Synchronizing incidents with vendor BMC Helix ITSM incidents via BMC Helix Integration Service

BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker enables the management of incidents across multiple instances of BMC Helix ITSM. When a service desk agent creates an incident in your BMC Helix ITSM instance, BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker creates a corresponding incident with a vendor's instance of BMC Helix ITSM. Similarly, when an incident is created in a vendor instance of BMC Helix ITSM, BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker creates a corresponding incident in your BMC Helix ITSM instance. The trigger conditions that you specify when configuring BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker, define the criteria for incidents to be created in BMC Helix ITSM.

• For more information about incident management, see Incident-brokering-from-BMC-Helix-ITSM-into-third-party-applications.
• For more information about ticket consolidation, see Consolidation-of-tickets-from-third-party-applications-into-BMC-Helix-ITSM.

Before you begin

Complete all preconfiguration tasks before you configure integration with multiple BMC Helix ITSM instances.

To select the integration option for multiple BMC Helix ITSM instances

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Suite.
2. On Workspace, click Multi-Cloud Broker.

3. To launch BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker, click Visit Deployed Application.

   Tip

   You can access BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker directly by entering the URL https://hostName:portNumber/helix/index.html#/com.bmc.dsm.mcsm/login and logging in as a tenant administrator.

4. To open the configuration page, click Settings .
5. Select Start Here > Quick Configuration Guide.
6. In the Step 1: Choose configuration tab, perform the following steps:
   1. From the Choose configuration list, select the Helix integration service.

b. For integration with multiple BMC Helix ITSM instances, select the following features and click Next:

• 
  
  • Vendor ITSM Incident to ITSM incident under Ticket Consolidation
  • ITSM Incident to Vendor ITSM Incident under Incident Brokering

The Perform configurations tab displays a list of the common configurations, connectors, flows, and connector targets and processes that you need to configure as described in the next tasks.

To map vendor data between multiple BMC Helix ITSM instances

Configuring vendor data content includes setting up a vendor organization and defining vendor mappings for the technology provider. The Perform configurations tab provides the links to both options. BMC recommends that you set up the vendor organizations before starting the BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker configuration. For more information about adding vendor organizations, see Performing-common-preconfiguration-tasks.

1. On the Perform configurations tab, click Manage Vendor Organizations under Configure Vendor Remedy ITSM to create or modify a vendor organization, if required.
2. On the Perform configurations tab, click Manage Vendor Metadata under to add or update the vendor mapping.
   Vendor mapping ensures that your vendor is notified about changes to the ITSM fields. The updates are sent as a comment to the corresponding vendor ticket.

   1. Click  to open the Map New Vendor page.

      

   2. Enter a Description that makes it easy for you to identify the vendor metadata configuration.
   3. Select the Ticketing Technology Provider as Vendor ITSM.

   4. For integration with multiple ITSM instances, in the Instance Name enter a name that BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker can use to identify each ITSM instance. 

      The recommended format for an instance name is as follows:
      <name>  instance 1 

      Important

      Use the instance name that you provided when configuring the Connector Process Vendor ITSM process.

   5. Click Add Mapping.
      BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker displays the default Instance URL, Vendor Field Mapping and Display Field Mapping.
   6. Update the Instance URL with the ITSM server and port details of the instance that you are mapping.
      BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker uses this URL to connect to the BMC Helix ITSM instance.
   7. To add or delete mapped field values, click { } to open the JSON editor, and modify Vendor Field Mapping and Display Field Mapping.

      1. If required, update the existing Vendor Field Mapping. 

         Vendor Field Mapping defines how BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker maps ITSM fields to vendor ticket fields.
         

      2. If required, update the existing Display Field Mapping.
         Display Field Mapping defines how vendor ticket fields map to the fields on the Smart IT console.

         

   8. Click Save.
   9. From the Integration Platform list, select Integration Service.
3. To update defined vendor mappings:
   1. Click   Settings.
   2. Select Configure Vendors > Map Vendors.
   3. Open the vendor mappings you have created and make the required changes. 
   4. Click Save.

To configure connectors for integrating BMC Helix ITSM and vendor BMC Helix ITSM with BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker

For each feature you selected, complete the following procedure for the connectors listed on the Configuration Links page.

1. To navigate to BMC Helix Integration Service, on the Configuration Links page, click Configure connectors in Integration Studio under Required Common Configurations.
   You must configure the connectors listed for each feature, in addition to the connectors listed under Required Common Configuration.
2. To enter field values, select a connector, such as ITSM, and click Configuration.
   You might need to click the arrow on the ribbon in the lower section of the screen to open the Configuration pane.
3. To update the configuration defaults, enter the appropriate field values by referring to the list of connectors at the end of this procedure.
4. To add or update the user account that is used to access the vendor application, click Accounts.

