CMDB Solution 6.5 Product Guide_V1.0

ALTIRIS®

CMDB Solution™ 6.5Product Guide

NoticeAltiris® CMDB Solution™ 6.5
© 2001-2007 Altiris, Inc. All rights reserved.

Document Date: June 7, 2007

Information in this document: (i) is provided for informational purposes only with respect to products of Altiris or its subsidiaries (“Products”), (ii) represents Altiris' views as of the date of publication of this document, (iii) is subject to change without notice (for the latest documentation, visit our Web site at www.altiris.com/Support), and (iv) should not be construed as any commitment by Altiris. Except as provided in Altiris' license agreement governing its Products, ALTIRIS ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER AND DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE USE OF ANY PRODUCTS, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANY THIRD-PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. Altiris assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions contained in this document, and Altiris specifically disclaims any and all liabilities and/or obligations for any claims, suits or damages arising in connection with the use of, reliance upon, or dissemination of this document, and/or the information contained herein.

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CMDB Solution 6.5 2

Chapter 1: Introducing Altiris® CMDB Solution™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Recommended Altiris Solutions for Integration with CMDB Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3CMDB Solution Features and Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 2: Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6CMDB Solution Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Installing CMDB Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6CMDB Solution Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Chapter 3: Resource Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Predefined and User-Defined Resource Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Base Resource Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Data Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

CMDB Data Classes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9General Data Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Creating and Configuring a Data Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Adding Data Class Attributes to a Data Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Data Class Attribute Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Data Input Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Resource Association Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Resource Type Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Creating a Resource Association Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Working with Resource Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Editing a Resource Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Creating a Resource Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Exporting and Importing Resource Type Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Setting Default Values for Resource Type Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Resource Type Interface Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Edit Resource Type Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19List Resources Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Resource Association Type Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Resource Data Class Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Resource Data Class Summary Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Chapter 4: Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Resource Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Asset Types Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Asset Types Category Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Asset Life Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Retiring vs. Disposing of an Asset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Computer Resource Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Renaming Retired and Disposed Computers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Contract Types Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Service Types Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Datacenter Types Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Bulk Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Merging Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Creating and Editing Collections from Resource Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Resource Association Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Resource List Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Creating User-defined Item Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

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Chapter 5: Configuration and Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
CMDB Global Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Allowing Assets to Have Multiple Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Transfer Ownership of an Asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Percentage Ownership of Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Clean Up Ownership Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Assigning Computer Ownership to the Primary User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Setting Default Values for Resource Type Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Cleaning Up Computer Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Disabling the Computer Purge Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Synchronizing Hierarchy Collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Assigning Asset Location Based on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Changing Display Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Changing the Order of the Resource Display Page Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Synchronizing Inventory Solution Computer Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Viewing a Resource Change History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Merging Duplicate Computer or User Resources Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Merging Duplicate Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Configuring CMDB Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Chapter 6: Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Role-based Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Predefined Security Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Viewing and Configuring Role-based Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Role Creation Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Scope-based Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Setting Permissions for Resource Types and Data Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Security Scoping for Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Associated Security Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Report on Owned Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Chapter 7: CMDB Scenarios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Creating a CMDB Rule for Retired Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Dell Computer Manufacturer Normalization Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Missing Barcode Remediation Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Creating an E-mail Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

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Chapter 1Introducing Altiris® CMDB Solution™

Altiris® CMDB (Configuration Management Database) Solution™ lets you model configuration items and the relationships between them in a single, central database, to facilitate identification of all components and relationships, and to instigate any required changes.

Recommended Altiris Solutions for Integration with CMDB Solution

The following Altiris solutions work tightly with CMDB Solution:

Altiris® Asset Management Solution™ 6.5 includes a number of ready-made predefined resource types. Examples: Computer, Department, Cost Center, and so on. This solution helps organizations maximize existing IT investments by eliminating unnecessary software and hardware costs, managing contracts and entitlements, and aligning service resources with IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) standards. Asset Management Solution also supports the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, COBIT, and HIPAA.

Altiris® Inventory Solution® 6.1 (or later). If you want to add computer inventory data to your resource management system, you will need Altiris® Inventory Solution® for Windows, Altiris® Inventory Solution® for Mac, and Altiris® Inventory Solution® for UNIX as applicable to your environment.

Inventory Solution is also required to take full advantage of the software licensing features of Contract Management.

Altiris® Application Metering Solution™ 6.0 (or later). If this solution is used, you can collect additional computer asset and software licensing data.

Altiris® Connector Solution™ 6.5. Connector Solution lets you transfer data between numerous external data sources and the Notification Database. Any number of resources and items can be imported or exported.

