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

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.
  image_SSCM_optionstab.png

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.

Pentaho version	Action
6.1	In the Run Options window, click Run.
5.4	In the Execute a job window, click Launch.

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.

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.

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:

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:

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.

Troubleshooting

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