List of connectors for integration with BMC Helix ITSM

ITSM

• Configuration
  If you are integrating BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker with an on-premises instance of ITSM, enter the following values:

  Field	Value
  Site	Select the site that you created for Remedy.
  AR server	Enter the name of your on-premises AR System server.
  AR server port	Enter the port number for your on-premises AR System server.

• Account
  Add a ITSM user account that has permissions to view business service requests and permissions to update incidents, change, or problem requests.

Multi-Cloud

• Configuration
  While activating BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker, BMC configures the Multi-Cloud connector. Do not modify the default Multi-Cloud connector configuration.

• Account
  BMC sets up the account for the Multi-Cloud connector.
  Click to re-authenticate after you have changed the password for your tenant administrator user account in BMC Helix Innovation Studio.
  For information about changing the user password, see Creating or modifying People data.

SMTP Email

• Configuration
  To send email notifications for errors, specify values for the following fields:

  Field	Value
  Name	Enter a name for the connector configuration.
  Site	Select the appropriate site for your email server.
  Connection type	Select the type of connection for your email server.

• Account
  Add an email account to be used for sending error notifications.

To configure flow triggers and field mappings between BMC Helix ITSM, BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker, and Vendor BMC Helix ITSM

For each feature you selected, complete this procedure for the flows listed on the Configuration Links page.

1. To navigate to BMC Helix Integration Service, on the Configuration Links page, click Configure flows in Integration Studio under Required Common Configurations.

   You need to configure the flows listed for each feature, in addition to the flows listed under Required Common Configuration.

2. To open the flow template page, on the Catalog tab in Integration Studio, click the flow you want to configure.

   

3. To create a copy of the flow template, click .
   
   
   
4. Select the appropriate accounts for the end-point connectors of the selected flow.
   You specify the connector accounts when configuring connectors.
5. To update the name of the flow that you have copied from the flow template, select My Flow, open the flow that you copied, and update the title.
6. Specify the trigger Conditions and Field mapping, and click OK.
   For more information about trigger conditions and field mappings, see the list of flows at the end of this procedure.
7. Click My Flows and select the flow that you created from the flow template.
8. To verify the target values for the trigger conditions and the field mappings, in the right pane, click Details.

List of flows for integration with BMC Helix ITSM

Create Brokered Incident

• Trigger
  In the Service field, specify the name of the Remedy business service for incident brokering. Incidents will not be brokered as expected if you do not specify the Service.
  

  Note

  The business service is the Technology Provider value that you specified when you configured the vendor data.

• Field Mapping

  Do not change the value of the following out-of-the-box field mappings:

  Field	Value
  Company	Company
  Service	Service
  incidentNumber	Incident Number

  Note

  You can change the following out-of-the-box field mappings:

  • Summary
  • Priority

  However, we recommend that you retain the existing mappings. If you change the Priority field mapping, you need to set the transformations for source and target field values in the flow.

Create Incident from Vendor ITSM

• Trigger
  Retain the values that are available out-of-the-box.

• Field Mapping
  Retain the values that are available out-of-the-box

Sync Vendor ITSM Incident

• Trigger
  Retain the values that are available out-of-the-box.

• Field Mapping
  Retain the values that are available out-of-the-box

Sync Vendor ITSM incident worklog

• Trigger
  Retain the values that are available out-of-the-box.

• Field Mapping
  Retain the values that are available out-of-the-box

Sync Vendor ITSM Incident Worklog with Author

Note

This flow is available for ITSM version 9.1.06 or later

• Trigger
  Retain the values that are available out-of-the-box.

• Field Mapping
  Retain the values that are available out-of-the-box

Create Incident Activity Note

• Trigger

  Field	Value
  Shared with Vendor	True

• Field Mapping

  Do not change the following out-of-the-box field mappings.

  Field	Value
  post_type	comment#vendor
  ticketNumber	Incident Number
  Attachment Object 1.name	Attachment 1 filename
  Attachment Object 1.content	Attachment 1
  Attachment Object 2.name	Attachment 2 filename
  Attachment Object 2.content	Attachment 2
  Attachment Object 3.name	Attachment 3 filename
  Attachment Object 3.content	Attachment 3

  Note

  You can change the out-of-the-box field mapping for the text field. Default value is set to Notes.

  However, BMC recommends that you retain the existing mapping.

Create Incident Activity Note with Author (Remedy 9.1.06 or later)

• Trigger

  Field	Value
  Shared with Vendor	True

• Field Mapping

  Do not change the following out-of-the-box field mappings.

