Adding a BMC CMDB device import task

During a BMC Configuration Management Database (CMDB) import, TrueSight Network Automation discovers business services directly or indirectly related to CIs that are network devices. The import task maps the CMDB fields to the device record. The CMDB cannot be used as a primary import source because many of the required fields are not available. It is used as a secondary source to add the Business Services dynamic field and the instance ID information to the Network Automation database.

This topic provides instructions on adding a BMC CMDB device import task.

Before you begin

1. Install BMC Discovery. For details, see the BMC Discovery documentation.
2. Open the Microsoft Windows Services panel on the computer and stop the BMC Discovery service.
3. Open Windows Task Manager and ensure that no processes named td_* are running.
4. Open Windows Explorer on the BMC Discovery machine and navigate to ADDM_Home/etc/action_util/snmp/1.0/config.prop.
5. Update the config.prop file as follows for correct discovery of network devices.
   # NAMEFORMAT_CONVENTION can be TOKEN or DNS
   # TOKEN means we use TokenId value as Name for BMC_ComputerSystem
   # DNS means we follow naming resolution rules to set Name with a DNS
   # Name or an IP address when DNS cannot be resolved
   NAMEFORMAT_CONVENTION=DNS
6. Start the BMC Discovery service.
7. Log on to the BMC Discovery client console and discover the network devices. For instructions, see Importing network device data in the BMC Discovery documentation.

To add a CMDB device import task

On the Admin > Network Admin > Device Import Tasks page, do the following:

1. Click Add to define a new device import task.
    The Add Device Import Task page is displayed.

2. On the Details tab, enter the following information:
3. In the Business Service Relationship Role field, set the role of Business Service instances during the CMDB import.
    During a CMDB import, Network Automation discovers business services directly or indirectly related to CIs that are network devices. To enable this task, specify whether the role of Business Service instances in such relationships is that of a source or the target.
4. In the Matching criteria field, specify how to match the imported device data to devices already in the system's device database. When a device match is found, the existing device record is updated with the imported values. When no match is found, a new device record is added using the imported values.
   You can match on either the name or the primary address, which must then appear as a field in the import data. For example, if you import from CSV and match on address, then the CSV file must include an address column and a value in each row.
   • Match by Device Name: Network Automation looks for an existing device by the imported name (case-insensitive). Note that device names are unique, so only one device matches.
   • Match by Primary Interface Address Exactly: Network Automation searches for an existing device by the imported address, within the device agent associated with the imported device (based on the imported device agent or the default device agent).
     
     Matching by address allows device names to be changed during import (though the resulting name must be unique). If multiple matches result (as addresses need not be unique), then the device is skipped.
   • Match by Primary Interface Address Resolved: Network Automation searches for an existing device by variations on the imported address, within the device agent associated with the imported device. Network Automation uses DNS to resolve the supplied address into an IP address, a hostname, and a fully-qualified hostname, and then tries to match an existing device's address to any of these values. If multiple matches result, then the device is skipped.
5. In the Repeat field, specify how often to repeat the import task.
    You can choose between a one-time occurrence (Import Once), or a recurring task (Import Daily, Import Weekly, or Import Monthly).

6. In the Import Time box, set the import time. The time setting depends on your selection in the the Repeat field:

   Repeat setting	Time setting
   Import Once	Either set the import time to Now or specify a date and time (hour and minute) in the future.
   Import Daily	Specify the time (hour and minute) to execute the import task each day.
   Import Weekly	Specify the time (hour and minute) and day(s) of the week to execute the import task.
   Import Monthly	Specify the day of the month and import time to execute the import task.

7. In the Dynamic Menu Fields box, select whether to accept or reject unknown menu values for dynamic fields during the import, as detailed in the following table:

   Primary condition

   Second condition

   Third condition

   Result action

   Menu value already exists for the dynamic field

   Not applicable

   Not applicable

   The Accept/Reject Unknown Values setting is ignored. The device record is imported.

   Menu value does not exist

   Accept Unknown Values is selected

   Not applicable

   The new menu value is added to the list of available menu items, and the device record is imported.

   Reject Unknown Values is selected

   Field is required and has no default value

   The device record is not imported.

   Field is required and has a default value

   The device record is imported, and that field is set to the default value.

   Field is not required

   The device record is imported, and that field is set to the default value (if any).

8. In the Scope box, configure the following settings:
   • Process: Specify which devices to process in the import file.
     • All Devices From the Import File: This option processes new and existing (that is, overwrite) devices during the import.
     • Process Only New Devices From the Import File: This option only imports devices that are not found in the database.
     • Process Only Existing Devices From the Import File: This option only imports devices that are found in the database.
   • Overwrite Device Type: Specify for existing devices, if the Device Type (for example, Cisco CatOS Switch) should be overwritten with a new Device Type (for example, Cisco IOS Switch/Router). Configuration files for the old device type are kept in the archive. For example, this feature is helpful when converting Cisco CatOS devices to Cisco IOS devices. You must select this option to overwrite an existing device type.

9. On the Defaults tab, set device inventory default values (optional) for each imported device.

   Warning

   Note

   During the import operation, values for device fields are assigned based on the following precedence order:

   1. Field is assigned based on the import file
   2. Field is assigned based on the existing value in the device database record
   3. Field is assigned the default supplied on the device import task Default Tab
   4. Field is assigned a default value assigned by the system
   5. Field is left blank (only if the field is not mandatory)
      
      Based on this precedence, the Defaults in the import task are only used when the field is not assigned in either the import file or the current device database record. Assigning Defaults is only applicable for new devices or unassigned field values on existing devices.
10. Click Save to save and schedule the new import task.
     After the import tasks completes, you can view the status of the import by selecting the Status tab.
    
    Click View details on the Status tab to display a detailed import status report. This report is also available from the Import list under Execution Status.
    
    

Where to go from here

After importing devices for the first time, BMC recommends that you perform the following procedures:

• For those fields not imported, use the device Mass Edit feature to assign fields common to a set of devices (for example username, password, privilege password, access type) or edit each device individually.
• If you did not select Initial Snapshot on the Import tasks, perform a manual snapshot operation to retrieve the current configuration files.