Executing a job with BMC Remedy ITSM approval

The TrueSight Server Automation administrator may have specified that a given job type requires BMC Remedy ITSM approval prior to execution. When you schedule or execute a job that requires approval, you are prompted to select the change request type and enter various change request parameters. These parameters determine the values of the corresponding BMC Remedy ITSM change ticket parameters that are created for the job.

For information about configuring the connection to TrueSight Orchestration and BMC Remedy ITSM, see Enabling-Change-Automation-for-TrueSight-Server-Automation-jobs.

 This topic contains the following topics:

• Before you begin
• To specify select approval type for BMC Remedy ITSM
• To verify a job configured for BMC Remedy ITSM approval

Before you begin

Ensure that your role is granted the appropriate authorizations for setting the specific change request types that you want to assign to your jobs for execution. For more information, see Assigning job approval permissions.

To specify select approval type for BMC Remedy ITSM

1. Access the appropriate dialog box or panel for specifying approval type. This happens in the following scenarios:
   • When triggering immediate execution of a job, regardless of how you choose to execute the job (for example, by selecting the Execute Now check box in a job creation wizard or by right-clicking an existing job and selecting Execute), if BMC Remedy ITSM approval is required, the Change Request Information dialog box box is displayed.
   • When defining a schedule for a job, either through a wizard for creation of a new job or while editing an existing job, if BMC Remedy ITSM approval is required, the Change Request Information tab is displayed.

2. In the Execute on Approval settings or on the Approval  Information tab, choose the approval type   from the list of pre-defined options, as described in the following table.

   Note

   Change request types are available to you based on your role. For example, the BLOperator role might be configured with authorization for a normal change request, while the BLAdmins role might be authorized for all request types. The Change Request type defines what values must be populated in the change request by the BMC Remedy ITSM user. For more information, see Assigning job approval permissions.

   Option	Use when
   No Approval Required	If you select this option, you are not required to enter any additional parameters. If a job type requires approval and you select this option, the approval mechanism is bypassed and the job executes either immediately (Execute now) or as scheduled. This option enables users with the authorization to bypass the approval process for special circumstances.
   Change Management Manual Approval	If you select this option, the approver needs to provide an approval manually. In this case, Timing is set to Normal and Urgency is set to Medium automatically.
   Change Management Automatic Approval	If you select this option, approval happens automatically.  In this case, Timing is set to No Impact and Urgency is set to Medium automatically.
   Change Management Emergency Approval	If you select this option, the job needs needs immediate attention. In this case, Timing is set to Emergency and Urgency is set to High automatically.
   Use Existing Change Ticket	If you select this option, the change requests use the Approval Process Configuration form to automatically approve the request, In this case, Timing is set to No Impact and Urgency is set to Medium automatically. Provide Change ID and Task ID.

3. Enter the additional information that is used in the change request.

   Field	Enter
   Impact	The impact level of the requested change. For example, is the job targeted for one server, or for a large number of servers? A default value is set automatically according to the change request type that you selected in step 2. However, you can choose a different value from the following available values: 1-Extensive/Widespread 2-Significant/Large 3-Moderate/Limited 4-Minor/Localized
   Risk Level	The risk level of the requested change . A default value is set automatically according to the change request type that you selected in step 2.However, you can choose a different value from the following available values: Risk level1 Risk level2 Risk level3 Risk level4 Risk level5
   Comments	Any additional comments that would be helpful to the BMC Remedy ITSM user approving the request and you (optionally) choose to associate with the change request.

   In addition, a Change Description is automatically created for the change request. You cannot edit this description.

4. Click OK.

   Note

   If the job requires BMC Remedy ITSM approval, then you are not allowed to configure a recurring schedule on the Schedule tab.

To verify a job configured for BMC Remedy ITSM approval

After defining a job with BMC Remedy ITSM approval, TrueSight Server Automation schedules the job and requests that a new change request be created in BMC Remedy ITSM. The new change request is created using a specific change template and includes one task, even if the job has multiple targets. The change request ID and task ID are sent to the TrueSight Server Automation system through TrueSight Orchestration, and the values are attached to the job schedule. The servers that have been specified as targets are associated to the change and task requests as configuration items (CIs).

You can check to see if the interaction with Change Automation was successful by reviewing the list of job schedules on the Schedules tab within job definitions.

1. Right-click the job in the Jobs folder, and select Open.

2. Click the Schedules tab.
   The Schedules tab lists the outstanding job schedules, that is, any defined schedules for job runs that have not yet executed successfully.
   Various details are provided for each defined schedule, including the scheduled date and time, the schedule frequency, and the approval status. The change ID and task ID are populated only after they are created in BMC Remedy ITSM and the information is returned to TrueSight Server Automation via TrueSight Orchestration.

   Note

   Until the change ID and task ID are received, you cannot modify settings on certain other tabs — typically the General tab and the Targets tab.

3. Click a specific schedule.
   If the change ID and task ID have already been created, a Change Activity Log appears below the list of schedules, with a history of log messages returned from BMC Remedy ITSM regarding the change request. This trail of log messages provides you with information about the status and progression of the Change Automation process.

   Note

   The log messages are retrieved from BMC Remedy ITSM by TrueSight Orchestration, and their display is dependent on a TrueSight Orchestration polling interval.

   After the scheduled job run completes successfully, the Change Activity Log is no longer displayed. To obtain the full history of log messages for a job that has finished executing, you can run the BLCLI command AO-exportApprovalActivityLogs.