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Documenting operator-initiated changes for databases

Overview

When operations changes are implemented, operators need to document these changes in BMC Remedy IT Service Management (ITSM) Change Management. To automate this change tracking process, a change request is automatically created in BMC Remedy ITSM when a BMC Database Automation operator submits a job that requires BMC Remedy ITSM tracking and approval. After the change is approved in BMC Remedy ITSM, the job is scheduled for execution in BMC Database Automation.

After the job has run, the BMC Remedy ITSM change task is closed with an associated completion status. The BMC Remedy ITSM user can launch the BMC Database Automation Management Console from the task to view the details of the job and to verify the change actions.

Benefit

The main benefit of this integration is to enforce continuous compliance to the change process without introducing labor intensive activities. The integration reduces the risk of unauthorized and unplanned changes through enforced change tracking.

To document operator-initiated changes

The following table provides an overview of the user tasks involved in this use case. Details for each of the steps are provided in the referenced BMC Software documents, available by clicking the links provided for each step.

To view a basic scenario involving operations-initiated changes, see User-scenario-for-operator-initiated-changes.

Step

Product involved

Description and reference

Step 1: Create a new BMC Database Automation job with Change Management approval

BMC Database Automation

When you create a job with a job type that can be configured to require BMC Remedy ITSM approval, you are prompted to schedule the job, specify whether a new or existing change request should be used, and enter the appropriate change request information. For example, running an Action on BMC Database Automation can be configured to require BMC Remedy ITSM approval.

Step 2: Verify the job

BMC Database Automation

After the job definition is completed, BMC Database Automation schedules the job and either requests that a new change request be created in BMC Remedy ITSM, or that an existing change request be updated. The new change request is created using a specific change template and includes one task, even if multiple servers are used as targets. The change request ID and task ID are sent to the BMC Database Automation system and the values are attached to the job schedule.

You can check to see if the interaction with the change management system was successful by reviewing the Jobs page in the BMC Database Automation Management Console. See Monitoring jobs and viewing job history in the BMC Database Automation documentation. The Jobs page makes it easy to see when the job has been approved and is waiting to run and if the attempt to schedule the job has failed (for example, failed to create or update the change ticket). 

Step 3: Review the status of the job

BMC Database Automation

When a job requires BMC Remedy ITSM approval, the job is blocked until approval notification is received from BMC Remedy ITSM. The job displays a status of Pending Approval until the approval notification is received. When the approval is received, the job is executed as specified in the job scheduling step, either automatically or at the scheduled time. For more information, see Monitoring jobs and viewing job history in the BMC Database Automation documentation.

If necessary, the BMC Database Automation operator can bypass the change request process by approving or rejecting the job from the Job Summary page in the BMC Database Automation Management Console. For more information, see Approving jobs pending approval and Rejecting jobs that are pending approval in the BMC Database Automation documentation.

Step 4: Review the status of the change request

BMC Remedy ITSM

After the BMC Database Automation job execution completes successfully, the BMC Remedy ITSM user opens the change ticket to review the following items:

  • Status of task (Completed)
  • Status of change record - determined by Remedy business logic
  • The actual start and end Date of the Change
  • Review which servers were updated
    By reviewing the Dates tab of the task ticket, the operator can review the details of when the job was executed.
    The Remedy user can also perform the following tasks:
  • From the General tab of the task ticket, the Remedy Service Desk user can click Launch to display the BMC Database Automation Console, where the user can review the job details to verify the change actions.
  • If there were failures in all or some of the targets, the user can review the status of the change and task records to review the status of the task (which would display as failed), the status of the change request, and which servers were updated and which were not updated, resulting in the failure (in the WorkInfo note).
    For more information about using the change management console, see "Using the Change Management Console and the Change form" in the BMC Remedy Change Management Users Guide.

 

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