Altiris® Barcode Solution™ 6.6 (or later). Barcode Solution populates the database with information on managed resources from a handheld barcode scanner.

CMDB Solution Features and Tasks1. Organize your resources.

Resources are organized using resource types. You can use predefined resource types or create your own resource types. Whenever possible, use predefined resource types because they leverage other resource types, provide summary data on the resources entered with them, include associated reports, and include functionality not available in custom resource types.

If none of the predefined resource types meet your needs, you can create a new resource type. Before creating the resource type, you will probably need to create

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data classes. For more information, see Creating and Configuring a Data Class (page 10) and Creating a Resource Type (page 17).
2. Add initial data to the Notification Database.

As you set up a resource management system, there is certain data that makes sense to enter before other data, such as organizational data, since most other resources rely on the availability of this data. Also, as you initially set up your system, some of the data you will want to add is available from other sources, in which case, you will want to import the data.

3. Clean up and configure data management with ready-made configuration items. See Configuration and Use (page 41).

4. Create customized item actions and CMDB Rules to manage and manipulate data. You can create CMDB rules where you target a group of assets based on their type and properties, and then make changes to them.

5. Configure security.

If multiple users will be working with resources (entering data, editing data, running reports, and so forth), you will want to configure security. CMDB Solution includes predefined security roles which you can modify, or you can create your own roles. You can also configure access to resource types and data classes.

6. Configure default resource type values.

7. When you manually enter data for asset types, certain fields will have the same value for many assets of a particular asset type. You can populate these fields with a default value. Example: Many users in a particular location will have the same phone number prefix. You can save time by having the prefix already entered into the appropriate field. See Resource Type Interface Items (page 19).

TerminologyTo better understand CMDB Solution, it is important that you understand the terminology. The following are terms with which you should be familiar as you use these solutions:

base resource type: The resource type on which another resource type is based. A resource type inherits all of the data classes of its base resource type. If data classes are added to the base resource type, the same data classes are added to all resource types that are based on it.

data class: The building block of a resource type; data classes represent the data you want to record about resources. Data classes are made up of one or more data class attributes.

data class attribute: A component of a data class, which is represented as a column of a table (in a multi-row data class) or field.

data class attribute parameter: Parameters of a data class attribute, which specify the characteristics of the attribute such as name, description, and maximum length of the attribute.

item task: An action that can be performed on a resource. Examples: Setting the owner, setting the cost center, retiring the asset, and cloning.

resource: Items with which Notification Server works and stores data, such as assets, contracts, and users.

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resource association type: A template for creating a child-to-parent relationship between two resource types. This association lets you link a child to one or more parent resources for more convenient access to associated data.
resource type: A template for entering resource data into the Notification Database.

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Chapter 2Installation

CMDB Solution RequirementsBefore you install CMDB Solution on the Notification Server, you must do the following:

Install Notification Server 6.0 Hot Fix 4 (or later). For information on installation, see Altiris Notification Server 6.0 SP3 Help.

If you are using Internet Explorer 7, you must set Tools > Internet Options > Security to medium, add the Altiris Console to Trusted Sites, and set Automatic prompting for downloads (in the Custom Level Security Settings dialog) to Enable.

Several other Altiris solutions are designed to integrate with CMDB Solution. They are not required but greatly enhance functionality. They can be installed before or after CMDB solution is installed. See Recommended Altiris Solutions for Integration with CMDB Solution (page 3).

Installing CMDB SolutionBefore installing CMDB, be sure you have met the requirements for the solution (see CMDB Solution Requirements on page 6).

Note For Beta install instructions see the CMDB Solution 6.5 Beta release notes.

To install CMDB Solution

1. In the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab.

2. In the left pane, select Upgrade/Install Additional Software.

3. In the content pane, select Solutions.

4. Select Altiris CMDB Solution.

5. Follow the installation wizard instructions.

CMDB Solution LicensingCMDB Solution includes a 7-day trial license. You can register and obtain 30-day evaluation licenses through our Web site at www.altiris.com or purchase full product licenses. For more information on registering your solution, see the Altiris Getting Started Guide.

CMDB licenses are counted based on the number of concurrent users.

To check license usage

1. In the Altiris Console, select the Configuration tab.

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http://www.altiris.com

2. Select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > License Usage.
3. This page lists the number of licenses available and the number currently in use.

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Chapter 3Resource Types

Resource types are the templates for entering resource data into the Notification Database.

Resource types consist of the following components:

Base resource types. This is the foundation on which a resource type is built. A resource type inherits the data classes of the base resource type. All resource types, except Asset and Contract, are based on another resource type. See Base Resource Types (page 8).

