Synchronizing the knowledge bases

Before you begin

Make sure you have completed the following steps:

To synchronize knowledge base for the first time

1. Create folders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.
2. Migrate all content from your BMC application to folders created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.

Task 1: To create folders

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration. 

2. Select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync. 
   The following image shows the Knowledge Sync page:

   

3. On the Knowledge Sync page, from the Source knowledgebase, select one of the following values:
   
   • Remedy Knowledge Management—If you want to migrate knowledge articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management.
   • Business Workflows—If you want to migrate knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management.
4. In the Sync options section, select Copy the folders only (Folder contents are not copied).
   This synchronization option creates folders in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. Articles are not copied at this stage, and you must migrate them as a separate integration step later on.
5. Click Run job now.

Folders are created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. Learn how the synchronization tool creates a folder structure in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround in How knowledge articles are synchronized to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround folders.

Task 2: To migrate all knowledge articles

After folders are created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, you can migrate all knowledge articles from your BMC application to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. To improve the synchronization performance, the synchronization tool automatically generates subfolders for each folder created in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and migrates knowledge articles directly into them. The number of articles that can be migrated into one subfolder is limited to 300 articles per folder by default. However, you can change this default setting.

1. In BMC Helix Innovation Studio, select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync, and from the Source knowledgebase, select the BMC application for which the folders were created.

2. In the Sync options section, select Sync all (Override).
   If some folders do not exist in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround, this migration option creates them too.

   Best practice
   We recommend using the Sync all (Override) option only in the following cases:

   • To migrate the knowledge base for the first time.
     This option copies all content from your BMC application without checking whether any knowledge articles exist in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. As a result, if you use Sync all (Override) for subsequent synchronizations of your knowledge base, it will override all articles that have been previously migrated from this knowledge base.
   • To migrate knowledge articles that were not copied during the initial synchronization because their knowledge article templates were disabled in Knowledge Article Templates and Attribute Mappings. After these articles are synchronized, you can run subsequent synchronizations by using the Sync changes only option. 
3. Click Run job now.

You have synchronized the knowledge base from your BMC application with BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround for the first time. An entry is created for the job with the status Running. Wait until the job run is complete to view the updated status. 

To run subsequent synchronizations

After the initial synchronization, you can run the synchronization job multiple times to synchronize any newly created or edited articles from your BMC application. If a migrated article has been updated in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround since the last synchronization, the system will not override its content during the subsequent synchronizations. The synchronization tool will detect such knowledge articles in BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround and will keep their content unchanged while copying new or updated articles from your BMC application. To record the discrepancy, the system will create a conflict log. However, any metadata changes will be synchronized for such articles. For information about working with logs, see Troubleshooting. 

To run the subsequent synchronization, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration. 
2. Select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync. 
3. On the Knowledge Sync page, from the Source knowledgebase, select one of the following values:
   
   • Remedy Knowledge Management—If you want to migrate knowledge articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management.
   • Business Workflows—If you want to migrate knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows Knowledge Management.

4. In the Sync options section, select Sync changes only.
   This option copies only the articles that are new or have been changed since the last synchronization.

   Important

   Sync changes only doesn't migrate articles if their knowledge article templates have been enabled after the initial synchronization. To synchronize such articles, use the Sync all (Override) option.

5. Click Run job now.

You have resynchronized the knowledge base by copying new and updated articles from your BMC application. If necessary, you can run this type of synchronization periodically or set it as a recurring job. Learn how subsequent synchronizations affect the folder structure in How knowledge articles are synchronized to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround folders.

To enable or disable periodic synchronization

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration. 
2. Select Knowledge Management > Knowledge Sync. 

3. On the Knowledge Sync page, select Sync changes only.

   Warning

   To prevent data loss, do not select any other synchronization options but Sync changes only for the periodic synchronization. 

4. Click Enable scheduled sync or Disable scheduled sync.

The scheduled synchronization job is now enabled or disabled. By default, the scheduled synchronization job is disabled.

Where to go from here

Verifying-the-knowledge-base-synchronization

Terminating-the-synchronization-job