Creating a normalization job

To set up continuous or batch (recurring) normalization, you must create a normalization job. 

Best practice

  • Do not run more than one Atrium Integrator, Normalization, or Reconciliation job at the same time because they might query or update the same data.
  • Avoid overlapping the importing, normalizing, and reconciling of CIs.
  • Reconciling related CIs, such as a system and its components, can cause errors if all the related CIs and relationships do not exist when reconciliation starts.

Related topics

Monitoring-a-normalization-job

Normalization

Product-catalog

Before you begin

Check that the data set you want to select in the normalization job has normalization enabled in the Dataset Configuration. You can configure the data sets from the Configurations > Manage Normalization Rules > Dataset Configurations menu option. By default, only CTI (Category, Type, Item values) is normalized.

For more information about normalization settings for data sets, see Configuring-normalization-settings-for-datasets.

To create a normalization job

  1. From the CMDB Portal, go to Jobs > Manage Normalization.
  2. Click Create Job and enter a job name. 

  3. In Dataset Configurations, select a dataset for which you want to create the normalization job.

    Important

    We recommend that you have only one job per dataset.

  4. To make a new entry in the Product Catalog, select Allow New Product Catalog Entry.
  5. To update the following end-of-life attributes in the Product Catalog, select Allow Updates to a Product Catalog Entry:
    For information about the conditions for using this feature, see Conditions for using the Allow Updates to a Product Catalog Entry feature
    • StartAvailability
    • EndAvailability
    • EndofSupport
    • EndofExtendedSupport
    • EndofSecuritySupport
    • EndofLife
  6. To normalize CIs of products not approved in the Product Catalog, select Allow Unapproved CIs.
  7. Select the Normalization Features Used that you want to apply.
    Make sure that you have pre-configured the rules for Normalization Features.
    NE_Allow updates to PC.png
  8. (Optional) Set a schedule for the job to run at regular intervals.
  9. Click Save.

Important

  • After you create a batch (recurring) job, you do not need to explicitly start the job. It runs automatically at the scheduled time. However, when you need to immediately run a job, you can select the job in the Normalization console and click Start Job.
  • You cannot edit an existing job type and change it to a different job type. For example, you cannot edit a batch job to change it to a continuous job. To change a batch job to a continuous job, you must create a new job.

Conditions for using the Allow Updates to a Product Catalog Entry feature

Use the Allow Updates to a Product Catalog feature to update the existing end-of-life dates in the Product Catalog with the dates in the source dataset. Apply this option under the following conditions and considerations:

  1. Enable the feature from BMC Helix Innovation Studio by performing the following steps:
    1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio. 
    2. Open the Feature Descriptor form by using the URL: 
      https://<HostName>/helix/index.html#/com.bmc.arsys.rx.innovationstudio/record/edit-data/Feature Descriptor
    3. Type 1425 in the Search field to search for the feature flag. 
      NE Feature flag.png
    4. Click the link in the Display ID column to enable the feature.
      NE Feature flag Enable.png
  2. Enable the CCS parameter Include-EOL-EOS-In-PCT, by performing the following steps:
    1. Log in to Mid Tier
    2. Select Applications > AR System Administration > AR System Administration Console > System > General > Centralized Configuration. 
    3. From the Component Name list, select the Component Type com.bmc.cmdb.services.shared > *.
    4. If the setting Include-EOL-EOS-In-PCT is displayed in the Setting Name column, modify the value to True. 
      If the setting is not displayed, add the setting and set its value to True.  
  3. This feature is applicable only for a Batch normalization job. 
  4. This feature is applicable only for the following attributes in a CI:
    • StartAvailability
    • EndAvailability
    • EndofSupport
    • EndofExtendedSupport
    • EndofSecuritySupport
    • EndofLife
  5. The dataset configuration has the following feature enabled: feature_def_com.bmc.ne.feature.InstanceNormalizationFeature. 
    To enable this feature, perform the following steps:
    1. Log in to Mid Tier. 
    2. Open the NE:DatasetOptions form by using the following URL format: http://<midTierServer>:<port>/arsys/forms/< ARServer >/NE:DatasetOptions.
    3. Enter the appropriate search terms for the dataset that you want to normalize. 
    4. Select the dataset and add the following value in the Features field: 
      feature_def_com.bmc.ne.feature.InstanceNormalizationFeature
      Instance normalization setting.png
    5. Save the changes. 

 

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