  Field	Value
  post_type	comment#vendor
  ticketNumber	Incident Number
  Author	Full name
  Attachment Object 1.name	Attachment 1 filename
  Attachment Object 1.content	Attachment 1
  Attachment Object 2.name	Attachment 2 filename
  Attachment Object 2.content	Attachment 2
  Attachment Object 3.name	Attachment 3 filename
  Attachment Object 3.content	Attachment 3

  Note

  You can change the out-of-the-box field mapping for the text field. Default value is set to Notes.

  However, BMC recommends that you retain the existing mapping.

By default, the Create Incident Activity Note flow is used. Instead of the default flow, if you want to use the Create Incident Activity Note with Author flow, you must make changes to the flow.

For more information about using the flow, see Updating flows.

Resolve Incident

• Trigger

  Field	Value
  Service	Specify the name of the Remedy Business Service for incident brokering in the Service field: . Note: Business Service is the value that you provide when specifying the Technology Provider while configuring vendor data
  Status	Set status to one of the following values: Resolved Closed Cancelled

• Field Mapping

  Do not change the following out-of-the-box field mappings.

  Field	Value
  Status	Status
  incidentNumber	Incident Number

Send Error Notification

• Trigger

  Field	Value
  Flow Target	Multi-Cloud

• Field Mapping

  Field	Value
  To	Enter the email account that will receive the error notification.
  Subject	Flow Title
  From Note: The value of this field is set to Integration Service.	NA

  Note

  You can change the following out-of-the-box field mappings:

  • Subject
  • From

  However, BMC recommends that you retain the existing mappings.
  

To define connector targets for integration between multiple BMC Helix ITSM instances

BMC preconfigures the out-of-the-box connector targets for all BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker features. If you want to update the connector configuration or account information, update the connector target for the feature.

1. To navigate to BMC Helix Innovation Suite, in the Configuration Links page, click Configure Connector Targets in Innovation Studio under Required Common Configurations.
   You need to configure the connector targets listed for each feature on the Configuration Links page, in addition to the ones listed under Required Common Configuration.
2. Click the connector target you want to configure or click  to configure a new connector target.

3. Enter or update the following values and save the configuration.

   Field	Instructions
   Name	Enter a unique name for the configuration. The name is associated with the process that is related to the connector you are configuring.
   Connector Type	Select the connector type from the list of connectors available to you in BMC Helix Integration Service.
   Configuration	Select a configuration from the list. For example, if you select qradar as the Connector Type, all the configurations that you have made for qradar are displayed in the Configuration list.
   Profile	Select a profile. For example, if you select qradar as the Connector Type, all the profiles that you have created for qradar are displayed in the Configuration list.

To copy connector processes for each BMC Helix ITSM instance

When you are integrating with multiple instances of ITSM, you need to create a copy of the  Connector Process Vendor ITSM  process for each instance and name them,  Connector Process  Vendor ITSM  for <instance name>. You must create a vendor mapping for each instance to include the instance name of the ticketing technology provider. 

1. On the Configuration Links page, click Copy processes in Innovation Studio to navigate to BMC Helix Innovation Suite for the process configuration.

   ImportantThe Copy processes in Innovation Studio option is displayed only if you have configured the vendor mapping for multiple instances of Remedy ITSM.
2. For each process listed on the Configuration Links page, select it from the Processes list and click Copy.A copy of the process is created, and all the connectors and components of the selected process are displayed.
   
   
3. Enter the name suggested on the Configuration Links page in Name field of the General tab.
4. Click Save.

After you create a copy of the process, contact BMC Support to set up the connector configuration for the processes that you have created. Complete this procedure for all the Connector Targets listed on the Configuration Links page.

List of connector targets for integration with BMC Helix ITSM

Connector Process Remedy ITSM

For the MCSM ITSM connector target, define the connection configuration and profile required by the connector process.

MCSM Vendor Remedy ITSM

For the vendor ITSM, define the connection configuration and profile required by the connector process.

To update vendor mapping data

1. Click  Settings  and navigate to  Configure Vendors > Map Vendors  to complete the field mapping.
2. Open the vendor mappings you have created while setting up this integration.
3. Click .
   BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker displays the default Instance URL, Vendor Field Mapping, and Display Field Mapping.
4. Update the Instance URL with the Remedy instance server name and the port number for the ITSM instance that you are mapping. This URL represents the URL for connecting with your ITSM instance.
5. Click  { }  to open the JSON editor, and modify Vendor Field Mapping and Display Field Mapping to add or delete values.

   • Vendor Field Mapping defines how BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker maps ITSM fields to vendor ticket fields.

     

   • Display Field Mapping defines how vendor ticket fields map to the fields on the Smart IT console.

     

Your vendor is notified about changes to the ITSM fields only if they are mapped. ITSM field updates are sent as a comment to the corresponding vendor ticket.

When you complete the configuration for all the components, verify that the incidents are being brokered between the configured ITSM instances.

Related topic

Configuring-BMC-Helix-Multi-Cloud-Broker