Configuring knowledge bases

You can keep all of your solutions in a single knowledge base, or you can create multiple knowledge bases. For example, you might want to use different knowledge bases for IT Support users than you provide to end users who are not very tech savvy. Configuring a knowledge base is similar to configuring a workspace or other container with its own fields, forms, and other options.

You can use internal knowledge bases or link to external ones. When your users search for solutions, they can select any knowledge base (internal or external) for which they are authorized. Internal knowledge bases open a separate tab on the Knowledge Base Home page. External knowledge bases open a search window in a separate browser tab.

Note

When you create a new container, by default, all the user roles in the container are assigned access to the out-of-the-box items.

For Solutions to be available on Ticket and CI pages, you must configure a relationship in both the knowledge base and the workspace or CMDB.

The following topics are provided:

To create a knowledge base

  1. Click the Administration tab.
  2. In the Knowledge Base section, click Create.
    The Create new: Knowledge Base page appears where you enter basic information about the knowledge base. If you are already on the Knowledge Base Administration page, you can click Create new to display this page.
  3. In the Container Name field, type a name for this knowledge base that identifies its purpose to your users.
  4. (Optional) To use an existing template:
    1. Select Create from Template.
      A file selection field appears.
    2. Click Browse and select an XML template file.

  5. Do either of the following:

    • To configure the container before publishing, click Create.
    • To publish the container and configure it later, click Create and Publish.

    The Knowledge Base details page appears.

  6. Configure the settings for the knowledge base.
    You can modify the fields shown in the right pane or click a link in the left pane to work with solution items, shared fields, and so on. For more information about these options, see:
  7. (Optional) To add a description for this knowledge base, in the left pane, click Properties and in the Description field, type a description of the knowledge base.
  8. To link this knowledge base to a workspace or CMDB, create the relationships between them:
    1. In this knowledge base, in the left pane, click Relationships and configure the settings.
      For detailed instructions, see Configuring-relationships. You can also create a relationship to link solutions to other (related) solutions.
    2. Follow the instructions in Linking-records-to-other-records.
  9. Publish the knowledge base to implement your changes:

    1. Click Save and Publish.

      A confirmation message appears.

    2. Click Yes.

      The Publication Succeeded message appears, showing the number of errors and warnings. This number is usually zero. For more information, see Publishing-containers.

Remember to assign user roles to access this new knowledge base. You may also want to select a work schedule other than the System Default schedule.

To link tickets or CIs to solutions

  1. Open the workspace or CMDB to which you want to link solutions:
    1. Click the Administration tab.
    2. In the appropriate section, click the name of the container or click Manage to open the container Administration page. Then double-click the container.
      The container details page appears.
  2. Create the link between tickets and solutions or between CIs and solutions:
    1. In the left pane, click Relationships.
    2. Click Add.
    3. In the Link Type column, select Ticket/Solution or CI/Solution.
    4. In the Item in this container section:
      1. Select the Link  Role such as Ticket or CI.
      2. In the Item field, select the ticket or CI item that you want to link, or accept the default of Any.
    5. In the Related item section:
      1. In the Container field, select the knowledge base to which you want to link.
        The Link Role field is read-only. 
      2. In the Item  field,  select a specific item or accept the default of Any.
    6. Click Save.
      This creates the link from the workspace or CMDB to the knowledge base.
  3. In the breadcrumb trail, click the Workspace or CMDB link.

    1. Click Save and Publish.

      A confirmation message appears.

    2. Click Yes.

      The Publication Succeeded message appears, showing the number of errors and warnings. For more

      information, see Publishing-containers.

Related topics

Editing-knowledge-bases

Deleting-knowledge-bases

Configuring-workspaces

Configuring-CMDBs

Creating-workspaces

Getting-started-quickly-for-administrators

 

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