Creating relationships in a network topology

In the Mid Tier  interface, you can use the network topology feature to create relationships between the networked items in your organization. In a network topology several CIs can be connected together over a network. 

By using network topology, you can:

• Track information  - By using network topology, you can track network and system information of the several CIs that are part of the topology.
• Identify the required CI easily - Since, in a network topology all the CIs are interrelated, it helps to search for the required CI easily. For example, a user gets a call about a problem with a network printer. Assuming there are several printers, the specialist can view the network topology to identify the exact network printer that is down.
• Do planning and risk assessment - Network topologies can also be useful during the planning and risk assessment phases. For example, a change request comes in for an operating system upgrade for several application servers. The change manager or configuration administrator views the network topologies of these computer systems and to understand which computers or users would be affected by the change.

To arrange CIs in a network topology, relate them to connectivity segments or IP connectivity subnets. You can relate the following CI types to segments and subnets in a peer-to-peer relationship:

• Computer System
• Mainframe
• Printer

You can use your discovery tool to discover these CIs, segments, or subnets, or you can create them manually. Then you can relate the connectivity segments and subnets to a CI.

To relate connectivity segments and subnets to a CI

1. In Mid Tier, open a CI, as described in Searching for tickets, assets, resources, and people in BMC Helix ITSM
2. In the navigation pane, select Advanced Functions > Topology.
3. On the Topology Relationships form, from the Show Related list, select Connectivity Segment or IP Connectivity Subnet, and click Relate.
4. In the message that appears, click OK.
5. In the CI Search dialog box, specify your search criteria, and click Search.
   You can use the Advanced Search field to perform an advanced search.
6. Select the connectivity segment or IP connectivity subnet you want to relate.
7. From the Relationship Type list, select the relationship of this segment or subnet to the CI.
8. Click Relate.
   The Topology Relationships is updated with the records in the table.

Next, you can relate other Computer Systems, Mainframes, or Printer CIs to the segments or subnets.

To relate other CIs to connectivity segments or subnets

1. In Mid Tier, open a CI, as described in Searching for tickets, assets, resources, and people in BMC Helix ITSM.
2. In the navigation pane, select Advanced Functions > Topology.
   The Topology Relationships form appears.
3. From the Show Related list, select Connectivity Segment or IP Connectivity Subnet.
4. From the CI Type list, select the system you want to relate to the current connectivity segment or subnet.
5. Click Relate.
6. In the CI Search dialog box, specify your search criteria, and click Search.
7. Select the system that you want to relate, and click Relate.
   The Topology Relationships form is updated with the records in the table.