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Important This documentation space contains information about the SaaS version of BMC Helix Discovery. If you are using the on-premises version of BMC Helix Discovery, see BMC Helix Discovery 25.2 (On-Premises).

ExternalElement node

The ExternalElement node represents an element that is known to an external system, but cannot be mapped to a specific node kind. This can either be because there is insufficient identifying information in the source data, or because it represents something for which there is no suitable node kind.

The ExternalElement node is available by default, so TPL can create it as required without needing to extend the taxonomy. For this reason there are few defined relationships; it is impossible to anticipate what will be needed.

We recommend the type attribute is set so that the nodekind is logically sub-typed for multiple concurrent uses.

ExternalElement node lifecycle

The following section describes the scenarios in which an ExternalElement node is created, updated or removed.

Creation/update

Creation and update of ExternalElement nodes is under the full control of patterns and as a result, there is no default ExternalElement node behavior.
The generated key for an ExternalElement node is entirely dependent on the pattern that creates the ExternalElement node.

Removal

An ExternalElement node can be destroyed in one of the following ways:

  • Manually, by selecting node, and picking Destroy from the Actions list.
  • Explicitly by the pattern that created it. See Removal in the Pattern Language guide.

Attributes of the ExternalElement node

The attributes of the ExternalElement node are described in the following table:

UI Name
Attribute Name and Type		Description 
Key
key : string 		Globally unique key
Name
name : string 		Name of the element
Name
short_name : string 		Short name of the element
Type
type : string 		Type of the element
External Identifiers
external_ids : list:string 		Identifiers in other systems

Relationships of the ExternalElement node

The relationships of the ExternalElement node are described in the following table:

UI Name Relationship Description 
Client Contained Software Instances Server:
Communication:
Client:
ContainedSoftwareInstance 		Client Contained Software Instances
Server Contained Software Instances Client:
Communication:
Server:
ContainedSoftwareInstance 		Server Contained Software Instances
Server Databases Client:
Communication:
Server:
Database 		Server Databases
Server Database Details Client:
Communication:
Server:
DatabaseDetail 		Server Database Details
Server External Elements Client:
Communication:
Server:
ExternalElement 		Server External Elements
Client External Elements Server:
Communication:
Client:
ExternalElement 		Client External Elements
Server Load Balancer Services Client:
Communication:
Server:
LoadBalancerService 		Server Load Balancer Services
Server Software Clusters Client:
Communication:
Server:
SoftwareCluster 		Server Software Clusters
Server Software Components Client:
Communication:
Server:
SoftwareComponent 		Server Software Components
Server Software Containers Client:
Communication:
Server:
SoftwareContainer 		Server Software Containers
Server Software Instances Client:
Communication:
Server:
SoftwareInstance 		Server Software Instances
Client Software Clusters Server:
Communication:
Client:
SoftwareCluster 		Client Software Clusters
Client Software Components Server:
Communication:
Client:
SoftwareComponent 		Client Software Components
Client Software Containers Server:
Communication:
Client:
SoftwareContainer 		Client Software Containers
Client Software Instances Server:
Communication:
Client:
SoftwareInstance 		Client Software Instances
Peer Contained Software Instances Peer:
Communication:
Peer:
ContainedSoftwareInstance 		Communicating Peer Contained Software Instances
Peer External Elements Peer:
Communication:
Peer:
ExternalElement 		Communicating Peer External Elements
Peer Software Clusters Peer:
Communication:
Peer:
SoftwareCluster 		Communicating Peer Software Clusters
Peer Software Components Peer:
Communication:
Peer:
SoftwareComponent 		Communicating Peer Software Components
Peer Software Containers Peer:
Communication:
Peer:
SoftwareContainer 		Communicating Peer Software Containers
Peer Software Instances Peer:
Communication:
Peer:
SoftwareInstance 		Communicating Peer Software Instances
Contained External Elements Container:
Containment:
Contained:
ExternalElement 		External Elements contained in this External Element
Containing External Element Contained:
Containment:
Container:
ExternalElement 		Containing External Element
Excluded from Model Definitions ExcludedItem:
DefinitionContainment:
Definition:
ModelDefinition 		Model Definitions this External Element has been excluded from
Included in Model Definitions IncludedItem:
DefinitionContainment:
Definition:
ModelDefinition 		Model Definitions this External Element is included in
Hosts Depending Upon This DependedUpon:
Dependency:
Dependant:
Host 		Hosts that depend on this External Element
Network Devices Depending Upon This DependedUpon:
Dependency:
Dependant:
NetworkDevice 		Network Devices that depend on this External Element
Generic Elements Depending Upon This DependedUpon:
Dependency:
Dependant:
GenericElement 		Generic Elements that depend on this External Element
Hosts This Depends On Dependant:
Dependency:
DependedUpon:
Host 		Hosts that this External Element depends on
Network Devices This Depends On Dependant:
Dependency:
DependedUpon:
NetworkDevice 		Network Devices that this External Element depends on
Generic Elements This Depends On Dependant:
Dependency:
DependedUpon:
GenericElement 		Generic Elements that this External Element depends on
External Elements This Depends On Dependant:
Dependency:
DependedUpon:
ExternalElement 		External Elements that this External Element depends on
External Elements Depending Upon This DependedUpon:
Dependency:
Dependant:
ExternalElement 		External Elements that depend on this External Element
Cloud Service RunningSoftware:
HostedSoftware:
Host:
CloudService 		Cloud Service on which this External Element is running
Cluster RunningSoftware:
HostedSoftware:
Host:
Cluster 		Cluster on which this External Element is running
Host RunningSoftware:
HostedSoftware:
Host:
Host 		Host on which this External Element is running
MF Part RunningSoftware:
HostedSoftware:
Host:
MFPart 		MF Part on which this External Element is running
Network Device RunningSoftware:
HostedSoftware:
Host:
NetworkDevice 		Network Device on which this External Element is running
Strongly Identified Host WeakIdentity:
Identification:
StrongIdentity:
Host 		Strongly identified Host
Strongly Identified Network Device WeakIdentity:
Identification:
StrongIdentity:
NetworkDevice 		Strongly identified Network Device
Strongly Identified Printer WeakIdentity:
Identification:
StrongIdentity:
Printer 		Strongly identified Printer
Strongly Identified SNMP Managed Device WeakIdentity:
Identification:
StrongIdentity:
SNMPManagedDevice 		Strongly identified SNMP Managed Device
Strongly Identified Storage System WeakIdentity:
Identification:
StrongIdentity:
StorageSystem 		Strongly identified Storage System
Strongly Identified Software Instance WeakIdentity:
Identification:
StrongIdentity:
SoftwareInstance 		Strongly identified Software Instance
Strongly Identified Database WeakIdentity:
Identification:
StrongIdentity:
Database 		Strongly identified Database
Strongly Identified Load Balancer Service WeakIdentity:
Identification:
StrongIdentity:
LoadBalancerService 		Strongly identified Load Balancer Service
Alternate Identity WeakIdentity:
Identification:
WeakIdentity:
ExternalElement 		Alternate weakly identified element
Maintaining Pattern Element:
Maintainer:
Pattern:
Pattern 		Pattern maintaining this External Element
Containing Business Application ContainedSoftware:
SoftwareContainment:
SoftwareContainer:
BusinessApplicationInstance 		Containing Business Application
Containing Business Service ContainedSoftware:
SoftwareContainment:
SoftwareContainer:
BusinessService 		Containing Business Service
Containing Technical Service ContainedSoftware:
SoftwareContainment:
SoftwareContainer:
TechnicalService 		Containing Technical Service

 

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BMC Helix Discovery (SaaS)