Importing data from BMC Client Management by using the REST Web API

You can import data from BMC Client Management (known before version 12.0 as BMC FootPrints Asset Core) into BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0 by using the Pentaho Data Integration tool. The Pentaho packages for importing data from BMC Client Management are available on the BMC Communities website. For information about how configuration items (CIs) are imported and relationships are created in BMC Remedyforce CMDB 2.0, see Overview-of-how-data-is-imported-into-BMC-Remedyforce.

The following topics provide information about the Pentaho package for importing data by using the Representational State Transfer (REST) web API. For information about the REST web API, see the BMC Client Management Help.

• • Before you begin
  • To import data from BMC Client Management
  • To schedule jobs to import data
  • KJB files for importing data from BMC Client Management
  • Troubleshooting
  • Mappings cannot be updated from the Salesforce Upsert window
  • Data that is imported from BMC Client Management is corrupted
  • Related topics

For information about importing data by accessing the BMC Client Management database, see Importing-data-from-BMC-Client-Management-by-accessing-the-database.

Before you begin

Before you can import data from BMC Client Management by using the REST web API, you must perform the following tasks:

1. To launch the Pentaho Data Integration tool, perform the following actions:
   1. Navigate to the location where you downloaded and unzipped the Pentaho Data Integration tool.
   2. Navigate to the data-integration folder and double-click the Spoon.bat file.
2. In Pentaho Spoon, select File > Open, navigate to the folder where you downloaded the Pentaho package, and open the KJB (job) file for the CI type that you want to import.
   For example, to import computer system CIs, open the TransferAssetCoreCSinfotoCMDB.kjb file.
3. From the Edit menu, select Settings.
4. In the Job properties window, click the Parameters tab.

5. Modify the Default value column for the different parameters.

   Click here to see the parameters.

   The various transformations and steps in the job use the values that you specify on the Parameters tab. If you do not specify values for the SFDC_USER and SFDC_PASSWORD parameters, you must provide the user name and password of your Salesforce organization in the Salesforce Input[CMDB_Class] and Upsert Into Class <CI type name> steps.
   
   To access these steps, in the job (KJB) file, right-click the Import Records in Remedyforce CMDB step, and select Open Referenced Object> Transformation.

   Note

   If you are running a combined job, you can specify the parameter values only in the combined job (for example, TransferAssetCoreComputerSystemAndProductinfotoCMDB.kjb). Each job that is included in the combined job uses the parameter values that you specify in the combined job. However, if you specify parameter values in the combined and individual jobs, values specified in the individual jobs take precedence.

6. (Optional) Update the mapping between the data from BMC Client Management and BMC Remedyforce CMDB (fields in the Base Element object).

   Click here to see the detailed steps.

   1. Double-click the Upsert Into Class <CI type name> step.
   2. (Optional) In the Salesforce Upsert window, enter the user name and password of your Salesforce organization.
      Based on your requirements, you can replace the Salesforce user name and password with the SFDC_USER and SFDC_PASSWORD parameters.
   3. In the Fields area, click Edit Mapping.
   4. In the Enter Mapping window, update mappings for fields based on your requirements.
      For information about updating the out-of-the-box mapping, see Field mapping in CMDB 2.0.
   5. To save your settings and close the Enter Mapping window, click OK.
   6. To save your changes and close the Salesforce Upsert window, click OK.
7. To save the KTR and KJB files, click Save.
8. In the KJB file tab, click Run this job.

9. Perform one of the following actions based on the Pentaho version that you are using:

   Pentaho version	Action
   6.1	In the Run Options window, click Run.
   6.0	In the Execute a job window, click Launch.

   Data is imported into the appropriate CMDB class. The first time you run the job, all CIs are imported into the appropriate CMDB class. When you rerun the job, only the new and modified CIs are imported into the CMDB class.
   
   Transformation status is depicted by using the following icons:

   • — Complete
   • — Running
   •  — Unsuccessful
10. (Optional) To view logs, in the Execution results section, click the Logging tab.
    All the errors are displayed in red.
    For the imported records, the Source field is set to BCM. You can use the Source field to generate reports and also when you enable and configure reconciliation. 

To schedule jobs to import data

On the BMC Communities website, the Pentaho packages for importing data from external data sources into BMC Remedyforce page contain a Scheduling Files folder. This folder contains a sample batch file that you can use as a base to create your batch files for scheduling data import. For more information about scheduling a job, see http://wiki.Pentaho.com/display/EAI/Kitchen+User+Documentation.

1. Navigate to the folder where you have extracted the Pentaho package for which you want to schedule import jobs.
2. Open the Scheduling Files folder and create a copy of the sample batch file, such as SchedulingComputerSystem.bat.

