Importing data from Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager

You can import data from Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager into BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0 by using the Pentaho Data Integration tool. The Pentaho package for importing data from System Center Configuration Manager is available on the BMC Communities website. For information about how configuration items (CIs) are imported and relationships are created in CMDB 2.0, see Overview of how data is imported into BMC Remedyforce.

The following topics provide information about importing data from System Center Configuration Manager into BMC Remedyforce CMDB:

Before you begin

Before you can import data from System Center Configuration Manager into BMC Remedyforce CMDB, you must perform the following tasks:

Install Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
Download the Pentaho Data Integration tool.
If the Require TLS 1.1 or higher for HTTPS connections Salesforce critical update is enabled in your organization, you must use version 6.1 or later of the Pentaho Data Integration tool.
Register at the BMC Communities website.
Connect to Windows authenticated MS SQL server.
(Optional) Configure BMC Remedyforce to retain the original Instance Name value of CIs imported from an external source.
If you have enabled the setting to access your Salesforce organization from limited IP addresses, ensure that you have the security token to log on to your Salesforce organization.
For more information about the security token, see Salesforce Help.
Download the Pentaho package from the BMC Communities website (https://communities.bmc.com/docs/DOC-28432).
For information about the KJB (job) and KTR (transformation) files that are included in the Pentaho package, see KJB and KTR files for importing data from System Center Configuration Manager.
Best practice

BMC recommends that you do not change the folder structure because doing so can interfere with the running of the batch files provided in the CombinedJobs folder.
Download the jtds driver. For more information about downloading the driver, see Downloading the jdts driver.

Downloading the jdts driver

Download the latest driver from https://sourceforge.net/projects/jtds/files/jtds/.
Download jtds-1.2.5-dist.zip.
Unzip the jtds-1.2.5-dist.zip to obtain the jar file jtds-1.2.5.jar.
Copy this jar in the folder pentahoRootFolder\data-integration\lib.

Note

For information about the System Center Configuration Manager versions that BMC Remedyforce supports, see Supported browsers, mobile devices, and integrations.

To import data from System Center Configuration Manager

To launch the Pentaho Data Integration tool, perform the following actions:
1. Navigate to the location where you downloaded and unzipped the Pentaho Data Integration tool.
2. Navigate to the data-integration folder and double-click the Spoon.bat file.
In Pentaho Spoon, select File > Open, navigate to the folder where you downloaded the Pentaho package, and open the appropriate KJB file.
For example, to import LAN Endpoint CIs into BMC Remedyforce CMDB, open the TransferSCCMLANEndPointinfotoCMDB.kjb file in the LANEndpoints folder.
In the KJB file, right-click the Update BE table with SCCM <CI type name> information step, select Open referenced object, and then select Transformation.

Enter the information required to access System Center Configuration Manager.

Click here to see the detailed steps.

In the KTR file, double-click the SCCM Input step.
Next to the Connection list, click Edit.
In the Database window, ensure that on the General tab, the Connection Type field is MS SQL Server and the Access field is Native (JDBC).
Enter the host name and the database name. The host name is the name of the computer where the System Center Configuration Manager database is installed.
Enter the user name and password based on the authentication type used. For more information, see Entering credentials based on authentication type.
(Optional) To verify the connection between the System Center Configuration Manager server and the Pentaho Data Integration tool, click Test.
Click OK.

Entering credentials based on authentication type

Authentication type

Credentials to be entered

SQL server authentication

Enter the user name and password that is used to connect to the SQL server.

Windows authentication

If you are in the same domain as the SQL server with your account created on the SQL server for windows authentication, then do not enter the user and password. For more information about creating the account, see Connect to Windows authenticated MS SQL server.
If you are not in the same domain as the SQL server, then use the following steps:

1. Enter the windows authentication user name (without domain) and the password.
2. In the Options tab, enter a new parameter called domain with the value as the windows authentication domain.

