Creating and updating assets

To create assets

The following examples show how to create and update assets in the production and sandbox datasets. The procedures are similar for all asset types.

Example 1: Creating a new asset in the production dataset

Allen has ordered a new computer system and he wants to add it as a new asset in the system. 

1. Allen logs in to the BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management universal client with Asset Admin permissions and selects Create New > Asset from the menu.
2. He specifies Computer System for both the Type and Subtype and clicks Continue.

3. He enters information in the required fields, Name and Description. 

   Best practice
   When creating an asset name, follow a consistent naming convention. According to IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) guidelines, identifiers should be short but meaningful, and for hardware, not based on supplier device names. For example, the name might include an indicator of the item's function followed by a numeric code, such as MONITOR100.
   

4. After Allen specifies the Company, he can also specify the categorization and cost center.
   These fields depend upon the company and only become enabled after a company is selected.
5. For the Status, Allen chooses Ordered.
6. Allen decides to enter more information about the asset at a later time, and saves the asset.

Example 2: Updating an asset in the sandbox dataset from a mobile device

Bob is a field agent working on a ticket for a malfunctioning projector in a conference room.

1. From his phone, Bob logs in to BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management and scans the barcode on the back of the projector.
   The asset profile for the projector opens.
2. He notices that there's no image associated with the asset, so he carefully compares the manufacturer, model, and serial number on the projector with the information in the asset profile to make sure it is the same.
3. Bob adds some trailing zeros to the serial number in the asset profile, so it matches the number that he found printed on the projector.
4. To save time for other field agents in the future, he snaps a picture of the projector with his phone, and adds the image to the asset profile.
5. When he saves the profile, a message appears indicating that his changes must be reconciled. 

To update the primary contact in BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management

When editing the asset profile, you can 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, Owned by, and so on.

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.

1. Open an existing asset profile from Asset Console, or by clicking or tapping the asset name in a ticket, people profile, or asset profile.
2. Open the primary contact section for editing.
3. Update the primary contact, and then click or tap Save.

To change the status of an asset

1. From the Console menu, select Asset Console.
2. Enter the search filters and click Search.
3. From the search result, select the required asset.
4. From the asset profile, open the status for editing.
5. From the Status list, select a status.
   The statuses are described in the table.
6. (Optional) You can enter more information in the Status Reason box, for any of the following asset statuses:
   • Down
   • End of Life
   • Delete
   • Disposed
   • Return to Vendor
7. Click Save.

To relate an asset to a person, company, or group

1. Click + Person.

2. From the panel that slides into view, make a selection from the People Type menu. 
   You can add only one person type at a time:

   If you select Person...	a. In the Search field, type a person's name and press or tap Enter. b. Select the person from the search results list.
   If you select Company...	Select from the list of available companies.
   If you select Organization, Department, or Support Group...	a. Ensure that the information in the Company field is correct. b. From the list, select the organization, department, or support group.

3. From the Role menu at the bottom of the panel, select a role.
4. Click Add People.

To specify an outage for an asset

1. From the asset profile, open the Outages tab.
2. Specify the unavailability (outage) type, status, and description.
3. Specify the outage start and end dates and save the changes.

To create work info

1. From the Console menu, select Asset Console.
2. Enter the search filters and click Search.
3. From the search result, select the required asset.
4. In the Activity area, enter the information in Add a note.
   You can search for a specific person or asset by clicking @.
   
   
   
5. From Type, select the required note type.
   You can use Note type as a filter and search for specific notes. For more information on Filters, see Updates feed overview.
6. (Optional) Click Attach files to attach files to the notes.
   
7. Click Post.
   The new note is added and displayed in the Activity area. For more information, see Activity feed overview.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have access to the company selected in the Default Company list in Asset Management Settings. For more information, see Configuring-Asset-Management-settings.

Follow this procedure to create a Computer System CI. The procedure for creating other CI types is similar.

To create a Computer System CI

1. In the navigation pane of Asset Management Console, select Functions > Manage CIs.

2. In the Select a CI Type dialog box, select System > Computer System, and click Create.
   The Computer System (New) form appears.

   Important

   When creating a CI, only the Quick Links and Functions menus in the left navigation section are active and will expand. The Advanced Functions and Create Other Requests menus are activated only after you save the CI.

3. At the top of the Computer System form, specify general information.
   Bold field names indicate required fields.

4. In the CI Name field, specify a name for the CI.
   
   

   Best practice
   When creating a CI name, follow a consistent naming convention. According to the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) guidelines, identifiers should be short and meaningful, CI names for hardware should not be based on supplier device names. For example, the name might include an indicator of the item's function followed by a numeric code, such as MONITOR100.
   

5. In the CI ID field, type a unique alphanumeric value for the CI.
6. From the Supported list, select Yes or No.
   This field provides information for your records.
7. From the Company list, select the company to which the item belongs.
   For more information about this field, see Updating-company-and-location-for-CIs.
8. From the Primary Capability and Capability List fields, select or type the roles this item performs in your company's topology.

