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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).

Generic Element node

The GenericElement's main role is for rapid prototyping of TPL patterns where the default BMC Discovery taxonomy does not already contain a more suitable node kind.

As the GenericElement is available by default, 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.

It is recommended that the type attribute is set, so that the nodekind is logically sub-typed for multiple concurrent uses.

Once prototyping is finished it is expected that a more specific node kind and associated taxonomy extension is considered.

Generic Element node lifecycle

The following section describes the scenarios in which a Generic Element node is created, updated or removed.

Creation/update

This is under the full control of patterns and as a result there is no default Generic Element node behavior.
The generated key for a Generic Element node is entirely dependent on the pattern that creates the Generic Element node.

Removal

A Generic Element node can be destroyed in one of the following ways:

  • Manually, by selecting the necessary Detail node, and picking Destroy from the Actions list.
  • Explicitly by the pattern that created it. See Removal in the Pattern Language guide
  • When the last related Inferred node that is linked to the Generic Element node is removed, so will the Generic Element node. This is a Cascade Removal type, see Cascade Removal.

Attributes of the GenericElement node

The attributes of the GenericElement 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
Type
type : string 		Type of the element
Trigger Count
count : string 		Trigger count
External Identifiers
external_ids : list:string 		Identifiers in other systems

Relationships of the GenericElement node

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

UI Name Relationship Description 
Contained Generic Elements Container:
Containment:
Contained:
GenericElement 		Generic Elements contained in this Generic Element
Containing Generic Element Contained:
Containment:
Container:
GenericElement 		Containing Generic Element
Excluded from Model Definitions ExcludedItem:
DefinitionContainment:
Definition:
ModelDefinition 		Model Definitions this Generic Element has been excluded from
Included in Model Definitions IncludedItem:
DefinitionContainment:
Definition:
ModelDefinition 		Model Definitions this Generic Element is included in
Hosts Depending Upon This DependedUpon:
Dependency:
Dependant:
Host 		Hosts that depend on this Generic Element
Network Devices Depending Upon This DependedUpon:
Dependency:
Dependant:
NetworkDevice 		Network Devices that depend on this Generic Element
Hosts This Depends On Dependant:
Dependency:
DependedUpon:
Host 		Hosts that this Generic Element depends on
Network Devices This Depends On Dependant:
Dependency:
DependedUpon:
NetworkDevice 		Network Devices that this Generic Element depends on
Generic Elements This Depends On Dependant:
Dependency:
DependedUpon:
GenericElement 		Generic Elements that this Generic Element depends on
Generic Elements Depending Upon This DependedUpon:
Dependency:
Dependant:
GenericElement 		Generic Elements that depend on this Generic Element
External Elements This Depends On Dependant:
Dependency:
DependedUpon:
ExternalElement 		External Elements that this Generic Element depends on
External Elements Depending Upon This DependedUpon:
Dependency:
Dependant:
ExternalElement 		External Elements that depend on this Generic Element
Details ElementWithDetail:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail 		Details belonging to this Generic Element
Hardware Details ElementWithDetail:
Detail:
Detail:
HardwareDetail 		Hardware Details belonging to this Generic Element
Maintaining Pattern Element:
Maintainer:
Pattern:
Pattern 		Pattern maintaining this Generic 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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