Enter the information required to access your Salesforce organization.
Click here to see the detailed steps.
1. Double-click the Upsert into class <CI type name> step.
2. In the Salesforce Upsert window, enter your Salesforce organization user name and password.
  BMC recommends that you do not change the default API version in the Salesforce Webservice URL.
3. (Optional) To test the connection, click Test connection and then click OK.
4. To save your changes and close the window, click OK.
5. Double-click the Salesforce Input[CMDB_Class] step and in the Salesforce Input window, repeat step 5b to step 5d.
Important

If you configured a range of IP addresses on Salesforce you do not need a securtioy token if your Pentaho is in the same ip range. else you will need a security token.
For example, if the password for your Salesforce organization is mypassword and your security token is XXXXXXXXX, specify mypasswordXXXXXXXXX in the Password fields.
(Optional) Update the predefined mapping between System Center Configuration Manager fields and BMC Remedyforce CMDB.
Click here to see the detailed steps.
1. Double-click the Upsert into class <CI type name> step.
2. In the Salesforce Upsert window, click Edit Mapping.
3. In the Enter Mapping window, update mappings for fields based on your requirements.
  For information about updating the out-of-the-box mapping, see Field mapping in CMDB 2.0.
4. To save your settings and close the Enter Mapping window, click OK.
5. To save your changes and close the Salesforce Upsert window, click OK.
To save the KJB and KTR files, click Save.
In the KJB file, click Run this job.
Perform one of the following actions based on the Pentaho version that you are using:
Pentaho version Action
6.1 In the Run Options window, click Run.
5.4 In the Execute a job window, click Launch.
Transformation status is depicted by using the following icons:
- — Complete
- — Running
- — Unsuccessful
(Optional) To view logs, in the Execution results section, click the Logging tab.
All errors are displayed in red.
For the imported records, the Source field is set to SCCM. You can use the Source field to generate reports and also when you enable and configure reconciliation.

To schedule jobs to import data

On the BMC Communities website, the Pentaho packages for importing data from external data sources into BMC Remedyforce page contain a Scheduling Files folder. This folder contains a sample batch file that you can use as a base to create your batch files for scheduling data import. For more information about scheduling a job, see http://wiki.Pentaho.com/display/EAI/Kitchen+User+Documentation.

Navigate to the folder where you have extracted the Pentaho package for which you want to schedule import jobs.
Open the Scheduling Files folder and create a copy of the sample batch file, such as SchedulingComputerSystem.bat.
Open the batch file that you created in step 2, perform the following actions, and save the file:
1. Update the path of the Kitchen.bat file based on your version of the Pentaho Data Integration tool:KETTLE_HOME="<path>\<PentahoFolder>\data-integration"
2. Update the path of the Kitchen.bat file and the KJB file:<path>\<PentahoFolder>\data-integration\kitchen.bat /file:"<JobFile>\<JobFileName>.kjb"/level:Detailed
In these steps, the following definitions apply:
- <path> is the location where you have extracted the Pentaho installer ZIP file.
- <PentahoFolder> is the extracted root folder for your version of the Pentaho Data Integration tool.
  For example, for version 6.1 of the Pentaho Data Integration Tool, the extracted root folder is pdi-ce-6.1.0.1-196.
- <JobFile> is the location where you have extracted the job files.
- <JobFileName> is the KJB file that you want to run at the scheduled interval.
- The level option specifies the level of logging for the job. The values that you can specify for the level option are Minimal, Basic, Detailed, Debugging, and Row Level. The log files are saved in the same folder where KJB files are saved.
See an example of the updated batch file.
The following figure shows an example of the updated SchedulingComputerSystem.bat file.
Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > TaskScheduler.
In the Task Scheduler window, in the Actions area, click Create Basic Task.
In the Create Basic Task Wizard, type the name and description of the task, and click Next.
Select the appropriate option for starting the task, and click Next.
For example, you can select Daily or When the computer starts as the option for starting the task.
Configure the additional options for starting the task, and click Next.
The additional options are displayed based on the option that you selected in step 7. For example, if you select the Daily option for starting the task, you must configure the start date and frequency at which you want to run the batch file.
Select the Start a program radio button, and click Next.
Click Browse to locate the batch file that you have created to schedule the job, and click Next.
Select the Open the Properties dialog for this task when I click Finish check box, and click Finish.

