Creating service blueprints

To create a service blueprint

1. Select Configurations > Manage Service Blueprints.
2. On the Service Blueprints page, click Create Service Blueprint.
3. Specify the name, description, and provider (domain) details for the blueprint.
   For example, Kubernetes (K8s) Upgrade Deployment, K8s deployment template, .itbiz.com.
   
   
4. (Skip this step if you want to add CI kinds and their relationships manually) On the Select CIs tab, add CIs:
   1. Click + Add CIs.
      The Add CIs page displays a list of all available CIs.
   2. Filter and add the required CIs by performing one of the following actions:
      • Type the name of the CIs (minimum three characters).
      • Select a category to narrow down the list of CIs.
        The filtered CIs are listed.

   3. Select one or more CIs to add them to the service.
      When you select only one CI, by default, the Include Related CIs check box is selected, which indicates that all the related CIs of the selected CI will also be added. If you don't want to add related CIs, clear the check box.
      

      Important

      You can add multiple CIs at the same time. However, you cannot add multiple CIs with their related CIs at the same time.

   4. Click Add and then click Close.

   5. (Optional) Set the service topology display option as either Organic or Hierarchic (default).
      In the organic view, nodes are placed close to their adjacent nodes, thus saving space. While, in the hierarchic view, the nodes are distributed into layers, which facilitate the identification of dependencies and relationships among the nodes.
      

      
      

5. Click Next Step.
   Depending on whether or not you have chosen to include related CIs in the previous step, only a start node or a start node with related CIs and relationships is added. A default filter with the Name attribute (as an input variable) is added to the start node.

   
   

6. On the Edit Blueprint Rules tab, add CI Kinds and establish relationships between them:
   1. In the Available CI Kinds section, type the name of the CI Kind or directly select the required CI Kind from the list.
      For the list of CI Kinds that you can add to a blueprint, see Supported CI Kinds and relationships.
   2. Establish the relationship between any existing and new CI kinds by dragging one node towards another.
      For the list of relationships that you can add to a blueprint, see Supported CI Kinds and relationships.
   3. After establishing relationships, ensure that there is only one start node.
      Multiple start nodes are indicated by an error icon above the CI kind nodes.
   4. To change the list view, from the Available CI Kinds section, select view as icons or view as type .
   5. (Optional) Set the blueprint topology display option as either Organic or Hierarchic (default).
   6. Define the CI rules for the start node:
      1. Click the start node.
         On the Define CI Rule page, the default filter criterion shows the Name attribute of a CI added as a variable. When creating a service by using this blueprint, you need to provide this attribute as an input. 
      2. (Optional) Change the CI kind from the list by selecting one or more node kinds.
      3. Include (default) or exclude the content of a CI kind.
         You have an option to exclude the content of a CI kind and keep only the related nodes as part of a blueprint. 
      4. (Optional) Edit the default filter criterion:

         1. Clear the Set as variable check box if you don't want to set the default attribute (Name) as a variable.

            Important

            The filter criterion of a start node must have at least one CI attribute set as a variable.

         2. Select any other CI attribute for the default filter criterion:
            • Select a named CI attribute.
            • Select an extended CI attribute.
              To view extended CI attributes, from the Actions menu, select Use Extended Attributes.
      5. (Optional) Add more filter criteria for the start node:
         1. From Actions, select Edit. 
         2. On the Define Filter page, click Add New Filter Criteria. 
         3. To set a CI attribute as a variable, click Set as variable and update the message in the Define user prompt message text box if needed.
            You can set upto three attributes as variables in a start node. When creating a service by using this blueprint, you need to provide these attributes as inputs. 
         4. Do one of the following to select a CI attribute and its value (if not set as a variable):
            1. Select a named CI attribute or an extended CI attribute.
               To view extended CI attributes, from the Actions menu, select Use Extended Attributes.
            2. If you have set a CI attribute as a variable, preview the values in the right page, or select the CI attribute value from the right pane.

      6. Click Save and Close.
      7. Save and close the Define CI Rule page.
   7. Click other nodes to define their CI rules.
      1. Select the node.
      2. (Optional) On the Define CI Rule page, change the CI kind from the list by selecting one or more node kinds. 
      3. Include (default) or exclude the content of a CI kind.
         You have an option to exclude the content of a CI kind and keep only the related nodes as part of a blueprint. 
      4. To add a filter, click Add New Filter.
      5. On the Define Filter page, click Add New Filter Criteria.
      6. Do one of the following to select a CI attribute and its value:
         1. Select a named CI attribute or an extended CI attribute.
            To view extended CI attributes, from the Actions menu, select Use Extended Attributes.
         2. Select the CI attribute value from the right pane.
7. If you observe an error on any of the CI kind nodes, resolve it.
   For more information, see To resolve the errors when selecting a CI kind. 
8. (Optional) Assign any other node as the start node:
   1. Select the CI kind that you assign as the start node.
   2. In the Define CI Rule page, click Specify Blueprint Start Node Kind.
      When you assign any other CI kind as the start node, blueprint is automatically re-computed.
9. (Optional) Preview the blueprint model.
   1. Click Next step.
   2. If you have added CI attributes as variables in the filter criterion of the start node, select the attribute values in each step in the right pane.
      The left pane shows the blueprint model according to the selected attribute values.
10. Click Save to save the blueprint.
    The blueprint is added to the blueprint library. For information about viewing the blueprint library, see To view the service blueprint libraries.

