BMC - TrueSight IT Data Analytics extractor

BMC Helix Capacity Optimization supports integration with TrueSight IT Data Analytics (ITDA) through the BMC - TrueSight IT Data Analytics extractor, that imports ITDA entities into BMC Helix Capacity Optimization.

The versions of TrueSight IT Data Analytics that are supported are 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, and 2.1.

For more information, see the following sections: 

Integration steps

To integrate BMC Helix Capacity Optimization with the BMC - TrueSight IT Data Analytics extractor, perform the following task:

1. Navigate to Administration > ETL & SYSTEM TASKS > ETL tasks.
2. In the ETL tasks page, click Add > Add ETL under the Last run tab.

3. In the Add ETL page, set values for the following properties under each expandable tab.

   
   

   Note

   Basic properties are displayed by default in the Add ETL page. These are the most common properties that you can set for an ETL, and it is acceptable to leave the default selections for each as is.

   Basic properties
   

   Property	Description
   Run configuration
   ETL task name	By default, this field is populated based on the selected ETL module. You can specify a different name for the ETL Task. Duplicate names are allowed.
   Run configuration name	Default name is already filled out for you. This field is used to differentiate different configurations you can specify for the ETL task. You can then run the ETL task based on it.
   Deploy status	You can select Production or Test to mark the ETL tasks. For example, you can start by marking the task as Test and change it to Production after you have seen that you are getting what you wanted.
   Description	(Optional) Enter a brief description for this ETL.
   Log level	Select how detailed you want the ETL log to be. The log includes Error, Warning and Info type of log information. 1 - Light: Add bare minimum activity logs to the log file. 5 - Medium: Add medium-detailed activity logs to the log file. 10 - Verbose: Add detailed activity logs to the log file. Info, Note: Log levels 5 and 10 are typically used for debugging or troubleshooting ETL issues. Using a log level of 5 is general practice, however, you may choose level 10 to get a high level of detail while troubleshooting.
   Execute in simulation mode	Select Yes if you want to to validate the connectivity between the ETL engine and the target, and to ensure that the ETL does not have any other configuration issues. When set to Yes, the ETL will not store actual data into the data warehouse. This option is useful while testing a new ETL task.
   Module selection	Ensure that the Based on datasource option is selected. Note If you select Based on Open ETL template, BMC Helix Capacity Optimization is integrated with a Generic extractor based on the selected Open ETL template. For more information, see  Generic ETL based on a template.
   ETL module (BMC recommends you to make this selection first)	Select BMC - TrueSight IT Data Analytics extractor.
   Module description	A link in the user interface that points you to this technical document for the ETL.
   Entity catalog
   Sharing status	Select any one: Shared entity catalog: Select this option if more than one ETL extracts data from the given set of resources (for example: CMDB). Sharing with Entity Catalog: Select an entity catalog from the drop-down list. Private entity catalog: Select this option if this is the only ETL that extracts data from the given set of resources.
   Object relationships
   Associate new entities to	Specify the domain where you want to add the entities created by the ETL. You can select an existing domain or create a new one. By default, a new domain is created for each ETL, with the same name of the extractor module. As the ETL is created, a new hierarchy rule with the same name of the ETL task is automatically created, with status "active"; if you update the ETL specifying a different domain, the hierarchy rule will be updated automatically. Select any one of the following options: New domain: Create a new domain. Specify the following properties: Parent: Select a parent domain for your new domain from the domain selector control. Name: Specify a name for your new domain. Existing domain: Select an existing domain. Make a selection for the following property: Domain: Select an existing domain from the domain selector control. Domain conflict: If the selected domain is already used by other hierarchy rules, you will be asked to select one of the following options to resolve the conflict: Enrich domain tree: Create a new, independent hierarchy rule to add a new set of entities and/or relations that are not defined by other ETLs. For example, this ETL is managing storage, while others are managing servers. ETL Migration: BMC recommends this configuration if the new ETL manages the same set of entities and/or relations (already defined in current domain tree). Typical use case is the migration from one or more ETLs to a new ETL instance. It will stop all relations imported by ETL instances and restore only valid relations after first run. This configuration reuses existing hierarchy rules to correctly manage relation updates.
   IT Data Analytics Connection
   Host name	Name of the IT Data Analytics console server.
   Port	Port number to connect to the IT Data Analytics console server. For more information, see Communication ports and protocols .
   Transport Type	Select the protocol for data transport: HTTP: Select HTTP if the IT Data Analytics console server is configured on a HTTP connection. HTTPS: Select HTTPS if the IT Data Analytics console server is configured on a secure HTTPS connection.
   Username	The username to access the IT Data Analytics console server.
   Password	If a password is required to access the IT Data Analytics console server, enter it here.
   Saved Search	Click Add to add searches saved through the IT Data Analytics console server. Searches with the specified name in the Saved Search set will be managed and imported into Capacity Optimization. If this field is left empty, the extractor will import all searches associated with the specified username.
   ETL task properties
   Task group	Select a task group to classify this ETL into. it is not necessary to group it into a task group.
   Running on scheduler	Select the scheduler over which you want to run the ETL. The type of schedulers available are: PrimaryScheduler: Runs on the AS GenericScheduler: Runs on a separate machine Remote: Runs on different remote machines.
   Maximum execution time before warning	The number of hours, minutes or days to execute the ETL for before generating warnings or alerts, if any.
   Frequency	Select the frequency for ETL execution. Available options are: Predefined: Select a Predefined frequency from Each Day, Each Week, or Each Month. Custom: Enter a Custom frequency (time interval) as the number of minutes, hours, days, or weeks to run the ETL in. This selection adds the Custom start timestamp property to the ERTL configuration (see below).
   Start timestamp: hour\minute (Applies to Predefined frequency)	The HH:MM start timestamp to add to the ETL execution running on a Predefined frequency.
   Custom start timestamp	Select a yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm timestamp to add to the ETL execution running on a Custom frequency. (Applicable if you selected Custom under Frequency).