User scenarios for importing data from System Center Configuration Manager

David is a member of the Infrastructure team for Downtown Bank, responsible for managing the laptops for ABC project. He signs up for BMC Remedyforce and expects to use the pre-configured, ITIL-based incident and problem management processes for managing CIs. Also, David wants to use the CMDB to represent the physical, logical, and conceptual items and to track the relationships between the different CIs.

John Doe, a BMC Remedyforce administrator, helps David to import details of the laptops provided to the team members of the ABC project from System Center Configuration Manager to BMC Remedyforce CMDB.

Data to be imported	Steps to follow
Computer System Operating System Processor LAN Endpoint IP Endpoint	Run the \CombinedJobs\TransferAdvancedSCCMinfotoCMDB.kjb file. Go to Remedyforce CMDB and verify whether the entries are correct in the Relationships Editor of the following classes: Computer System Operating System Processor LAN Endpoint IP Endpoint
Operating system details of the laptops	Run the \ComputerSystem\TransferSCCMinfotoCMDB.kjb file. Run the \OS\TransferSCCMOSinfotoCMDB.kjb file. Go to Remedyforce CMDB and open the Operating System class. Verify whether the entries are correct in the Relationships section in the Instance Editor of the Operating System class.
Processor details of the laptops	Run the \ComputerSystem\TransferSCCMinfotoCMDB.kjb file. Run the \Processor\TransferSCCMProcessorinfotoCMDB.kjb file. Go to Remedyforce CMDB and open the Processor class. Verify whether the entries are correct in the Relationships Editor of the Processor class.
Software server details of the laptops	Run the \CombinedJobs\TransferComputerSystemAndSoftwareSCCMinfotoCMDB.kjb file. Go to Remedyforce CMDB and open the Software Server class. Verify whether the entries are correct in the Relationships Editor of the Software Server class.

KJB and KTR files for importing data from System Center Configuration Manager

The Pentaho packages contain job (KJB) and transformation (KTR) files that are created in the Pentaho Data Integration tool. The KJB files (jobs) and KTR files (transformations) store metadata in XML format. A KJB file contains a series of transformations that are run in a sequence. A KTR file contains a single transformation. The KJB (job) files retrieve data from external sources into BMC Remedyforce CMDB.

For information about the KJB and KTR files in the Pentaho packages for System Center Configuration Manager, see KJB files in the Pentaho package and .Importing data from Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager v2018.01.

KJB files in the Pentaho package

The Pentaho package includes different KJB (job) files for importing different types of CIs, such as computer systems and LAN endpoints, from System Center Configuration Manager. These job files are bundled with related files and provided to you in folders. The folder names correspond to CI types in BMC Remedyforce CMDB.

The following table provides information about the job files that you must run to import specific CI types to BMC Remedyforce CMDB:

Folder name (CI Type)	Job file	Description
Computer System	TransferSCCMinfoto CMDB.kjb	Transfers information about the `BMC_ComputerSystem` CI type
OS	TransferSCCMOSinfoto CMDB.kjb	Transfers information about the `BMC_OperatingSystem` CI type
Processor	TransferSCCMProcessorinfoto CMDB.kjb	Transfers information about the `BMC_Processor` CI type
IPEndPoints	TransferSCCMIPEndPointinfoto CMDB.kjb	Transfers information about the `BMC_IPEndPoint` CI type
LANEndPoints	TransferSCCMLANEndPointin fotoCMDB.kjb	Transfers information about the `BMC_LANEndpoint` CI type
Software Server	TransferSCCMSoftwareServern fotoCMDB.kjb	Transfers information about the `BMC_SoftwareServer` CI type. Note: Depending on the organization size, running the software server job transfers large amounts of data to the Salesforce organization, which might lead to exceeding the organization storage limit.
Combined Jobs	TransferAdvancedSCCMinfotoCMDB.kjb TransferComputerSystemAndSoftware SCCMinfotoCMDB.kjb	TransferAdvancedSCCMinfotoCMDB.kjb This job file transfers information related to the `BMC_ComputerSystem, BMC_OperatingSystem, BMC_Processor, BMC_IPEndPoint,` and `BMC_LANEndpoint` CI types. TransferComputerSystemAndSoftware SCCMinfotoCMDB.kjb This job file transfers information related to the `BMC_ComputerSystem` and `BMC_SoftwareServer` CI types.

