Managing locations

To effectively manage assets and configuration items (CIs), users need to specify where the CIs and assets are located. System administrators create location records, which users can select from the Location attribute while creating CIs and assets in the Instance Editor on the Remedyforce CMDB tab.

The location records are stored as instances of the out-of-the-box Physical Location CI class. While you can use the Instance Editor to create locations, the Location form is a more effective and intuitive way of managing locations. Also, if you have hidden the Physical Location CI class or disabled CI management, you still require locations for asset management. In this case, you must use the Location form to create and manage location records.

The fields displayed in the Location form and the Instance Editor are different and can be customized from different field sets. From the Location form, you can also easily view, create, and manage relationships between a location record and other assets and CIs.

This topic contains the following information applicable to BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0:

To create or edit a location from the Location form

1. Click the Remedyforce Administration tab.
2. On the Home page, click the Configure CMDB 2.0 tile, and from the menu, select Locations.
3. On the Locations tab, perform one of the following actions:
   • To create a new location, click New.
   • From the Locations list view, click the location that you want to edit.
     The list view displays all locations, irrespective of whether they are created from the Location form or the Instance Editor. By default, locations for which the Mark As Deleted check box is selected are not displayed in the list view.

4. In the Location form, add or update the location details, such as address, city, postal code, and country.
   The following are details about a few fields that are displayed on the Location form.

   Field	Description
   Location Name	Specify any type of location, such as a building, floor, conference room, or office cubicle. This field value is stored in the Instance Name field of the corresponding Physical Location CI class instance.
   Primary Client	Specify the owner of the location. For example, you can specify the employee who occupies an office cubicle.
   Stage	Specify the current stage of the location. For example, you can select the Operational stage for a building that is currently occupied by employees.

5. Click Save.

To manage relationships between a location and CI or asset instances

From the Location form, you can create a relationship of the Element Location type between a location and an asset or CI instance. The relationship is also displayed on the Relationships tab of the Instance Editor.

Relationships of all types are displayed in the Supporting Information: Relationships with Configuration Items and Assets section of the Location form. These relationships could have been created from the Relationship Editor or the Location form. 

Consider the following points about managing relationships between a location and CI or asset instances:

• Selecting a location from the Location attribute in the Instance Editor creates an Element Location type of relationship between the CI or asset and the location. However, if there is an existing relationship between the location and the CI or asset, the Element Location type relationship is not created.
• If you unlink a CI or an asset from the Supporting Information: Relationships with Configuration Items and Assets section, the relationship between that CI or asset and the location is deleted.
• If you delete the Element Location relationship between a CI or an asset and the location that is selected in the Location attribute of that CI or asset, the Location attribute in the Instance Editor is automatically cleared.

• If users select a new location from the Location attribute in the Instance Editor, the Element Location type relationship between the old location and the CI or asset is deleted. Also, a new relationship is created between the CI or asset and the new location.

To delete a location

Based on your requirements, you can perform one of the following actions to delete a location. To perform either action, you must navigate to Remedyforce Administration > Configure CMDB 2.0 > Locations.

To customize fields that are displayed on the Location form

The fields displayed on the Location form are defined in the Location Form field set of the Base Element object. Based on your requirements, you can customize fields that are displayed on the Location form.

1. Click the Remedyforce Administration tab.
2. On the Home page, click the Manage Objects tile, and from the menu, select Create and Edit Objects.
3. On the Create and Edit Objects page, from the Object list, select Base Element, and click Field Sets.
4. In the Action column, for the Location Form field set, click Edit.
5. Perform one of the following actions based on your requirements:
   
   • Select the fields that you want to add and drag them to the In the Field Set section.
     You can also add any custom fields that you have created in the Base Element object. However, fields of the Text Area (Rich) data type are not supported.
   • From the In the Field Set section, for the fields that you want to remove, click the Remove icon.
6. Click Save.

To customize columns that are displayed in the Locations list view

The columns that are displayed in the Locations list view are based on the out-of-the-box list view for the Physical Location class. The out-of-the-box list view also determines the fields that are displayed in the Locations lookup window and the Location Details window in the Instance Editor.

Based on your requirements, you can customize columns that are displayed in the Location list view. For more information, see Customizing CMDB list views in CMDB.

Related topics

Creating and updating assets

Creating and updating configuration items