Snapshot and change tracking results

After running a Snapshot Job, you can display the snapshot and change tracking results in tabs in the content editor. The Change Tracking tab only appears if the Snapshot Job has been run more than once. For more information, see the following sections:

Understanding the appearance of snapshot and change tracking results
Differentiating between internal and external changes
Using snapshot and change tracking results

Understanding the appearance of snapshot and change tracking results

The content editor contains a hierarchical tree on the left and the Snapshot and Change Tracking tab group on the right. The hierarchy tree shows results for each run of the job. Each run is labeled with the job name, date, and time of each job run. Each run displays results for each server where the job ran and for the types of server objects included in the snapshot. You can also view Snapshot Job results when you browse a server and select the Snapshot Results tab for that server.

Change Tracking occurs automatically as part of the Snapshot Job. The first snapshot contains baseline information about the server object which is displayed on the Snapshot tab. Each sequential snapshot provides you with information about the delta — or changes — that may occur between snapshots. Most of the delta information is stored in the database, except for the data from the File Contents option, for which the actual file contents are stored in the file server. For the display of Change Tracking data, BMC Server Automation retrieves the delta information from the database or file server and displays the changes on the Change Tracking tab and the snapshot results on the Snapshot tab.

Change Tracking provides different types of information, depending on whether you are using the Object View or the Server View.

Changes are color-coded in the following manner:

Blue — Indicate that assets found under the selected server object exist either in the previous snapshot or in the current snapshot. The presence of a blue item in the left snapshot indicates that the found item only exists in the previous snapshot. The presence of a blue item in the right snapshot indicates that the found item only exists in the current snapshot.
Red — Indicate that the assets found under the selected server object exist in both the previous and current snapshots but that a change was detected between them.

Levels of information in Object View

Change Tracking provides the following levels of information:

Information level	Information displayed
Object view	Template names. Total number of targets. Number of servers with external changes. Number of failed targets. Number of targets where changes are not attempted. Total number of changes, including the number of items added, the number of items modified, and the number of items deleted by server object.
Object view template node	Template part names. Total number of targets. Number of targets on which changes failed or were not attempted. Total number of changes, including the number of items added, the number of items modified, and the number of items deleted by server object.
Object view template part node	Target server names. Total number of changes, including the number of items added, the number of items modified, and the number of items deleted by server object.

Levels of information in Server View

Change Tracking provides the following levels of information:

Information level	Information displayed
Server view	Component names. External changes. Number of failed changes. Number of changes not attempted. Total number of changes, including the number of items added, the number of items modified, and the number of items deleted by server object.
Server view component	Total number of changes, including the number of items added, the number of items modified, and the number of items deleted by server object.
Server view component parts / Delta information	Detailed delta information. If no changes are detected, an informational message to that effect appears on the Change Tracking tab. You can see the added, modified, and deleted asset delta from the previous snapshot to the current snapshot.

Differentiating between internal and external changes

BMC Server Automation attempts to differentiate between changes caused by BMC Server Automation actions and those caused by external actions. Change Tracking examines the changes that occur between snapshots. If the changes occur during a period when Deploy, NSH Script, or File Deploy Job attempts are made, the changes may be caused by BMC Server Automation activities or by external actions. However, if no BMC Server Automation activities have occurred during the period, the changes detected are considered external changes.

If BMC Server Automation and external activities occur in the period between snapshots, you can look further into the change to see if it is caused by the job (see Showing-deploy-related-job-activity) and if it is an approved change. If the change is caused by the job run, you can determine if it is an approved change by checking for a trouble ticket.

Using snapshot and change tracking results

To view snapshot and change tracking results, see Viewing-snapshot-and-change-tracking-results.

After you have displayed snapshot and change tracking results, you can use them to perform the following tasks:

Differentiate between BMC Server Automation changes and changes made externally to BMC Server Automation. (See Differentiating between internal and external changes.)
Back out unwanted changes. (See Backing-out-changes.)
Show the Deploy Jobs that can cause the change. (See Showing-deploy-related-job-activity.)
Export some or all of the results of a snapshot, audit, or change tracking into HTML or CSV format. (See Exporting-results-of-an-audit-or-snapshot.)
Bundle snapshot results as a BLPackage. (See Bundling-snapshot-results-into-a-BLPackage.)
View file properties and ACL information for files on servers using Windows NTFS by double-clicking the file. (See Viewing-server-objects.)