BMC Helix CMDB Integration

BMC Helix Network Management supports a seamless integration with BMC Helix CMDB to automatically discover and onboard devices into BMC Helix Network Management based on their CMDB records. With this integration, BMC Helix Network Management scans BMC Helix CMDB every 5 minutes and imports any new devices that match the defined query.

Key capabilities

This integration provides the following capabilities:

• Automated device discovery— BMC Helix Network Management polls BMC Helix CMDB at 5-minute intervals to detect new devices.
• Automatic device onboarding—Discovered devices are automatically added as managed devices in BMC Helix Network Management.
• Location-based site assignment—Devices are assigned to BMC Helix Network Management sites based on a selected Location Designator.
• Query-based filtering—Administrators can define custom CMDB queries to specify which devices should be imported.
• Proxy support—Optional HTTP proxy configuration for environments requiring outbound proxy routing.

Device attributes retrieved from BMC Helix CMDB

When adding devices from BMC Helix CMDB, BMC Helix Network Management retrieves the following attributes to populate device information:

• IP address (must include at least one IPv4 address)
• Name
• Manufacturer
• Vendor
• Type
• Site

Device import behavior

• BMC Helix Network Management imports only those devices that are not marked as deleted in the CMDB. To ensure this behavior, the following condition is appended to the user‑defined CMDB query at runtime:
  AND ('MarkAsDeleted' = "No" OR 'MarkAsDeleted' = $NULL$
• Devices must have at least one IPv4 address.
• If multiple IP addresses exist:
  • An address marked with "ManagementAddress = Yes" becomes the primary address. Other addresses become duplicate addresses.
  • If no IP address is marked "ManagementAddress", one IP address is selected as the primary, and the others are treated as duplicates.
• Modified devices in CMDB are not automatically updated in BMC Helix Network Management.

Before you begin

Before you configure this integration, make sure that you have fulfilled the following requirements:

1. BMC Helix Network Management access: A user account with SuperAdmin privileges.
2. BMC Helix CMDB credentials: A valid BMC Helix CMDB user name and password. The user must have at least Asset Viewer permissions.
3. REST API URL: The hostname of the BMC Helix CMDB REST API endpoint
4. (Optional) Proxy details: Proxy user name and password and the Proxy URL in the format: http://<proxy-host>:<port>
5. (Recommended) Location designator: A field in the CMDB that is used to determine device site placement in BMC Helix Network Management. Configure the attribute for the BMC.CORE:BMC_ComputerSystem class in BMC Helix CMDB prior to adding your CMDB to BMC Helix Network Management.

To integrate BMC Helix Network Management with BMC Helix CMDB

Perform the following steps to integrate BMC Helix Network Management with BMC Helix CMDB:

1. Log in to BMC Helix Network Management.
2. Select Administration > Add Device > Learn from CMDB.
3. Add a new CMDB configuration:
   1. Click Add New Configuration.
      
      
       
   2. Specify the following mandatory details:

      Parameter	Description
      Name	Specify a name for the BMC Helix CMDB instance. For example, Production CMDB or Helix CMDB.
      Rest API URL	Enter the hostname of the Helix CMDB REST API endpoint. The URL is prefixed with "https://." Example: "netreohelix-demo-restapi.onbmc.com"
      User name	Enter the user name for your BMC Helix CMDB account.
      Password	Enter the password for the specified user name.
      Location Designator	Select the CMDB location designator to determine how discovered devices are organized into sites. Devices are assigned to sites based on their designator value. BMC Helix Network Management creates a separate site for each unique value found in the selected designator field. Available options include: Site, Workgroup, Name, Category, System Environment, Primary Capability, Company, CI Tag, or Custom Field Example: If you select Workgroup as the designator, BMC Helix Network Management creates a site for each unique Workgroup value and assigns devices to the corresponding site. If the Workgroup attribute for a device in the CMDB is null, the device is added to the default UNKNOWN site in BMC Helix Network Management.
      Enable HTTP proxy	If you want to use a proxy server for communication between BMC Helix Network Management and BMC Helix CMDB, select this checkbox and specify the following details: Proxy URL: Enter the proxy URL in this format: http://<proxy-host>:<port> Proxy Username: Enter the proxy authentication username. Leave blank for credential-less proxy. Proxy password: Enter the proxy authentication password. Leave blank for credential-less proxy. Important The HTTP Proxy option is not available for BMC Helix Network Management deployments.

