Enabling and configuring Service Context for BMC Helix ITSM applications

Before you begin

Before you can configure authentication for service context, you must create a fixed-license account that is assigned to the Administrator group. You can use the same account for authenticating all applications with BMC Atrium Service Context. For more information, see Roles-and-permissions.

To register the Service Context web service for BMC applications

1. From IT Home, go to Applications > BMC Atrium Core > Service Context Administration console > Advanced Settings.
2. Click the Configure button next to Configure provider endpoints. The AR System Web Services Registry form is displayed.
3. Click New Request.
4. Modify the service context record as follows:
   1. In the Business Name field, type BMC.
   2. In the Web service field, type ServiceContext.
   3. In the WSDL URL field, modify the value with the mid tier server name, port number, and context path to reflect your current configuration.
      Example syntax for ITSM:
      http://<midtierServer>:<portNumber>/arsys/services/servicecontext_attr_itsm?wsdl
      Example syntax for SLM:
      http://<midtierServer>:<portNumber>/arsys/services/servicecontext_attr_slm?wsdl
      Example syntax for SRM:
      http://<midtierServer>:<portNumber>/arsys/services/servicecontext_attr_srm?wsdl
   4. In the End Point URL field, modify the value with the mid tier server name, port number, and context path to reflect your current configuration.
      Example syntax for BMC Remedy ITSM:
      http://<midtierServer>:<portNumber>/arsys/services/servicecontext_attr_itsm
      Example syntax for SLM:
      http://<midtierServer>:<portNumber>/arsys/services/servicecontext_attr_slm
      Example syntax for SRM:
      http://<midtierServer>:<portNumber>/arsys/services/servicecontext_attr_srm
5. In the Publish To Registry? field, select Yes.
6. Click Save.

To verify the Service Context web service registration for a BMC application

1. From IT Home, go to Applications > BMC Atrium Core > Service Context Administration console > Advanced Settings.
2. To provide endpoints, click the respective Configure button. The AR System Web Services Registry form is displayed
3. From the results list, select the ServiceContext web service record for your BMC application.
   The BMC application name appears in the Application Name field as ITSM, SRM, or SLM.
4. Verify that the WSDL URL and End Point URL fields are populated with valid URLs that reflect your current configuration.
   For example URL syntax, see To register the Service Context web service for BMC applications. 
5. If you cannot find the ServiceContext web service for your BMC application, or if the URLs are not correct, repeat the steps to register the service context web service.
   
   

For BMC Helix ITSM, BMC Service Level Management, and BMC Service Request Management, BMC Atrium Service Context is authenticated by any AR System user with administrator permissions. Configuring this user enables BMC applications to share data with BMC Atrium Service Context.

Information about the BMC Atrium Service Context user is stored in the Service Context Authentication Info Console. You can access this form by clicking the Configure button on the Advanced Settings tab in the Service Context Administration window.

You can add, edit, and delete BMC Atrium Service Context users from the Service Context Authentication Info Console directly. By default, BMC applications create an entry in the Service Context Authentication Info Console, but you must provide the authentication information.

To configure authentication for BMC Atrium Service Context

1. Open the Service Context Administration window.
2. Select the Advanced Settings tab.
3. Click Configure corresponding to Configure authentication information. 
   The Service Context Authentication Info Console opens. 
   
4. To modify an existing user:
   1. Select the record that pertains to the BMC application for which you want to configure the BMC Atrium Service Context user.

   2. Enter or modify the values in the authentication fields. 

      The following table lists the fields in the Service Context Authentication Info Console.

      Important

      Make sure that the values you enter in the User Name, Password, and Authentication String fields exactly match an existing AR System administrator user. If you change that user's password or implement an authentication string, you must update the corresponding user configuration in Service Context Authentication Info Console.

      Name	Value
      Business Name (do not modify)	BMC
      Service Name (do not modify)	ServiceContext
      Application Name (do not modify)	ITSM, SRM, or SLM
      Server Name	The name of the AR System server as it appears in the Mid Tier Configuration Tool.
      User Name	By default, the user name is <Administrative User>. You must replace this dummy value with the name of the AR System user that you want to register as the BMC Atrium Service Context user. This user must have administrator permissions and a fixed license. You can configure the same AR System user for all of your BMC applications. For information about AR System users, see Creating users, groups, and roles.
      Password	The password (if any) of the AR System user that you want to register as the BMC Atrium Service Context user.
      Authentication String	The authentication string (if any) for the AR System user that you want to register as the BMC Atrium Service Context user. For information about authentication strings, see Setting up an authentication alias.

      Do not modify values in the Business Name, Service Name, or Application Name fields. These values are used internally by BMC Atrium Service Context.

5. If an entry for an application is not available, configure a new user:
   1. Click Add New.
   2. Enter the values in the fields as shown in the Service Context authentication fields table.
6. Save the record and close the form.

To delete a BMC Atrium Service Context user

1. Open the Service Context Administration window.
2. Click the Advanced Settings tab.
3. Click the Configure button corresponding to Configure authentication information. 
   The Service Context Authentication Info Console opens.
   All the existing records for each installed BMC application are displayed in a table.
4. Select the record that pertains to the BMC application for which you want to delete the BMC Atrium Service Context user.
5. Click Delete.
   
   

To test connectivity with BMC Atrium Service Context providers

When you configure BMC Atrium Service Context, multiple providers are configured in the UDDI registry. You might want to verify if the providers are configured correctly and can be connected. 

1. Go to BMC Atrium Core > Service Context Administration.
2. Click the Test Connections tab.
3. Click Test.
4. The following information is displayed:
   • All the Service Context providers from the UDDI repository
   • The Attribute Loading Test Result section lists the following details about each provider:
     • Application: From where the attributes are loaded
     • URL: URL of the providers web service
     • Result: If connection failed or succeeded 
     • Number of attributes loaded: Number of attributes loaded from the application
     • Attribute names: Names of attributes loaded from application
   • The Data Loading Test Result section lists the following details about each provider:
     • Application: Name of application from which you want to read data
     • URL:URL of the providers web service
     • Result: Status of attributes from which it was possible to read data

Service Context debug log level

CI ownership displayed by service context

The Owner field appears in the information panel by default. 

However, for Owner field to display information, a system administrator must enter the owner information into the Owner Name and Owner Contact fields when creating a computer system CI. For more information, see Creating and modifying CIs.

Where to go from here

For more information on web services in AR System, see AR System web services architecture.