Creating AR and JDBC federated data plug-ins to access data external to the CMDB

Federated data plug-ins use adapters to connect an external source of data to BMC CMDB so that you can view the data as part of the CMDB. If you want to federate data on a JDBC-compliant database or federate data in the forms residing on an AR System server, you can create a plug-in by using an adapter that is installed with BMC CMDB. 

Before you begin

• Learn more about plug-in naming conventions as described in the topic Plug-in naming conventions.
• You must have AR Administrator (ARADMIN) permissions to be able to create a plug-in.

To create AR federated data plug-ins

1. Open the Federation Plug-ins page.
   Select Class Management > Federation Plug-ins.
2. On the top-right of the page, from the Create Plugin list, select AR.
   The Create AR Federation Plug-in page opens.

3. Enter the parameters for the AR plug-in.

   Plug-in parameters

   Option	Description
   Plug-in Name	Unique name for the plug-in. You cannot change the name after you save the plug-in.
   AR Server Host Name	Name of the AR server.
   Port Number	Port number of the AR System server.
   User Name and Password	User name and password to access the AR System server.
   Type of Form to Retrieve	Form types from which you can retrieve data. You can select these options from the list: Regular Forms — Default setting. Specified Forms — Enter the form in the Form Name field. All Forms — Includes all form types. Join Forms — Includes all join forms. View Forms — Includes all view forms. Join Forms that depend on — Includes all join forms that depend on the form specified in the Form Name field. Join Forms that are depended on by — Includes all join forms that the form specified in the Form Name field depends on. Dialogs — Includes all dialog forms. Forms with Data — Includes all forms that contain data. Vendor Forms — Includes all vendor forms.
   Changed Since	Enter the date and time to limit the forms to those modified after the specified time.
   Include hidden forms	Select this to include hidden forms along with the other forms that the plug-in retrieves.

4. Click Save.
5. Click Refresh to load the plug-in.
   
   A green check mark against the plug-in name shows that the plug-in is loaded. A red cross mark shows that it is not loaded.
   You can now define a federated class by using this plug-in.

To create JDBC Federation plug-ins

The JDBC plug-in requires a database driver. If you do not want to use one of the drivers (SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB2, or Sybase) that BMC provides, you can use your own database driver. Many database drivers are available on the internet.

1. Open the Federation Plug-ins page.
   Select Class Management > Federation Plug-ins.
2. On the top-right of the page, from the Create Plugin list, select JDBC.
   The Create JDBC Federation Plug-in page opens.

3. Define the parameters required for the plug-in.

   Plug-in parameters

   Option	Description
   Database Type	Select a database from the list (for example, SQL Server). To select a different type of database (for example, MySQL), select Other from the Database Type list. Specify the parameters for the database, including login information, JDBC URL, and so on.
   Plug-in Name	Unique name for the plug-in. Important You cannot change this name after you save the plug-in.
   Database Name	Name of the particular database to be used (for example, Northwind). For DB2, enter a schema name. The schema name is case-sensitive and must be specified in uppercase characters, for example, MYSCHEMA.
   Service Name (Oracle only)	Alias to an Oracle instance
   Host Name	Actual name of the server that hosts your database (for example, Calbro_server_SJ). Important Do not use localhost.
   Port number	These are the default ports: DB2 — 50000 Oracle — 1521 SQL Server — 1433 Sybase — 5001 Note: These port numbers are the default values for the respective databases. You could use a different port number for your database.
   JDBC URL	(Available only when you select Database Type as Other) The JDBC connection information to the database. You must enter the values for your particular database.
   JDBC Driver	(Available only when you select Database Type as Other) The full name of the JDBC driver class. You must enter the appropriate values for your particular database.
   User Name and Password	User name and password to log on to the database.
   Type of Object to Retrieve	Select either Both, Views only, or Tables only based on the objects you want to retrieve from the database containing the federated database.
   Pattern	For faster performance, enter a pattern to filter the tables.

4. Click Save.
5. Click Refresh to load the plug-in.
   
   A green check mark against the plug-in name shows that the plug-in is loaded. A red cross mark shows that it is not loaded.

Example JBDC Plug-in for MySQL database

As an administrator, Allen wants to create a custom JDBC plug-in for a MySQL Server database. The database contains workgroup and data transfer information about computer system Configuration Items (CIs). 

1. Open Federation Plug-ins.
   Select Class Management > Federation Plug-ins.
2. In the top-right of the page, in the Create Plugin list, select JDBC.
   The Create JDBC Federation Plug-in page opens.

3. Enter the parameters for the AR plug-in.

   Plug-in parameters

   Option	Examples values or options
   Database Type	Select MySQL.
   Plug-in Name	MySQLNorthwind_PLUGINCalbro_server_SJ
   Database Name	Northwind
   Host Name	Calbro_server_SJ
   Port number	Since it is an SQL server, enter 1433 or whichever port that SQL is configured with.
   User Name and Password	User name and password to log in to the database.
   Type of Object to Retrieve	Allen wants all types of objects, so he selects Both.
   Pattern	Allen enters Ab% to retrieve only tables with Ab pattern from the database.

4. Click Save and Refresh.