9. Select a status from the Status list.
   You can select one of the following options:

   Status	Description
   Deployed	The item has been deployed and is in use. This value is the default.
   Received	The item represented by the CI was received in shipping.
   Being Assembled	The item is being assembled.
   In Repair	The item is down for maintenance.
   Down	The item is down, but not yet in maintenance.
   End of Life	The item is no longer being deployed.
   Transferred	The item was transferred to another location.
   Delete	The CI is marked for deletion.
   In Inventory	The item is in inventory, but not yet deployed. If the Search Inventory Locations dialog box is configured, perform the following steps: In the confirmation message window, click OK. In the Search Inventory Locations dialog box, click Search. From the search results, select the required location, and click Return. Important: If the Search Inventory Locations dialog box is not displayed, see Troubleshooting-CI-related-issues.
   On Loan	The item is on loan to another location.
   Ordered	The item has been ordered but is not yet available.
   Disposed	The item is no longer available and was disposed of.
   Reserved	The item was reserved and taken out of inventory.
   Return to Vendor	The item must be returned to the vendor as damaged or unwanted.

10. Select the impact, urgency, and priority that apply when this item goes down (becomes unavailable).
11. In the Users Affected field, specify the number of people who use this item.
    Alternatively, specify the number of users who are affected when the item goes down.

12. Specify the other fields in this area:

    Field name	Description
    Tag Number	The CI tag number. This number is usually placed on the product by a member of your IT department to track the CI.
    Serial Number	The item's serial number.
    Part Number	The item's part number.
    System Role	The role this item plays in your company.
    Status Reason	The reason for the current CI status.

13. Click the General tab.
14. In the Product Categorization area, select tiers, product, and so on to categorize the CI.
    For more information, see Categorizing CIs. 
15. Use the Tier field to categorize the item, as described in Categorizing CIs.
16. In the Location area, use the lists and fields to specify the location of the item.
    For more information, see Updating-company-and-location-for-CIs.

17. Specify the dates of the CI in the Lifecycle area.

    Field name	Description
    Received Date	Review this field which is automatically populated when the CI is received by using the Requisition, Purchase/Receive feature.
    Installation Date	Review this field which is populated when the CI is in Deployed state.
    Available Date	Enter the date that the CI will be available.
    Return Date	Enter the return date of the CI.
    Disposal Date	Enter the disposal date of the CI.
    Last Scan Date	Review this field which is automatically populated when the CI instance has been discovered using a discovery tool such as BMC BladeLogic Client Automation or BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping.

18. Enter the owner information in the Owner Name and Owner Contact fields.

    Important

    Owner information appears only on the Computer System, Application, and Business Service CI forms. 

19. Click the Specifications tab and add additional information about the CI and the item that it represents.
20. Click Save.
    If you see a message instructing you to complete additional fields that might be necessary for this particular CI, do so.

 To categorize CIs

1. Open the CI, as described in Searching for tickets, assets, resources, and people in BMC Helix ITSM.
   

1. In the Product Categorization area
   1. Select the value from Tier 1.
   2. (Optional) Select the value from Tier 2.
   3. (Optional) Select the value from Tier 3 .
   4. (Optional) Select the value from Product Name+.
   5. (Optional) Select the value from Model/Version.
   6. (Optional) Select the value from Manufacturer.
   7. (Optional) Select the value from Supplier Name+.
      
      
2. Click Save. 
   The CI is categorized.

To delete CIs

1. In Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. From the Application Settings list, select Asset Management> Advanced Options> CI Deletion, and then click Open. 
   The Delete CI form appears.
3. On the Delete CI form, before you delete a CI, you can view the CI and its relationships to other CIs.
   • To view a CI, select the CI and click View.
     The CI form appears. After you view the details of the CI, click Close.
   • To view the relationship of a CI to other CIs, select the CI and click Explore CI.
     The CMDB Explorer appears. After you view the CI relationships, click Close.
4. From the CI Marked for Deletion table, select the CIs you want to delete, and click Delete Selected CIs. 
   When you delete CIs, they are not removed from the database,  but they are marked for deletion in CMDB. The BMC Helix CMDB  reconciliation process deletes the CIs from the database.

To add additional data

You can add, view, modify, or remove additional CI data. You specify both the labels and values for this additional data. If you delete a CI, the associated additional data is also deleted.

In the navigation pane, select Advanced Functions > Additional Data.

To update the impacted areas

Changes or updates to CIs can affect more than one company, location, or organization. You specify which areas are impacted by a specific CI on the Impacted Areas tab on the CI Information form. BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management uses the CI's impacted areas to help determine approval mappings. For example, you can determine mappings based on location or organization.

1. Open a CI, as described in Searching for tickets, assets, resources, and people in BMC Helix ITSM.
2. On the Impacted Areas tab, click View.
3. In the Impacted Areas dialog box, complete the fields to relate an impacted area to the current CI.
4. Click Add and then click Close.
5. On the CI Information form, click Save.

To record return information

When you return a CI, you can record the return information. You can also view and delete return information. This function is not available for bulk CIs.

You can record return information either from the CI form or from Receiving console. For information about the Receiving console, see Receiving-and-returning-purchase-items.

1. Open a CI, as described in Searching for tickets, assets, resources, and people in BMC Helix ITSM.
2. In the navigation pane, select Functions > Returns.
3. In the Return Receipts dialog box, click Create.
4. In the Return Information dialog box, record the information. Specify the type of return, such as the type of return, the quantity to return, and the reason for the return. You can also specify a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) number.
5. Click OK.