Overview of how data is imported into BMC Remedyforce
BMC Remedyforce provides Pentaho packages for importing data from various external sources,such as BMC Atrium Configuration Management Database (BMC Atrium CMDB), BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping, BMC BladeLogic Client Automation, BMC Client Management (known before version 12.0 as BMC FootPrints Asset Core), Dell KACE, and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. The following topics provide an overview of how data is imported into BMC Remedyforce 2.0. For information about how data is imported into BMC Remedyforce 1.0, see Overview of how data is imported into BMC Remedyforce CMDB 1.0.
Note
BMC Software recommends you to use the appropriate Pentaho packages to import data from the external data sources. However, in BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0, you can also import data from the external data sources using data import tools other than the Pentaho packages (for example, Data Loader). For more information, see Importing data into BMC Remedyforce using data import tools other than Pentaho packages.
The following topics are provided:
Overview of Pentaho packages
You can download the CMDB 2.0 Pentaho packages for from the BMC Communities website (https://communities.bmc.com). To import data into BMC Remedyforce by using Pentaho packages, you must also download the Pentaho Data Integration tool, which is an open source solution.
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 job files retrieve data from external sources by using an SQL query (for example, to import data from Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and BMC BladeLogic Client Automation), an HTTP request (for example, to import data from BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping), or a web API request (for example, to import data from BMC Client Management).
For more information about Remedyforce CMDB 2.0, see BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0 architecture.
Note
If you have upgraded to CMDB 2.0 and were using CMDB 1.0 packages, you can continue using the CMDB 1.0 packages. However, BMC recommends that you use packages for CMDB 2.0 for faster imports. If you had created custom fields in the CMDB Staging table object but did not create corresponding fields in the Base Element object, delete those fields to avoid errors while importing data.
Overview of how CIs are imported in CMDB 2.0
CIs from various external sources are imported directly into BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0. In BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0, all data is stored in the Base Element object. For more information, see CMDB 2.0 architecture.
Field mapping in CMDB 2.0
The job files in Pentaho packages provide out-of-the-box mappings between data from external sources and BMC Remedyforce CMDB (fields in the Base Element object). Before importing data, you can change the out-of-the-box mapping in the job files. However, you must map the external fields to only one CI type and its hierarchy at a time.
Note
You can also map the data from external sources to custom attributes of a CI in BMC Remedyforce CMDB. For more information, see Importing data to custom attributes.
If you change the mapping, you must ensure that the updated mapping includes the mandatory fields listed in the following table.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| BMCServiceDesk__CMDB_Class__c | Stores the Salesforce record ID of the class for which you are importing data. |
| BMCServiceDesk__UniqueCISourceID__c | Stores the unique ID of the CI that you import from data source. BMC recommends that you do not change the value of this field. |
| BMCServiceDesk__BE_Name__c | If no value is specified for the BMCServiceDesk__BE_Name__c field, the instance ID is used as instance name. If a value is specified for BMCServiceDesk__BE_Name__c, the instance name is set in the _<name>-<InstanceID> format. |
Creation of relationships in BMC Remedyforce CMDB
The BMCServiceDesk__AssemblyId__c field is required to create a relationship between the computer system and various CIs. A relationship helps you to identify the source and destination of data. The source is the computer system, and the destination can be an operating system, processor, IP endpoint, LAN endpoint, software server, product, or person. For example, if the value of the BMCServiceDesk__AssemblyId__c field is 1 for a computer system record and a processor record has an Assembly ID value of 1, a relationship is automatically created between the computer system (source) and processor (destination).
The relationship between the computer system as a source and the product or software server as a destination is not shown in the Configuration Items Explorer, which can show only a limited number of relationships (due to limitations of the Salesforce platform). Displaying relationships between a computer system and product or software server might hide other important relationships between the computer system and other CIs.
Note
Do not map the BMCServiceDesk_AssemblyId__c field for BMC Atrium CMDB because you must import relationships from BMC Atrium CMDB by using the Pentaho packages available on the BMC Communities website.
Pentaho packages for importing data and users into BMC Remedyforce
To import data from the following products into BMC Remedyforce, you can download Pentaho packages for Remedyforce CMDB 2.0 that are available on the BMC Communities website:
- BMC Atrium Configuration Management
- BMC Atrium Discovery
- BMC BladeLogic Client Automation
- BMC Client Management (known before version 12.0 as BMC FootPrints Asset Core)
- Dell KACE
- Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
For more information about the Pentaho packages for Remedyforce CMDB 2.0 that are available on the BMC Communities website, see Pentaho packages to import data into CMDB 2.0.
You can also use Pentaho packages to import users from the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) servers into BMC Remedyforce, and import configuration data from one Salesforce organization to another. For more information, see Pentaho packages to import users from LDAP servers.
Note
You can import BMC Remedyforce configuration data from one Salesforce organization to another. The Salesforce organization can be a sandbox or a production organization. For more information, see Pentaho package to import configuration data from another Salesforce organization.
Salesforce API endpoint retirement
Starting from January 1, 2016, Salesforce is retiring www.salesforce.com as an API endpoint. To avoid connectivity issues (HTTP Status 404 error), you must update your current Pentaho transformations endpoint from https://www.salesforce.com/services/Soap/u/<API version> to https://login.salesforce.com/services/Soap/u/<API version> before the retirement date.
Based on the Pentaho packages, the API versions in the updated Pentaho transformation endpoints are as follows:
| Pentaho package | Updated API version |
|---|---|
| 35.0 |
LDAP Pentaho package to import:
| |
| BMC Atrium CMDB | 20.0 |
If you are running the Pentaho packages in a Sandbox environment, modify the Salesforce Webservice URL from https://test.salesforce.com/services/Soap/u/<Current API version> to https://test.salesforce.com/services/Soap/u/<Updated API version>.
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.
Related topics
Use cases of importing data from automated discovery tools
Overview of how users are imported from LDAP servers
Overview of how data is imported into BMC Remedyforce CMDB 1.0
Pentaho packages for importing data and users into BMC Remedyforce
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