To resolve the errors when selecting a CI kind

When you see an error icon above a CI kind while you create or edit a service, hover over the CI kind for the tips and based on the error tips, do one of the following actions:

• Ensure that there are no unconnected nodes. There must be only one start node in the model.
• If there is only one start node with an error icon, perform the following steps:
  1. Click the node to display the Define CI Rule page.
  2. Either select Add New Filter > Add New Filter Criteria to add filter criteria or select Edit > Edit to edit filter criteria.
     You can add only one filter to a root node and a maximum of three filters to the subsequent nodes.
     
     1. Click Set as variable and type a message in the Define user prompt message text box.
        You can set upto three attributes as variables in a start node. 
     2. Select a named attribute.
     3. (Optional) Select an extended attribute:
        1. From the Actions menu, select Use Extended Attributes.
        2. Select extended attributes from the displayed list.
  3. Save and close.

  4. Save and close the Define CI Rule page.
     The error message on the node disappears.

To view the service blueprint libraries

You can view a list of all enabled or disabled service blueprints from the Service Blueprints page.

1. To view the list of all enabled and disabled blueprints, click Show disabled (default).
   The button label changes to Hide disabled.

2. To view only the list of all enabled blueprints, click Hide disabled.
   

To create a service blueprint from another blueprint

1. From the Service Blueprints page, select a blueprint from the list and select Action > Create new Blueprint from option.
   For example, you selected the existing Blueprint Host to Storage System blueprint to create a new blueprint from it. A copy Blueprint Host to Storage System (copy) of the blueprint is created.
2. Edit the name, description, and provider details as required.
3. Edit the blueprint rules.
   For more information, see step 6 of the To create a service blueprint section.
4. Save the new blueprint.

To view the details of a service blueprint

1. From the Service Blueprints page, select a blueprint from the list and select Action > View option.
   
2. (Optional) Change the display to Organic or Hierarchic (default) view. 
3. View and click Close.

To view the details of a service blueprint from BMC Helix Discovery

Alternatively, you can also view the blueprint created in BMC Helix AIOps from BMC Helix Discovery. For more information, see Managing blueprint definitions.

However, in BMC Helix Discovery, the blueprint name is suffixed with the text RULES_TEMPLATE as shown in the following image:

To edit a service blueprint

1. From the Service Blueprints page, choose a blueprint from the list and select Action > Edit option.
   
2. Edit the blueprint rules as required.
   For more information, see the To create a service blueprintsection.
3. Click Next Step (Preview result) to preview the blueprint model.

4. Save the blueprint.
   

   Can I edit a blueprint from BMC Helix Discovery?

   No, you can only edit a service blueprint in BMC Helix AIOps.

To list the related services of a service blueprint

1. From the Service Blueprints page, choose a blueprint from the list and select Action > List related Services option.
   
2. (Optional) Use the action menu to sort the list in ascending or descending order.

3. Click Close.

   Important

   A blueprint that is part of a service cannot be disabled or deleted.

To enable a service blueprint

Enabling a blueprint makes it available for a service model. 

1. From the Service Blueprints page, choose a blueprint from the list and select Action >Enable to enable the blueprint to be used as part of a service model.  
2. Click Hide disabled to view the list of all enabled service blueprints.
3. Check for the newly enabled blueprint in the list. 
4. (Optional) Verify that it is available for a service model by clicking Services and selecting a service to edit.
   1. Click Add Dynamic content.

   2. Search for and check that the enabled blueprint is available for selection.

To disable a service blueprint

Disabling a blueprint makes it unavailable for a service model.

1. From the Service Blueprints page, choose a blueprint from the list and select Action > Disable to disable the blueprint to be used in a service model.
2. Click Show disabled to view the list of all disabled service blueprints.
3. Check for the disabled blueprint in the list.
4. (Optional) Verify that it is not available for a service model by clicking Services and select a service to edit.
   1. Click Add Dynamic content.

   2. Search for and check that the disabled blueprint is not available for selection.

To export a service blueprint

1. From the Service Blueprints page, choose a blueprint from the list and select Action >Export to save the blueprint as a JSON file into your default download folder.
2. (Optional) Open the JSON file and verify it is exported correctly.

To import a service blueprint

You can import files only with .json extension.

1. From the Service Blueprints page, click Import Service Blueprint.
2. Navigate to the folder where you have saved or downloaded the exported blueprint file.
   The maximum file size is 1 MB.
3. Click Show disabled to view the imported blueprints in disabled state.

To delete a service blueprint

Consider the following when deleting a blueprint:

• You can only delete the blueprints that are not part of a service. The Delete option is disabled for a blueprint that is part of a service.
• Deleting a blueprint removes the blueprint from BMC Helix AIOps and BMC Helix Discovery.
• From BMC Helix Discovery, you can unpublish but cannot delete a blueprint.

Do the following steps to delete a service blueprint:

1. From the Service Blueprints page, choose a blueprint from the list and select Action > Delete.
2. Click Proceed to delete the blueprint.

Where to go from here

Creating-service-models