4. To add multiple rules, click on  and add the required rules.
        Multiple rules are combined by using the logical operator "AND".

7. To display the class in the Remedyforce CMDB tab, ensure that the Display in CMDB check box is selected.

   Note

   If you clear the Display in CMDB check box for a class, that class is hidden in the Remedyforce CMDB tab. However, if a hidden class contains CMDB instances (CIs, assets, or both), those CMDB instances are displayed when you search for instance in the Remedyforce CMDB tab.

8. To create an abstract class, select the Abstract check box.

   Note

   The Abstract check box is enabled only for the Asset and CI and Asset class types and is disabled for the Rule Based Asset class type. Abstract classes organize subclasses and enable you to add a layer of organization. They contain only attributes, and do not contain any instances.

9. (Optional) To display the default class and class impacted icons in the Remedyforce CMDB tab, Relationships tab of the Instance Editor, and in the CMDB Explorer, ensure that the Use Default radio button is selected.
   By default, the Use Default radio button is selected. If you want to replace the default class and the class impacted icons with custom images, perform the following steps:

   Note

   The custom image file recommendations are: Format (.JPG, .JPEG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG), Image size (32x32 pixels), and Maximum image file size (5 MB).

   1. Click the Select Custom radio button.
   2. Next to Class Icon, click Browse.
   3. From the Add Image window, select the class icon image file.
   4. Next to Class Impacted Icon, click Browse.
   5. From the Add Image window, select the class impacted icon image file.

10. Click .

11. Depending on the class type that you are adding, perform one of the following actions:

    • For Asset and CI and Asset class types, add the class attributes. For more information, see Adding the class attributes.

    • For Rule Based Asset class type, activate the Rule Based Asset class. For more information, see Activating Rule Based Asset classes.

Adding the class attributes

When you save the class details, the Manage Attributes section of the UI is displayed on the CMDB Class form, which enables you to do the following:

• View the Field Set Label and Field Set Name fields that you must enter for the class.

• Access the links to the Base Element object to add the field set and attributes of the class.
  Click on Field Set to create the field set of the class; click Custom Fields to create the unique attributes of the class.

  Note

  The Manage Attributes section of the UI displays Field Set and Custom Fields links only if a remote site setting is configured to enable object access. For more information, see Before you begin. If a remote site setting is not configured, these links are not displayed. Rather, the instructions to manually access the  the Base Element object are displayed. You must manually perform these instructions once to create the field set and custom attributes of the class. Subsequently, the Manage Attributes section displays the Field Set and Custom Fields links.

To add a field set for a custom class

1. In the Manage Attributes section, click on the Field Set link.

2. In the Field Sets section of the Base Element object page, click New.
3. In the Field Set Label text box, enter the field set label that is displayed on the Manage Attributes section.
4. In the Field Set Name text box, the field set name is automatically populated.
   Ensure that the field set name is the same as the one displayed in the Manage Attributes section.
5. In the Where is this used? text box, enter a brief description of where and how the field set is used.
6. Click Save.

To add fields for the custom class attributes

1. In the Manage Attributes section, click on the Custom Fields link.

2. In the Custom Fields & Relationships section of the Base Element object that opens on a new tab, click New.
3. From the New Custom Field page, add custom fields for the class attributes.
   For more information, see Adding or removing fields on the Instance Editor in CMDB 2.0.

To add the fields to the field set for a custom class

1. In the Manage Attributes section, click on the Field Set link.
2. In the Field Set section of the Base Element object page that opens on a new tab, navigate to the corresponding field label.
3. Click Edit.
4. From the object palette, drag the fields to the In the Field Set list.
5. Click Save.

Activating Rule Based Asset classes

You must activate a Rule Based Asset class in the following scenarios:

• When you have added or updated a Rule Based Asset class.

• When you have upgraded from an earlier version and have chosen to manually activate the required out-of-the-box Rule Based Asset classes. 

To activate a Rule Based Asset class

1. On the CMDB Class form of the Rule Based Asset class, click Activate.
   On activation, new CIs are automatically synchronized based upon the rules set on the CI Class.

2. When prompted to synchronize the existing CIs, perform one of the following actions:
   • To synchronize existing CIs, click Yes.
   • To synchronize existing CIs later, click No.
     To synchronize the existing CIs at a later stage, you must perform the following actions:
     1. On the CMDB Class form of the Rule Based Asset class, click Deactivate.
     2. Click Activate.
     3. When prompted to synchronize existing CIs, select Yes.

Updating asset and Rule Based Asset classes

Depending on the type of class you are updating, you must perform the following actions:

To update an asset or a CI and Asset class:

1. Update the class details

2. Update the class attributes

To update a Rule Based Asset class:

1. Update the class details
2. Activate the Rule Based Asset class

To update the class details

1. On the CMDB Classes list view page, in the Class column, click the class that you want to update.

2. In the CMDB Class Type list, select the required class type.

   Note

   If only IT asset management is enabled, the CMDB Class Type list displays Asset and Rule Based Asset; if both CI and IT asset management are enabled, it displays Asset, Rule Based Asset, CI, and CI and Asset. You can convert the class type from Asset, CI, and CI and Asset to any class type other than Rule Based Asset. However, you cannot convert the class type of CI classes on which Rule Based Asset classes are defined; to convert the class type, you must first delete the related Rule Based Asset classes. For Rule Based Asset classes, the CMDB Class Type list is disabled, and you cannot convert the class type.