Data classes. These are the building blocks of a resource type. Each data class defines attributes that are used for storing data by a resource type. See Data Classes (page 9).

Resource association types. These create associations between resources and allow related data to be linked together. See Resource Association Types (page 14).

Resource creation and editing tasks are performed by a person with administrator rights.

Predefined and User-Defined Resource TypesWe advise using predefined resource types whenever possible. They contain relevant associations, fields, and reports for a particular type of resource. You can also add custom fields to predefined resource types. Most importantly, they include features and reports not available in user-defined resource types.

Commonly used resource types have been predefined, but they might be known by a name than you are unaccustomed to. Example: In your organization you have a “Mail Stop”. There is no predefined Mail Stop resource type; however, the predefined Location resource type is the Mail Stop equivalent and provides the needed functionality. You can change the name of any resource type throughout the solution using the Display As rule. See Changing Display Names (page 47).

Base Resource TypesA base resource type is the resource type on which another resource type is based. A resource type inherits all of the data types of the base resource type. Any resource type can serve as a base resource type. If it changes, the resource type that uses it as a base resource will also change.

Specifying a base resource type is an effective way to create and manage resource types.

Example: Create a general invoice type that includes the attributes used in all invoices. Then you can customize specific invoices for the companies with which you work regularly that require unique attributes specific to that company. Simply add additional data classes for the unique attributes.

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There is nothing special you need to do to a resource to allow it to be a base resource type. Simply specify a resource type as the base resource type for another resource type as you create it (for more information, see Creating a Resource Type on page 17). For predefined asset types, the base resource type is the Asset resource type, or they are based on a resource type that is based on this resource type. For contract types, most of the predefined resource types are based on the Contract resource type or a resource type that is based on the Contract resource type. Basing asset and contract types on these two resource types takes advantage of built-in features, such as asset aggregation, reporting, accounting data, and so on.
Data ClassesData classes are the building blocks of a resource type; they specify the type of data you want to record about resources. Data classes are defined by data class attributes that appear as fields when entering data.

Parameters specify the characteristics of attributes. See Data Class Attribute Parameters (page 11).

To use a data class, you create the data class (see Creating and Configuring a Data Class on page 10) and then add it to the resource types (see Creating a Resource Type on page 17 or Editing a Resource Type on page 16) in which you want to use it.

CMDB Solution includes predefined data classes you can use, or you can create your own. The predefined data classes simplify the process of creating resource types and provide many of the elements needed by resource types.

NotePredefined data classes cannot be modified or deleted. User-defined data classes can be edited or deleted.

CMDB Data ClassesThese classes are accessed in the Altiris Console by clicking the Configuration tab and selecting Resource Settings > Data Classes

CMDB Data Class Description

Asset Events folder Contains data classes for tracking, asset merges, concurrent licensing, and upgrades of receiving items.

Datacenter Classes Contains data classes for all Datacenter resource types.

Contract Details Details pertaining to a contract such as which computers it applies to, if the contract is renewable, the contact for the contract, and so forth.

Contract Rates Rates for the contract.

Cost Center Ownership See Percentage Ownership of Resources (page 43).

Currency Details Currency code.

Currency Rate Currency rates.

Identity Barcode details.

Internal Reference Internal reference details for a contract or license.

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General Data ClassesThese classes are accessed throughout the Altiris Console by clicking the Configuration tab and selecting Resource Settings > Data Classes.

Creating and Configuring a Data Class

To create and configure a data class


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Data Classes > User Defined.

3. Right-click User Defined and select New > Editable Data Class.

4. In the content pane, enter values for the fields.

For a description of the fields, see Resource Data Class Page (page 21).

5. Add data class attributes to the data class.

See Adding Data Class Attributes to a Data Class (page 11).

6. Click Create.

Manufacturer Manufacturer and Model name fields.

Ownership Details Owner and ownership percentage.

Phone Details Phone number.

Serial Number Serial number.

Service Details Date of initial service and the desired period between services.

Service Level Agreement Details

Support parameters.

Standard Contract Information

Standard contract information. Start date, end date, and so forth.

Software Purchase Cost Center Ownership

Ownership details for cost centers.

Data Class Description

Associated Documents Associated Documents.

Audit History of inventories run on a computer.

Comment Comment.

Cost Center Details Cost center codes and descriptions.

Employee ID Employee ID for user resource type.

Location Details Location address.

CMDB Data Class Description

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Adding Data Class Attributes to a Data Class
Data class attributes define the data stored by data classes.

