Deploying operational rules on devices that are linked to incidents or service requests

If your system administrator has enabled the integration between BMC Remedyforce and BMC Client Management, and you are a valid BMC Client Management administrator, you can deploy operational rules on BMC Client Management devices that are linked to incidents or service requests in BMC Remedyforce.

In BMC Client Management, operational rules deploy one or more BMC Client Management functions on devices in a defined order. Each operational rule contains the following elements:

• Steps – Series of commands executed by the Asset Core Agent on the device or device group
• Schedule – When the operational rule deploys
• Assigned objects – Devices on which the operational rule deploys
• Packages – Software to be installed through a step of the operational rule
• Dependencies – Operational rules that define when the current operational rule deploys

To deploy operational rules on devices that are linked to incidents or service requests

1. Perform one of the following actions:
   • On the Remedyforce Console or Incident Console tab, from the Agent Tools menu for an incident or service request, select CMDB Actions.
   • On the Incidents tab (Salesforce page layout), on an incident or service request record, click CMDB Actions.

2. If your system administrator has enabled the enhanced UI (CMDB Actions window), perform the following actions:

   Note

   If you are using the Incidents tab, the enhanced UI is not supported. In this case, skip ahead to step 3.

   1. In the CMDB Actions window, on the Configuration Items tab, select a CI that represents a device in BMC Client Management.
   2. From the Actions menu, select Advanced Actions.
      The Advanced Actions panel on the right expands to display all operational rules that are available for the BMC Remedyforce integration with BMC Client Management.
   3. In the Advanced Actions panel, select the appropriate operational rule and click OK.
3. If your system administrator has not enabled the enhanced UI (CMDB Actions window), perform the following steps:
   1. From the BCM Actions menu, select Advanced Actions.
   2. Click Go to open the Select From BCM Operational Rules window.
   3. Expand the Operational Rule folders to view and select an operational rule from the folder.
      You can view the description, last modified date, last modified by, and approval required details about an operational rule when you move your mouse over the operational rule in a tooltip.

   4. To deploy the selected operational rule on the device, click OK.
      If the selected operational rule requires approval before deployment, the associated operational rule is deployed only when the required approval is received. For more information, see How the approval process for deploying operational rules works.
      BMC Remedyforce creates a task for the operational rule and links the task to the current incident or service request. The incident form refreshes and displays the task in the Linked Tasks section.

      Note

      If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer and the task is not displayed in the Linked Tasks section, you must configure the browser settings. For more information, see Showing the operational rule task in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

      For information about tracking operational rule deployment, see How the progress of operational rule deployment on devices is tracked.

How the progress of operational rule deployment on devices is tracked

When you deploy an operational rule on a device, BMC Remedyforce creates a task for the operational rule and links the task to the current incident or service request. You can track the progress of the operational rule deployment in the status of the linked task or the Action History tab of the Asset Summary window. The status of the task is updated depending on the polling interval that the system administrator has configured for the BCM Processor.

Contact your system administrator to configure the mapping of the task and operational rule status values. The following table lists the possible task status values that can be mapped to the operational rule values.

Possible task status values mapped to operational rule status values 

When an operational rule is deployed on a device, a note is also added in the following locations:

• Action History Related list section of the task record created for the operational rule
• On the Remedyforce CMDB tab, the Instance Editor > Details > History tab of the device on which the rule is deployed.

This note records the time at which the operational rule deployment is requested. If the operational rule deployment succeeds or fails, BMC Remedyforce also records the details of the deployment.

How the approval process for deploying operational rules works

If an approval is required before deploying an operational rule, the current incident or service request remains locked until the approver approves or rejects the approval request. Also, the BCM Approval Status field of the current incident or service request is updated based on the status of the approval process.

If the approval process fails, the reason for failure is logged in the Incident History section. If you fix the issue that caused the approval failure and resubmit the incident or service request, the operational rule is deployed after the approval is received.

If an approval process is not created, the task is created but an error is logged in the Action History tab. If you create the approval process and resubmit the incident or service request, the operational rule is deployed after the approval is received.

Showing the operational rule task in Microsoft Internet Explorer

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer and the operational rule task does not appear in the Linked Tasks section, perform the actions in this procedure.

To show the operational rule task in Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. In your Microsoft Internet Explorer browser window, click Tools > Internet Options.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. In the Security level for this zone section, click Custom Level.
4. In the Miscellaneous options, select Enable for the Navigate windows and frames across different domains option.
5. Click OK.
6. Click OK to close the Internet Options window.

Related topic

Integrating BMC Helix Remedyforce with BMC Client Management