Configuration items

A configuration item (CI) represents any component of an IT infrastructure. For example, a CI can represent a hardware component or software component, a service, an inventory location, and a network (LAN or WAN). CIs can vary widely in complexity, size, and type, from representing an entire system to representing a single component. Configuration administrators use the CI forms to create CIs and track them throughout their lifecycle. Throughout the CI lifecycle, configuration administrators manage costs, software licenses, and contracts.

Information displayed in asset profiles

Section	Information provided
Overview	This section displays the name of the asset, the asset type and subtype, and the name of the associated company. You can perform the following actions: Edit the asset name, status, and company. Share the asset profile. Follow the asset to see important updates such as items related and unrelated to the asset, and changes to the status, owner, and location. Add or edit the associated image. Put the asset into Inventory (only applicable to some asset types). Note: The Type and Subtype fields are read-only, and cannot be edited from the asset profile. To use a different type and subtype, you must create a new asset.
Details (varies depending on asset type)	This section provides more details about the asset, including the ID, description, manufacturer, installation or availability date, financials, and so on. The information in this section depends upon the type of asset.
Activity	This list contains activities related to the asset, including tickets created for the asset, updates to asset information, and updates to asset ownership. Crowdsourced assets include a link to BMC Helix Digital Workplace, where you can access the full activity thread. Activity notes that you add in Smart IT for crowdsourced assets do not flow to the corresponding asset in BMC Helix Digital Workplace. Also, for crowdsourced assets not associated with an item in BMC Helix CMDB, the Activity feed is read-only. For additional information, see the Crowdsourced information section in this table. The most recent activities are at the top of the list, and a filter is available to help you manage the information in the list. (For crowdsourced assets not associated with an item in BMC Helix CMDB, this filter is unavailable.)
Primary contact	You can edit an asset profile to specify the role of the primary contact of the asset, and then enter the person’s name. The primary contact can have one of the roles specified in the Role list such as Managed by, Used by, and Owned by. Irrespective of the role specified in Smart IT, the person related with the asset is indicated as the primary contact of the asset in BMC Helix ITSM. Note that the roles specified in the People tab of the asset are secondary in nature, and are specified for further reference. This section also provides information about the asset location. In the Asset Site - Region > Asset Site - Site Group > Asset Site fields you can specify the asset location. These are dependent and out-of-the-box fields. Based on the company you have specified, options under these site location fields are displayed.
Related Items, Assets, Contracts, Outages tabs	These sections display information about the following items: Active tickets related to the selected asset (for example, work orders and incidents). From Related Items, you can create a ticket that is related to the asset. Assets related to this asset. From Assets, you can relate another asset to the current asset. You can also open the Graphical CI Explorer or List CI Explorer. Any outages that affect this asset. From Outages, you can add an outage. (Where applicable) Software warranty contracts. Notes: Click or tap an item on a tab to open a detailed record for that item. For example, if you click an outage preview in the Outages tab, you see a detailed view of the outage. Most tabs also have a link from which you can add a related item to the tab. For example, on the Related Items tab in the universal client, if you click Related Item, you can add other records to the profile.
People tab	This tab tracks the relationships between an asset and specific people, organizations, departments, and support groups. You can also relate the asset to a person, company, organization, department, or support group directly from the People tab.

Sandbox dataset

The sandbox dataset is a temporary area where the CIs can be stored before they are pushed to the production dataset. You cannot edit the CIs in the production dataset; to edit the CIs, you need a sandbox dataset. Multiple data sources such as Discovery, and BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management insert data into the sandbox dataset. The CI data from the sandbox dataset is reconciled to the production dataset. If you want to update the production dataset, you can disable the sandbox dataset. For more information, see Configuring-Asset-Management-settings.

Important

During reconciliation, some changes might not get updated in the production dataset. The system can be configured to treat another data source as priority than the data being entered through BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management. If two data sources make changes, the data source with the highest precedence determines the production dataset.

Depending on whether your system is configured with a sandbox dataset, the CI creation process varies slightly.

If your system is configured with a sandbox dataset, CIs that you create or modify flow through the sandbox dataset. You can choose to wait until the data has been reconciled, or move on to the next CI.
If your system does not have a sandbox dataset, CI data goes directly into the production dataset.

Production dataset

Production dataset is the central data source referenced by the entire IT environment. In BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management, BMC.Assets is the production dataset that stores the information about all the configuration items (CIs). For more information about datasets, see BMC Helix CMDB overview.

Instructions for classic interfaces

Instructions for Classic Smart IT

The following figure displays a CI in Classic Smart IT:

Instructions for Mid Tier

CI information

You use the CI form to store all the information that is related to a CI such as CI Name, location, financial details, and related contracts.

The following figure displays a CI of the type Computer system in Mid Tier:

The CI form contains the following areas:

Navigation pane — Use the quick links in the navigation pane to view CIs, run reports, view broadcast messages, create blackout schedules, and so on.
CI Information — Use this area to specify general information about the CI and the item that it represents. For example, you can specify the CI name, status, and number of users affected by the item. You can specify the impact and the urgency that apply when the item goes down.
CI tabs — Use these tabs to perform additional activities. You can relate contracts and configurations. You can add cost, schedule, outage, and return information. You can track work and update areas impacted by this CI.

When you use BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management to create a new CI, you can perform some tasks before you save the CI. After you save it, or when you open a CI, you can perform additional tasks. For example, when you create a new Computer System CI, you see only the tabs listed in the following table:

CI tabs displayed before you save the CI

Tab	Purpose	See
General	Categorize your CIs and specify location and lifecycle information.	Creating-and-updating-assets
Specifications	Specify additional information about the item, for example, environment information and network information.	Creating-and-updating-assets
Financials	Specify costs associated with owning the item.	Tracking-the-cost-of-CIs
Work Info	Add tasks that you perform against the current CI or the item that it represents. Important: You can also access this feature from the navigation pane.	Adding work information

When you reopen the CI after you save it, depending on the CI type, you might see the additional tabs listed in the following table:
CI tabs displayed after you save the CI

Tab	Purpose	See
Contracts	Relate contracts to a CI. For software product CIs, release a software license certificate to a CI.	Relating-people-organizations-and-groups-to-Assets
People	Relate people to a CI.	Relating-people-organizations-and-groups-to-Assets
Relationships	Relate CIs to other CIs.	Relating-assets
Relationship details	Display components related to a computer system CI, such as memory, operating system, and products.	Relating-assets
Outage	Add outage information about a CI.	Managing-outages
Impacted Areas	If the item goes down, use this tab to add areas that might be affected.	Creating-and-updating-assets