Synchronizing the knowledge bases

As an administrator, you can run the synchronization job to synchronize the knowledge base from your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround for the following scenarios: 

• For the first time to migrate all content
• Subsequently to copy any newly added or changed articles

If necessary, you can also enable periodic synchronization. 

Before you begin

Make sure you have completed the following steps:

To synchronize knowledge base for the first time

1. Create folders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.

2. Migrate all content from your BMC application to folders created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.

Task 1: To create folders

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration. 
2. Select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync. 
   The following image shows the Knowledge Sync page:
   
3. On the Knowledge Sync page, from the Source knowledgebase, select one of the following values:
   
   • Remedy Knowledge Management—If you want to migrate knowledge articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management.
   • Business Workflows—If you want to migrate knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management.
4. In the Sync options section, select Copy the folders only (Folder contents are not copied).
   This synchronization option creates folders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. Articles are not copied at this stage, and you must migrate them as a separate integration step later on.
5. Click Run job now .

Folders are created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.

Components that underlie the folder structure in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround

The following table explains how the folder structure is created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround:

You can change folder names and structure in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround after you migrate all knowledge articles from your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.

Task 2: To migrate all knowledge articles

After folders are created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, you can migrate all knowledge articles from your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. To improve the synchronization performance, the synchronization tool automatically generates subfolders for each folder created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and migrates knowledge articles directly into them. The number of articles that can be migrated into one subfolder is limited to 300 articles per folder by default. However, you can change this default setting.

1. In BMC Helix Innovation Studio, select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync, and from the Source knowledgebase, select the BMC application for which the folders were created.

2. In the Sync options section, select Sync all (Override).
   If some folders do not exist in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, this migration option creates them too.
3. Click Run job now.

You have synchronized knowledge base from your BMC application with BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround for the first time. An entry is created for the job with the status Running. Wait until the job run is complete to view the updated status. 

To run subsequent synchronizations

After the initial synchronization, you can run the Sync job multiple times to synchronize any newly created or edited articles from your BMC application. Also, If a migrated article has been updated in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround since the last synchronization, the system will not override its content during the subsequent synchronizations. The synchronization tool will detect such knowledge articles in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and will keep their content unchanged while copying new or updated articles from your BMC application. To record the discrepancy, the system will create a conflict log. However, any metadata changes will be synchronized for such articles. For information about working with logs, see Troubleshooting. 

To run the subsequent synchronization, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration. 
2. Select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync. 
3. On the Knowledge Sync page, from the Source knowledgebase, select one of the following values:
   
   • Remedy Knowledge Management—If you want to migrate knowledge articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management.
   • Business Workflows—If you want to migrate knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management.

4. In the Sync options section, select Sync changes only.
   This option copies only the articles that are new or have been changed since the last synchronization.
   

   Important

   Sync changes only doesn't migrate articles if their knowledge article templates have been enabled after the initial synchronization. To synchronize such articles, use the Sync all (Override) option.

5. Click Run job now.

You have resynchronized the knowledge base by copying new and updated articles from your BMC application. If necessary, you can run this type of synchronization periodically or set it as a recurring job. 

Folder structure after subsequent synchronizations

When you run subsequent synchronizations by using the Sync changes only option, the folder structure is handled in the following way: 

• If some folders do not exist in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, the Sync changes only option creates them too.
• If some subfolders haven't reached their full capacity during the initial synchronization, new articles are copied to these subfolders. Otherwise, new subfolders will be created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. For information about the number of articles that are by default migrated into one subfolder and how to change this setting, see To modify the number of articles to be migrated into subfolders.
• If article groups have been changed in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management or BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management after the initial synchronization, new folders are created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. The articles are then copied to subfolders under these folders. 

To enable or disable periodic synchronization

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration. 
2. Select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync. 

3. On the Knowledge Sync page, select Sync changes only.
   

   Warning

   To prevent data loss, do not select any other synchronization options but Sync changes only for the periodic synchronization. 

4. Click Enable scheduled sync or Disable scheduled sync.

The scheduled migration job is now enabled or disabled. 

Where to go from here

Verifying the knowledge base synchronization

Terminating the synchronization job