3. From the Superclass lookup, select the superclass.
   The hierarchy of the selected superclass, starting from the BMC_BaseElement class, is displayed on the UI.

   Note

   The superclass of the out-of-the-box classes cannot be updated. You can only update the superclass of the custom classes. However, you cannot update the superclass of a custom class that contains CMDB instances (assets, CIs, or both) and subclasses; to update the superclass, you must first delete the related CMDB instances or subclasses. You cannot update the superclass of the Rule Based Asset classes.

4. The Class Name field is not editable.

5. (Optional) In the Display Label field, enter a unique display label.
   The updated label is displayed in the Class column of the CMDB Classes list view page and on the Remedyforce CMDB tab.

   Warning

   If an existing configuration (for example, a lookup filter, QuickView, validation rule, trigger, or service request definition) does a comparison between the hard coded value of the class name and the Class Name field of the base element object, and you update the display label of that class, that configuration will stop functioning. To make it functional, you must update the configuration in one of the following ways:

   • Instead of the Class Name field, use the Class field of the base element object for comparison.
   • Update the hard-coded value of the class name to the display label of the class.

   For example, if an existing lookup filter compares between the hard coded BMC_ComputerSystem class name and the Class Name field of the base element object, and you update the display label of the class to My_Computer_System, the look up filter will stop functioning. To make it functional, you must perform one of the following actions in the look up filter configuration:

   • Instead of the Class Name field, use the Class field of the base element object for comparison.
   • Update the hard coded value of the BMC_ComputerSystem class name to the My_Computer_System display label.

6. Depending on the type of class you are updating, perform one of the following actions:

   • For Asset and CI and Asset class types, skip to step 7.
   • For Rule Based Asset class type, perform the following actions:
     1. Click Deactivate.

     2. From the Criteria section, perform the following actions:

        Note

        The Rule on Class field of the Rule Based Asset classes cannot be updated. 

        • To add new rules:
          1. From the <Field> list, select the required operand value.
          2. From the <Operator> list, the only available operator is " = ". Its is automatically populated when you select the operand value from the <Field> list.
          3. Enter an operand field value in the corresponding text box.
          4. To add multiple rules, click on  and add the required rules.
             Multiple rules are combined by using the logical operator "AND".
        • To update or remove existing rules, from the list of rules, select the corresponding rule and perform one of the following actions:
          • To update a rule, select the required operand value from the <Field> list, and enter the required operand field value in the corresponding text box, and click.
          • To remove the rule, click .
     3. Click Activate.

7. Select the Display in CMDB check box to display the class in the Remedyforce CMDB tab.

   Note

   If you clear the Display in CMDB check box for a class, that class is hidden in the Remedyforce CMDB tab. However, if a hidden class contains CMDB instances (CIs, assets, or both), those CMDB instances are displayed when you search for instance in the Remedyforce CMDB tab. 

8.  Select the Abstract check box to assign the class as an abstract class.
   To remove the assignment of a class as an abstract class, clear the Abstract check box.

   Note

   The Abstract check box is enabled only for a custom asset, CI, or CI and Asset class and is disabled for the out-of-the-box classes and the Rule Based Asset classes. You can assign a custom class as an abstract class only if that class does not contain any CMDB instances (assets, CIs, or both). If the class contains CMDB instances, you must first delete the related instances and then assign the class as an abstract class.

9. (Optional) To replace both the default class and class impacted icons with custom images, click the Select Custom radio button.
   For more information, see To add the custom asset class details.

10. Click .

11. Depending on the class type that you are updating, perform one of the following actions:

    • For Asset and CI and Asset class types, you can update the class attributes, if required. For more information, see To update the class attributes.

    • For Rule Based Asset class type, you must activate the Rule Based Asset class. For more information, see Activating Rule Based Asset classes.

To update the class attributes

You can update the attributes of an asset or a CI and Asset class from the Manage Attributes section of the CMDB Class form.

1. To add custom fields for the class attributes, click the Custom Fields link.

   For more information, see Adding the class attributes.

2. To update the field set of the class, perform the following actions:

   1. Click the Field Set link.

   2. In the Field Set section of the Base Element object page, click Edit for the corresponding field label, and then perform one or both of the following actions:
      • To add new fields, drag the fields from the object palette to the In the Field Set list.
      • To delete existing fields from the In the Field Set list, click  next to the fields.
   3. Click Save.

3. Click .

Deleting asset and Rule Based Asset classes

You can only delete custom classes, and cannot delete any out-of-the-box classes. For the out-of-the-box classes, the  button is disabled. However, if a custom asset, CI and Asset, or CI class contains CMDB instances (such as assets, CIs, and CIs and assets), or subclasses, you cannot delete that class. To be able to delete that class, you must first delete the related CMDB instances and subclasses. You can delete a custom Rule Based Asset class even if it contains assets.

To delete a custom asset class

1. On the CMDB Classes list view page, select the custom asset class that you want to delete.
2. Click .
   Alternatively, you can delete a class by clicking  on the CMDB Class form of the class.