3. Open the batch file that you created in step 2, perform the following actions, and save the file:

   1. Update the path of the Kitchen.bat file based on your version of the Pentaho Data Integration tool:KETTLE_HOME="<path>\<PentahoFolder>\data-integration"
   2. Update the path of the Kitchen.bat file and the KJB file:<path>\<PentahoFolder>\data-integration\kitchen.bat /file:"<JobFile>\<JobFileName>.kjb"/level:Detailed
      

   In these steps, the following definitions apply:
   

   • <path> is the location where you have extracted the Pentaho installer ZIP file.
   • <PentahoFolder> is the extracted root folder for your version of the Pentaho Data Integration tool.
     For example, for version 6.1 of the Pentaho Data Integration Tool, the extracted root folder is pdi-ce-6.1.0.1-196.
   • <JobFile> is the location where you have extracted the job files.
   • <JobFileName> is the KJB file that you want to run at the scheduled interval.
   • The level option specifies the level of logging for the job. The values that you can specify for the level option are Minimal, Basic, Detailed, Debugging, and Row Level. The log files are saved in the same folder where KJB files are saved.

   See an example of the updated batch file.

   The following figure shows an example of the updated SchedulingComputerSystem.bat file.

   

4. Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > TaskScheduler.
5. In the Task Scheduler window, in the Actions area, click Create Basic Task.
6. In the Create Basic Task Wizard, type the name and description of the task, and click Next.
7. Select the appropriate option for starting the task, and click Next.
   For example, you can select Daily or When the computer starts as the option for starting the task.
8. Configure the additional options for starting the task, and click Next.
   The additional options are displayed based on the option that you selected in step 7. For example, if you select the Daily option for starting the task, you must configure the start date and frequency at which you want to run the batch file.
9. Select the Start a program radio button, and click Next.
10. Click Browse to locate the batch file that you have created to schedule the job, and click Next.
11. Select the Open the Properties dialog for this task when I click Finish check box, and click Finish.

KJB files for importing data from BMC Client Management

The Pentaho package contains job (KJB) and transformation (KTR) files that are created in the Pentaho Data Integration tool. The KJB files (jobs) and KTR files (transformations) store metadata in XML format. A KJB file contains a series of transformations that are run in a sequence. A KTR file contains a single transformation. The KJB (job) files retrieve data from external sources into BMC Remedyforce CMDB.

For more information, see KJB files in the Pentaho package and Steps in the KJB files for importing data from BMC Client Management.

KJB files in the Pentaho package

Each Pentaho package includes different KJB (job) files for importing different types of configuration items (CIs), such as computer systems and LAN endpoints. These job files are bundled with related files and provided to you in folders. The folder names correspond to CI types in BMC Remedyforce CMDB.

The following table provides information about the job files that you must run to import specific CI types into BMC Remedyforce CMDB:

Steps in the KJB files for importing data from BMC Client Management

All job (KJB) files for importing data from specific CI types include the series of steps and transformations that are listed in the following table.

Troubleshooting

The following topics provide troubleshooting tips to resolve issues that might occur when you import data from BMC Client Management:

Mappings cannot be updated from the Salesforce Upsert window

In the Salesforce Upsert window, the drop-down fields listed in the Module field column in the Fields area might not display any values. In this case, you must update the mapping between the data from BMC Client Management and BMC Remedyforce CMDB by using the Edit Mapping option.

Data that is imported from BMC Client Management is corrupted

The job (KJB) files in the Pentaho package send a REST web API request to the BMC Client Management server to initiate the export of data to a .csv file. Each job file contains the list of BMC Client Management fields that are available by default in the .csv file.

If the data imported from BMC Client Management is corrupted or the import does not complete successfully, the .csv file that contains the data exported by BMC Client Management might have been modified. You might have added, deleted, or changed the order of fields in the .csv file. To resolve this issue, you must update the Pentaho jobs and map the fields and the order in which they are listed to the .csv file.

Perform the following actions to fix the corrupted data that is imported from BMC Client Management:

1. Navigate to the location where you downloaded and unzipped the Pentaho Data Integration tool.
2. To launch the Pentaho Data Integration tool, navigate to the data-integration folder.
3. Double-click the Spoon.bat file and open the job (KJB) file that corresponds to the .csv file that you have updated.
   For example, if you have updated fields in the .csv file for computer system CIs, open the TransferAssetCoreCSinfotoCMDB.kjb file.
4. In the job (KJB) file, right-click the Import Records in Remedyforce CMDB step, and select Open Referenced Object > Transformation.
5. In the transformation (KTR) file that is opened, double-click the CSV file input step.
6. In the CSV Input window, map the fields and the order in which they are listed to the .csv file that contains data from the BMC Client Management server.
7. You can right-click a field and select an option such as Move up and Insert before this row.
8. To save your changes, click OK.
9. To save the KTR and KJB files, click .

Troubleshooting common issues when importing data

The following table describes the troubleshooting tips that you can use to resolve common issues that you might face when importing data.

Related topics

Applying-models-while-importing-CIs-and-assets

Scheduling-jobs-to-import-data

Troubleshooting-common-issues-when-importing-data

Troubleshooting-issues-when-importing-data-from-BMC-Client-Management

Known-and-corrected-issues-for-Pentaho-packages