   3. In the CMDB Query section, add the query to define which devices should be discovered from the BMC.CORE:BMC_ComputerSystem class in the BMC.ASSET dataset. Devices are discovered based on query matches.
      Query examples:
      Import all network switches, routers, and hubs: 'Category' = "Network" AND ('Type' = "Hub" OR 'Type' = "Router" OR 'Type' = "Switch")
      Import specific named routers: ('Name' = "AUS-R1.netreo.net can be Router1" OR 'Name' = "JOAR01.pslab.entuity.com can be Switch1") AND 'Category' = "Network" AND 'Type' = "Router"
   4. Click Test Query to validate the query.
       
4. Click Add New CMDB Configuration.
   The configuration is added, and a confirmation message is displayed.
   
   

To test the authentication

After saving your configuration, you should test the connection to your Helix CMDB instance.

To test authentication from the Edit CMDB Configuration page:

1. Select Administration > Add Device > Learn from CMDB.
2. Click Edit corresponding to the configuration that you want to test.
3. On the Edit CMDB Configuration page, click Test CMDB Authentication.
   
   
   
   A confirmation message about the success or failure of authentication is displayed.

To test authentication from the Helix CMDB Administration page:

1. Select Administration > Add Device > Learn from CMDB.
2. Click  corresponding to the configuration that you want to test.
   A confirmation message about the success or failure of authentication is displayed. 

To manage the existing configurations

Perform these steps to manage the existing configurations.

To edit an existing configuration:

1. Select Administration > Add Device > Learn from CMDB.
2. Click Edit  corresponding to the configuration that you want to update.
3. Make the required changes.
4. Click Save CMDB Configuration.

To enable or disable a configuration:

You can temporarily disable a configuration to stop the automatic device discovery without deleting it.

1. Select Administration > Add Device > Learn from CMDB.
2. Perform any of these steps:
   1. Click Enable to enable the configuration and click Disable  to disable it.
   2. Open the required configuration, and click Enable or Disable depending on the required outcome.

To delete a configuration:

1. Select Administration > Add Device > Learn from CMDB.
2. Perform any of these steps:
   • Click Delete  corresponding to the configuration that you want to delete.
   • Click Edit  to open the configuration details, and then click Delete.
     A confirmation message is displayed.
3. Click OK to confirm deletion.

By default, after the first successful BMC Helix CMDB device import, BMC Helix Network Management records the import timestamp. During each subsequent BMC Helix CMDB poll, it appends the following condition to the query to avoid retrieving previously imported Configuration Items (CIs):

AND createDate >= <last-import-timestamp>

If you want to override this behavior, you can run a full CMDB sync:

1. Select Administration > Add Device > Learn from CMDB.

2. Click Edit  corresponding to the configuration for which you want to perform the full CMDB sync.

3. Click Full CMDB Sync.
   
   

4. Click OK for confirmation.
   - The last import time is reset.

   - The next scheduled poll (within 5 minutes) performs a full sync.

Best practices

• Test first—Always test authentication and queries before enabling any configuration.
• Start narrow—Begin with specific queries to limit initial device imports, then broaden as needed.
• Name clearly—Use descriptive configuration names for easy identification.
• Select proper designators—Select location designators that match your organizational structure.
• Watch import times—Monitor the last import time to confirm scanning is functioning correctly.
• Review devices regularly—Periodically check active device counts to ensure everything is working as expected.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Resolution
Authentication fails.	Confirm the REST API URL includes only the host name (no protocol). Verify the username and password. Ensure the user has "Asset Viewer" access in Helix CMDB. If using a proxy, double-check proxy settings.
No devices returned from the query.	Use Test Query for query validation. Check for the correct query syntax. Confirm that matching devices exist in CMDB. Make sure devices have IPv4 addresses.
Unsaved changes warning is displayed.	If the warning appears while testing: Click OK to dismiss it. Click Save CMDB Configuration to save updates. Rerun the test.
Proxy connection issues occur.	Verify the proxy URL format: http://<proxy-host>:<port> Confirm the proxy credentials if required. Test network connectivity to the proxy server.