KTR files in the Pentaho package

All job (KJB) files for importing data from specific CI types contain a series of transformations that are run in a sequence. Each transformation maps to a KTR file that is available, along with the KJB file, in the folder for each CI type.

The following table provides information about the KTR files and the corresponding transformations that the KJB file for each CI type contains:

KTR file	Transformation or step in the KJB file	Description
None	Check If Delta Time stamp File Exists	Checks if any time stamp file exists. The Pentaho package utilizes a time stamp file to determine which records were added or modified since the last time the job was run. This step is used for incremental import. If a time stamp file does not exist, the Create the initial timestamp file step is run; otherwise, the *Update BE Table With SCCM <CI type name>* information** step.
CreateInitialTimeStampedFileFor<CIType>.ktr	Create the initial time stamp file	Creates the time stamp file to record the time of import. This step is run only if you are importing for the first time or you have deleted the existing time stamp file.
TransferSCCM<CIType>infotoCMDB.ktr	Update BE Table With SCCM <CI type name > Information	Transfers data from System Center Configuration Manager to the `Base Element` object of BMC Remedyforce CMDB.
Store<CIType>Timestamp.ktr	Store the current timestamp	If the data is successfully imported, the time stamp file is updated with the current time of import

For example, the LAN Endpoint job file (TransferSCCMLANEndPointinfotoCMDB.kjb) contains the CreateInitialTimeStampedFileForLANEndPoint.ktr, TransferSCCMLANEndPointinfotoCMDB.ktr, and StoreLANEndPointTimestamp.ktr files.

The following table provides information about the steps that are included in the TransferSCCM<CIType>infotoCMDB.ktr file (Update BE Table With SCCM <CI type name> information transformation). The Pentaho package runs these steps to transfer data from System Center Configuration Manager into BMC Remedyforce CMDB. You can view these steps only when you open the KTR file in the Pentaho Data Integration tool.

Step	Description
Delta timestamp	Reads the saved time stamp.
SCCM input	An SQL query that fetches information from SCCM based on the stored time stamp.
Transform SCCM variables	Facilitates JavaScript transformations, such as appending or trimming fields.
Upsert into class <CI type name >	Accepts the destination of the data, the credentials for the Salesforce organization where you want to save the imported data.
Salesforce Input[CMDB_Class]	Accepts the access details of the Salesforce organization to fetch the BMC Remedyforce CMDB classes details.
Success rows	Stores the rows that are imported successfully.
Failure rows	Stores the rows that are not imported, error code, error description, and error fields.

Troubleshooting

The following table describes the troubleshooting tips that you can use to resolve common issues that you might face when importing data.