   Note

   To view or configure Advanced properties, click Advanced. You do not need to set or modify these properties unless you want to change the way the ETL works. These properties are for advanced users and scenarios only.

   Advanced properties

   Property	Description
   Run configuration
   Datasets	Enables you to select or deselect metric groups for which data will be populated Available datasets. The IT Data Anlytics extractor allows you to select only from the given list of datasets, and you cannot include additional datasets to the run configuration of the ETL. Click Edit. Select one (click) or more (shift+click) datasets that you want to exclude from Available datasets and click >> to move them to Selected datasets. Click Apply.
   Collection level
   Metric profile selection	Select any one: Use Global metric profile: Select this to use an out-of-the-box global profile, that is available on the Adding and managing metric profiles page. By default, all ETL modules use this profile. Select a custom metric profile: Any metric profiles you add in the Add metric profile page (Administration > DATAWAREHOUSE > Metric profiles). For more information, see Adding and managing metric profiles.
   Levels up to	The metric level defines the amount of metric imported into the data warehouse. If you increase the level, additional load is added to the data warehouse while decreasing the metric level reduces the number of imported metrics. Choose the metric level to apply on selected metrics: [1] Essential [2] Basic [3] Standard [4] Extended For more information, see Aging Class mapping.
   Metric profile
   Aging profile	Select any one of the following options: As defined in profile: SHORT: MEDIUM: LONG:
   Metric filter
   Metric list for <selected> datasets	Click Edit and select the metrics that will be loaded for each dataset that you selected under Run configuration > Datasets. If no metric is specified, all metrics will be loaded.
   Additional properties
   List of properties	Additional properties can be specified for this ETL that act as user inputs during execution. You can specify values for these properties either at this time, or from the "You can manually edit ETL properties from this page" link that is displayed for the ETL in view mode. Click Add. Add an additional property in the etl.additional.prop.n box. Click Apply. Repeat this task to add more properties.
   Loader configuration
   Empty dataset behavior	Choose one of the following actions if the loader encounters an empty dataset: Warn: Warn about loading an empty dataset. Ignore: Ignore the empty dataset and continue parsing.
   ETL log file name	Name of the file that contains the ETL execution log; the default value is: %BASE/log/%AYEAR%AMONTH%ADAY%AHOUR%MINUTE%TASKID
   Maximum number of rows for CSV output	A number which limits the size of the output files.
   CSV loader output file name	Name of the file generated by the CSV loader; the default value is: %BASE/output/%DSNAME%AYEAR%AMONTH%ADAY%AHOUR%ZPROG%DSID%TASKID
   Capacity Optimization loader output file name	Name of the file generated by the Capacity Optimization loader; the default value is: %BASE/output/%DSNAME%AYEAR%AMONTH%ADAY%AHOUR%ZPROG%DSID%TASKID
   Detail mode	Select the level of detail: Standard: Data will be stored on the database in different tables at the following time granularities: Detail (configurable, by default: 5 minutes), Hourly, Daily, Monthly. Raw also: Data will be stored on the database in different tables at the following time granularities: Raw (as available from the original data source), Detail (configurable, by default: 5 minutes), Hourly, Daily, Monthly. Raw only: Data will be stored on the database in a table only at Raw granularity (as available from the original data source). For more information, see Accessing data using public views.
