Skip to Content

Obtaining and analyzing the reconciliation report

During an upgrade, changes are applied to base objects within the application. If customizations exist in the overlay mode, they might conflict with the updated behavior. To ensure these customizations continue to function correctly in the upgraded environment, they must be reviewed and reconciled before using the application.
During the upgrade, BMC Helix automatically reconciles non-conflicting changes (except Developer Studio form views). For the conflicting changes, you must perform manual reconciliation.
To perform the manual reconciliation, BMC Helix ITSM upgrade pipeline provides a reconciliation report that shows details about objects that were automatically reconciled during the upgrade and objects that need a manual reconciliation. The report gives an overview of the changes made to various objects, such as forms and workflows, during the upgrade and helps you plan the manual reconciliation.

This topic outlines the steps to obtain the reconciliation report and reconcile objects that require manual reconciliation.

After the reconciliation, verify your custom logic is intact. For more information, see Comparing and reconciling objects.

Related topic

Reconciling-customized-Developer-Studio-form-views

Scenario: Analyzing the reconciliation report

Information
Analyzing the reconciliation report

After performing an upgrade, Jonnie, an administrator at Apex Global, wants to know the number of objects that require manual reconciliation. He obtains the reconciliation report and analyzes the report to perform the manual reconciliation and completes the post-upgrade tasks.

To obtain the reconciliation report

  1. In Mid Tier, open the AR System Upgrade Tracker form.
    For example: https://<localhost>/arsys/forms/onbmc-s/AR+System+Upgrade+Tracker/Default+Administrator+View/
  2. In the componentName field, type backup% and click New Search.
    The following image shows the componentName field:

          1760631547582-335.png

  1. The search results display the following files:
    • backup-olddefs-autorecon
    • backup-olddefs-autorecon-platform-report
    • backup-olddefs-autorecon-apps-report
    • backup-olddef-autorecon-combined-report
      The following image shows the Results field:

      Result list.png

      The list of files shown in the search result might vary depending on your system upgrade requirements.
      For example, the backup-olddefs-autorecon component file is available for all upgrades; however, the backup-olddefs-autorecon-*-report component files can change.​​​​​

      The result files can vary depending on your system upgrade requirements. The backup-olddefs-autorecon component file is available for all upgrades; however, the backup-olddefs-autorecon-*-report component file changes. 

  2. In the Results section, click the componentVersion column to sort the table and display the latest version at the top.
  3. Download the files for the version specified in the BMC Helix email regarding your upgrade type.
    1. In the File Name field, select the attachment.
    2. Click Save.
      The following image shows the File Name field:
      download def file.png

      WarningDownload only one file at a time and ​​​​​rename it.
      ​​​​​​

    3. Rename the downloaded files and add the .zip extension as follows:

      Component nameRenamed file name
      backup-olddef-autoreconolddefinition_backup.zip
      backup-olddefs-autorecon-platform-reportmanualrecon_platformreport.zip
      backup-olddefs-autorecon-apps-reportmanualrecon_appsreport.zip
      backup-olddef-autorecon-combined-reportmanualrecon_combinedreport.zip

To analyze the reconciliation report

After downloading the reconciliation report files and saving the backup definition file to your computer, you can analyze the report.

  1. Copy the renamed files to the computer where the Developer Studio is installed.

  2. Unzip the files.

  3. Open the folder containing the unzipped files.
  4. In the folder, open the .csv file to learn the objects that need manual reconciliation.
    If the .csv file contains no objects requiring manual reconciliation, you can skip this entire process.
  5. In the folder, locate all files named Manual_Recon_List_*.xml.
    Each XML file corresponds to conflicting changes for specific components, such as forms, filters, containers, and other applicable components.
  6. In the folder, open the Manual_Recon_List_*.xml file and perform the following updates for each XML file.

    1. In the XML file, update the .def file path name for all the reported objects; from the current path name to the olddefinition_backup unzipped file location.
      Example:
      If the olddefinition_backup unzipped file is located at D:\ApexGlobal\olddefinition_backup. 
      then, change the file path name from fileloc="/opt/Centari/tmp/forms/AST_Configuration.def to fileloc=D:\ApexGlobal\olddefinition_backup\tmp\forms.

    2. In the XML file, change the server value from platform-admin-ext to your organization's server name.
    3. Rename and save the XML file as Manual_Recon_List_<target_server_name>.xml.
  7. Copy the updated XML file to the Developer Studio workspace and perform the following updates for each XML file.

    1. To find the workspace location, in Developer Studio, go to Menu > File > Switch workspace > Others and copy the location of the current workspace.
      The following image shows the Developer Studio workspace location:
      1760636444109-510.png

    2. From Windows Explorer, open the location you copied.
    3. Paste the Manual_Recon_List_yourservername.xml file to this location.
  8. Relaunch Developer Studio and switch to the Best Practice Customization mode.
  9. In Developer Studio, in the AR System Navigator, expand Recon Application.​​​​
  10. Click Objects to Reconcile.
    The following image shows the Objects to Reconcile section for the form level:
    Example 0.png
  11. On the Properties tab, select the object to reconcile and perform one of the following actions:
    ActionDescription
    Move from Old Replaces your overlay object property value with the old object property value.
    Move from New Replaces your overlay object property value with the new object property value introduced after the upgrade.
  12. Click Save.

Refer to the following examples to understand the manual reconciliation for various objects.

Example 1: Manual reconciliation of a set field and push field actions

Click here to expand...

In this example, the Resolution mapping has a conflict.
Before the upgrade, Resolution is mapped to $Resolution$ as shown in the Old Definition column. However, post-upgrade, the New Definition added Article ID, and the Overlay Definition added a Note.

To resolve the conflict, click Move from Old or Move from New and select any one qualification, or merge the qualification by using the expression editor.

The following image shows an example of manual reconciliation of a set field and push field actions:

1760638450383-161.png

Example 2: Manual reconciliation of a Run If Qualification

Click here to expand...

In this example, the Run If Qualification of a workflow has a conflict.

Before the upgrade, the Old Definition file had the following qualification: 

  • Office-Based Employee
  • Field-Based Employee
  • Contractor

Post-upgrade, the New Definition added Home-Based Employee, and the Overlay Definition added Vendor, ​​​​​​which caused the conflict.

To resolve the conflict, click Move from Old or Move from New and select any one qualification, or merge the qualification by using the expression editor.

The following image shows an example of manual reconciliation of a Run If Qualification:

1760639021491-204.png

Example 3: Manual reconciliation of a guide

Click here to expand...

In this example, the workflow item has a conflict.

Before the upgrade, the Old Definition file had:

  • CHG:CRQ:SV_ChangeFreeze_SetTableFromName_BTSPendingConflict_SV_Create_SV_Edit qualification.

Post-upgrade, the New Definition added CHG:CRQ:SV_ServiceCI_Required qualification, and the Overlay Definition added BMC:CHG:CRQ:SV_Notes_Required qualification, ​​​​​​which caused the conflict.

To resolve the conflict, click Move from Old or Move from New and select any one qualification, or merge the qualification by using the expression editor.

The following image shows an example of manual reconciliation of a guide:

1760638957610-928.png

Where to go from here

Reconciling customized objects by using the Recon application

 

 

Tip: For faster searching, add an asterisk to the end of your partial query. Example: cert*

BMC Helix Innovation Suite 25.1