Error or issue	Applies to the Pentaho package for	Description or procedure
Viewing logs of the import jobs	All	Log files are created in the folder where you have saved the KJB files. Success and failure rows files are also created in the same folder. If a failure occurs, the error code and its description are provided in the failure row file. You can also use the failure row file to import data to Salesforce.
Not all records are imported	All	Delete the delta time stamp file of the job that you ran, and run the job again.
Import fails	All	If you have upgraded to BMC Remedyforce Winter 17 (20.17.01), either you use the latest Pentaho packages updated on the BMC Communities or map a value to the Source field of the `Base Element` object. Also, ensure that you have Edit permission on the Source field of the `Base Element` object.
An "out of memory" error occurs	All	While importing a large number of records, if you get the `OutofMemoryError or Java heap size` error message, increase the heap size in the Spoon.bat file. Navigate to the location where you downloaded and unzipped the Pentaho Data Integration tool. Navigate to the data-integration folder. Right-click the Spoon.bat file, and select Edit. Locate the following line and replace 512 with a higher value: `If "%PENTAHO_DI_JAVA_OPTIONS%"=="" set PENTAHO_DI_JAVA_OPTIONS= "-Xmx512m" "-XX:MaxPermSize=256m"` Click Save. Relaunch the Spoon.bat file and rerun the job file.
A "too many script statements" error occurs	All	When you run an import, if you receive "Too many script statements" as an onscreen Apex error message or in an email, reduce the batch size by 10 in the Batch Size field in the Settings section on the Salesforce Upsert window.
Records are not being to your CMDB.	All	Raise a case with Salesforce to create a custom index on the Assembly ID field of the `Base Element` object.
Importing users by using the failure rows file for LDAP	LDAP server	A failure row file is a text file that is saved in the folder where you have saved your KJB files. Perform the necessary steps to remove the error provided for the failure rows in the failure rows file, and then import the data by using the following steps. The following Pentaho packages provide a transformation file in the FailureRowsInput folder. You can use this transformation file for importing users from the failure rows file to the Salesforce organization. LDAP integration with BMC Remedyforce (assign permission sets and Remedyforce managed package license): https://communities.bmc.com/docs/DOC-32288 LDAP integration with BMC Remedyforce (Salesforce Platform Licenses Only): https://communities.bmc.com/docs/DOC-22547 LDAP integration with BMC Remedyforce (Customer Portal Manager Custom Licenses Only): https://communities.bmc.com/docs/DOC-17004 To import data from the failure rows file Double-click and open the FailureRowsInput folder. Double-click and open the LDAP_FAILURE_ROWS_ <YYYYMMDDHHMMSS> file. Where *YYYYMMDDHHMMSS* is the time stamp of the file. The first line in the file displays the header row and from the second line onward details of the failed import are displayed. For each failed import record: Read the information under the headings Error Description, Error Fields, and Error Codes. Resolve the error. Open the FailureLDAP transformation file with the Spoon batch file of the Pentaho Data Integration tool. Double-click the Salesforce Upsert step, and enter your Salesforce organization username and password in the Connection section. (Optional) To verify the connection, click Test connection. Click OK. To save the FailureLDAP transformation file, click . Click . In the Execute a transformation window, click Launch.
Failed in writeToSalesForce: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: The char '0x0' after 'Print' is not a valid XML character	All	Some unicode characters that cannot be parsed by the XML parser are present in any of the mapped fields. Either delete these characters in data or delete the mapping of such fields.
Unable to query Salesforce	All	Check your Salesforce organization credentials in the Salesforce Upsert and Salesforce Input(CMDB_Classes) steps.
The job does not appear in Atrium Integrator.	BMC Atrium CMDB	Ensure that you have saved your KTR and KJB files in a folder in Atrium Integrator.
Error setting value #2 [ARDelta_1 Integer] on prepared statement (Integer)	BMC Atrium CMDB	This error is generated if multiple records are created in the BMC Remedy AR System NGIE:Delta form for the running transformation. Delete the additional ARDelta entries that are created for the error transformation file by deleting the records. To find the duplicate records for a transformation file, open the NGIE:Delta form in BMC Remedy AR System. In the TransName field, enter the transformation file name, and click Search.
Did not find Remedy Application Service password for server<server name> in UDM:RAppPassword Form on server <server name>	BMC Atrium CMDB	Check your Atrium Server Connection credentials in the ARInput step.