   Reduce priority	Select either Normal or High.
   Remove domain suffix from datasource name (Only for systems)	If set to True, the domain name is removed from the data source name. For example, server.domain.com will be saved as server.
   Leave domain suffix to system name (Only for systems)	(Only for systems) If set to True, the domain name is maintained in the system name. For example: server.domain.com will be saved as such.
   Update grouping object definition (Only for systems)	If set to True, the ETL will be allowed to update the grouping object definition for a metric loaded by an ETL.
   Skip entity creation (Only for ETL tasks sharing lookup with other tasks)	If set to True, this ETL does not create an entity, and discards data from its data source for entities not found in Capacity Optimization. It uses one of the other ETLs that share lookup to create the new entity.
   Scheduling options
   Hour mask	Specify a value to execute the task only during particular hours within the day. For example, 0 – 23 or 1,3,5 – 12.
   Day of week mask	Select the days so that the task can be executed only during the selected days of the week. To avoid setting this filter, do not select any option for this field.
   Day of month mask	Specify a value to execute the task only during particular days within a month. For example, 5, 9, 18, 27 – 31.
   Apply mask validation	By default this property is set to True. Set it to False if you want to disable the preceding Scheduling options that you specified. Setting it to False is useful if you want to temporarily turn off the mask validation without removing any values.
   Execute after time	Specify a value in the hours:minutes format (for example, 05:00 or 16:00) to wait before the task must be executed. This means that once the task is scheduled, the task execution starts only after the specified time passes.
   Enqueueable	Select one of the following options: False(Default): While a particular task is already running, if the next execution command arises – it is ignored. True: While a particular task is already running, if the next execution command arises – it is placed in a queue and is executed as soon as the current execution ends.

4. Click Save.
   You return to the Last run tab under the ETL tasks page.
5. Validate the results in simulation mode: In the ETL tasks table under ETL tasks > Last run, locate your ETL (ETL task name), click  to run the ETL.
   After you run the ETL, the Last exit column in the ETL tasks table will display one of the following values:
   • OK: The ETL executed without any error in simulation mode.
   • WARNING: The ETL execution returned some warnings in simulation mode. Check the ETL log.
   • ERROR: The ETL execution returned errors and was unsuccessful. Edit the active Run configuration and try again.
6. Switch the ETL to production mode: To do this, perform the following task:
   1. In the ETL tasks table under ETL tasks > Last run, click the ETL under the Name column.
   2. In the Run configurations table in the ETL details page, click  to edit the active run configuration.
   3. In the Edit run configuration page, navigate to the Run configuration expandable tab and set Execute in simulation mode to No.
   4. Click Save.
7. Locate the ETL in the ETL tasks table and click  to Run it, or schedule an ETL run.
   After you run the ETL, or schedule the ETL for a run, it will extract the data form the source and transfer it to the BMC Helix Capacity Optimization database.

Metrics and entity types

The following details are fetched from ITDA for a Saved search that is imported into Capacity Optimization as a business driver of type "Business Driver - Generic".