Configuring advanced actions to run for services

BMC Client Management supports many advanced actions. In FootPrints, you can configure services that allow those advanced actions to be performed on an asset when a user requests the related service. Configuration is required in the service portfolio, and in the related address book and workspace, to support locating a user's assets in BCM, linking that information to the related ticket, and executing a pending advanced action (using a business rule).

This topic provides information on:

Prerequisites

The following containers must be created:
The following user roles must be defined: Agent and Customer.
Integration with BCM must be enabled for your system.
The field or fields that uniquely identify the user (User ID and possibly User Name) must be defined in the address book and in the BCM database.

Configuring the address book

Open the Contact item and add the fields required to identify the user to BCM:
- User ID: This field stores the current FootPrints user ID. Create a Simple Text field and set Permissions to Required. If the value stored in this field is also used to search for the contact's asset, you do not need to add the User Name field.
- User Name: This field stores the search value for locating the contact's asset. Create a Simple Text field, and set Permissions to Optional.
On the Fields list page, set the User ID field as Primary Key.
Open the Agent Web form and add the new fields.
Save and publish the address book.

Configuring the workspace

Create a Ticket/Contact relationship between the Ticket item and the Contact item in the address book.
Enable BCM Integration for the Ticket item:
1. Select the appropriate options for selecting assets automatically.
  For detailed information, see Integrating BMC Client Management with FootPrints.
2. Add an Asset Lookup Trigger for the field in the address book that contains the Asset Device information from BCM, in this case, User Name.
Open the Ticket item and go to the Agent Web form:
- Add a Link control for Contacts.
- Add a Link control for Assets.
Create an Execute Advanced Action business rule with the following settings:
- Trigger: Select After Save. Then select On Create and On Update. You can also select other criteria as appropriate to your business process.
- Criteria: No specific criteria is required in this case. Select the appropriate criteria for your purposes.
- Actions: Select Execute Pending Advanced Action in BMC Client Management.
Create a Quick Template, making sure to select the Advanced Action that will be assigned when this template is selected.
The list of Advanced Actions is populated from the Operational Rules section in BCM.
Save and publish the workspace.

Configuring the service portfolio

Create a Service item that allows users to request an advanced action such as restarting a server.
(Optional) Create a relationship between the Service item and the Ticket item in the related workspace.
The relationship that you created earlier between the Ticket item and the Contact item is sufficient. However, if you create this relationship, the system automatically links both service and ticket when the user requests the service.
Save and publish the service portfolio.

Configuring customer permissions in the containers

Customer users must be assigned permissions that permit them to access the containers listed above.
Assign the Customer role permissions as follows:

In the workspace, assign permissions for the Ticket item and set the Ticket Create permission to Yes.
In the address book, assign permissions for the Contact item and select the View permission for the user ID and user name fields that you created earlier. If the customer needs to update their records, select the Edit permission instead.
In the service portfolio, assign permissions for the service item.

Your system is configured for running advanced actions when the associated services are requested.