'Oracle Database Server 10g Release 2' is not valid for the type xsd: <data type >	BMC Atrium CMDB	Check the data type of the mapped fields in the Salesforce Upsert step.
Duplicate LAN Endpoint entries are created in BMC Remedyforce CMDB.	BMC Client Management	In BMC Remedyforce Summer 15 Patch 1 and earlier versions, when you imported LAN Endpoint data from BMC Client Management, duplicate LAN endpoint entries might have been created in BMC Remedyforce CMDB. This duplicate data was created because of the following factors: In BMC Client Management, a LAN endpoint could periodically obtain multiple IP addresses using DHCP. In BMC Remedyforce Summer 15 and earlier, the Network Interface IP address was used as the unique source identifier for LAN endpoints imported from BMC Client Management. In BMC Remedyforce Summer 15 Patch 1 and later versions, instead of the Network Interface IP address, the MAC address is used as the unique source identifier for the LAN endpoints imported from BMC Client Management, and new duplicate LAN endpoint entries are not created in BMC Remedyforce CMDB. To resolve this issue, you must install the latest Pentaho package for BMC Client Management released with BMC Remedyforce Summer 15 Patch 1 or later. Also, you must manually delete any existing duplicate LAN endpoint entry on the Remedyforce CMDB. For more information, see Deleting configuration items.
The HTTP Status 404 error is displayed when trying to connect to Salesforce.	All	Ensure that your Pentaho transformations connect to https://login.salesforce.com/services/Soap/u/<API version> instead of https://www.salesforce.com/services/Soap/u/<API version>. Starting from January 1, 2016, Salesforce retired www.salesforce.com as an API endpoint. For more information, see the announcement on BMC Communities website. To view a video demonstration of how to update your Pentaho transformations, see Salesforce API Endpoint Retirement. BMC Remedyforce has updated the API endpoint in the Pentaho packages that are currently available on the BMC Communities website.
Error connecting to your Salesforce organization when using version 5.4 of the Pentaho Data Integration Tool.	All	Check whether the Require TLS 1.1 or higher for HTTPS connections Salesforce critical update is enabled in your organization. Pentaho Data Integration Tool 5.4 does not support TLS 1.1 and cannot connect to your Salesforce organization if this Salesforce critical update is enabled in the organization. To resolve this issue, perform one of the following actions: Use version 6.1 of the Pentaho Data Integration Tool to import data from various data sources to BMC Remedyforce. Deactivate the Require TLS 1.1 or higher for HTTPS connections Salesforce critical update in your Salesforce organization. For information about when the critical update will be automatically activated, see Salesforce Knowledge Article Number 000232871.
Error running the Pentaho packages. In some cases, you might also not be able to open the Enter Mapping window by clicking Edit Mapping in the Salesforce Upsert window.	All	In the Pentaho packages provided by BMC Remedyforce, ensure that the API version in the Salesforce Webservice URL field in steps, such as Salesforce Upsert, is supported. In the LDAP Pentaho packages, the default API version in the Salesforce Webservice URL field is 27 (https://login.salesforce.com/services/Soap/u/27). In all other Pentaho packages, the default API version in the Salesforce Webservice URL field is 24 (https://login.salesforce.com/services/Soap/u/24).
In the Salesforce Upsert window, when you click Edit Mapping, the following error message is displayed: `Certain referenced fields were not found!`	All	Perform the following steps to resolve this issue: In the Salesforce Upsert window, click Edit Mapping. The Certain referenced fields were not found! error message is displayed. To open the Enter Mapping window, click OK. The tool removes all referenced fields from the existing mappings. The Pentaho package provided by BMC Remedyforce includes only one referenced field, BMCServiceDesk__CMDB_Class__c. The CMDB_Class field is no longer available in the Mappings column. In the Source fields column, select CMDB_Class and click Add. When you move CMDB_Class from the Source field column to the Mappings column, the c in the field name is replaced with r. For example, BMCServiceDesk__CMDB_Class__c is replaced with BMCServiceDesk__CMDB_Class__r. (Optional) Update mappings for other fields based on your requirements. For information about updating the out-of-the-box mapping, see Field mapping in CMDB 2.0. To save your settings and close the Enter Mapping window, click OK. In the Salesforce Upsert window, in the Module field column in the Fields area, click BMCServiceDesk__CMDB_Class__r, and replace r with c. To save your changes and close the Salesforce Upsert window, click OK.