Notes

After you add a data class attribute to a data class, you can edit certain aspects of the attribute, such as the description and if it is hidden, but you cannot delete it from the data class.

A data class attribute cannot be added to a predefined data class.

To add data class attributes to a data class


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Data Classes > User Defined > data class.

3. Click Add New Attribute.

4. Specify parameters for the newly created data class attribute.

See Data Class Attribute Parameters (page 11).

5. To add additional data class attributes, repeat the previous two steps.

6. Click Apply.

Data Class Attribute ParametersData class attribute parameters specify the characteristics of a data class attribute. For each data class attribute, you must specify values for each of the parameters. See Data Classes (page 9).

Data Class Attribute Parameters

Description

Name Name of the data class attribute.

Description Description of the data class attribute.


Type The data type of the data class attribute. The options are:

String. A value containing a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.

Integer. An integer value.

Decimal. A real number.

Boolean. A value that is either “True” or “False”.

Date. A date and time value.

Currency. A currency value.

Resource Foreign Key. A resource from a particular resource type. When this is selected, a Resource Type field lets you select the resource type. The user will be able to select a resource of that resource type. We recommend that this be used only with multi-row data types. To associate a value of a particular resource type with a resource, use a resource association type. See Creating a Resource Association Type (page 16).

Item Foreign Key. A value of a particular item type. When this is selected, an Item Type field lets you select the item type. The user will be able to select an item value of that item type. This can be used to associate any item with a resource, such as a report or collection related to the resource.

Static List. A static list of values. When this is selected, an associated edit button opens a dialog that lets you create a list of possible values. Static lists are helpful when there are only a few possible values for a field and the possible values are not based on any other values.

SQL Query List. A dynamically generated list of values that is based on a SQL query of the Notification Database. When this is selected, an associated edit but-ton opens a dialog for entering the query. The SQL query entered should return a single column only. This creates a list of possible values for the field based on other data values.

URL. A URL value.

Maximum Length The maximum data length for the data class attribute.

In the case of a string data type, this value affects the size of the resulting field on the tab. If the value is:

Less than or equal to 100, the field is a single row long.

Greater than 100 and less than or equal to 1000, the field is four rows long.

Greater than 1000, the field is large. If there is more than one field this size, the tab will resize to display multiple large fields. Thus, we recommend only two or three large fields on a tab.

Key Specifies if the attribute is used in creating the key for the resource. If more than one field is designated as a key field, all fields designated as keys are used in creat-ing the key. The key can be changed for a resource type if wanted, except in the case of the predefined Computer resource.

Required Specifies if the attribute is a required value (the user must enter a value for this attribute).


Description


Data Input Masks Data input masks help prevent errors as data is entered for a resource and ensure that data is in the wanted format. Masks specify the data that can be entered and the format of the data. Example: A data mask can ensure that a phone number is entered in a specific format. Data masks can specify the following about the data in a field:

Character types in a field: letters, digits, special symbols, spaces, and so forth

Number of characters in a field

Order of characters in a field

Actual characters in a field

NoteData input masks are ignored when data is imported into a field and in static lists.

Auto-Generate Select this checkbox to automatically generate a value for the data class attribute. Use the associated Mask field to specify the format of the generated value. The mask format is:

nnn[suffix] OR [prefix]nnn

Where:

nnn = one or more 0s (value will have same number of digits) or 9s (value will have up to the number of digits)

prefix OR suffix = any character (to use 0 or 9 as a character, proceed with “\”)

Examples:

ABC000 = ABC001, ABC002, ABC003, ...

ABC999 = ABC1, ABC2, ABC3, ...

000XYZ = 001XYZ, 002XYZ, 003XYZ, ...

999XYZ = 1XYZ, 2XYZ, 3XYZ, ...

X\0Y\9Z000 = X0Y9Z123, X0Y9Z124, X0Y9Z125, ...

The Start specifies the starting value for the numeric part of the automatically gen-erated value.

Prompt (String type only) Specifies if an icon is added next to the field that lets you search the database for the field value. Values in the database that match the string are listed for selection as the field value. This lets you enter part of a wanted value (such as a first name) in the field and find the rest of the value in the database (full name).

Data Mask (String type only) Specifies the data mask to use for entering data into this field. A data mask lets you specify which characters, how many, and the order of characters in a field. See Data Input Masks (page 13).

Hidden Specifies if this attribute is a hidden value.

Display Order Specifies the order in which the fields are ordered on the Resource Display page. The lower the number, starting with “1”, the higher the field will be placed on the page.


Description


With each data class attribute, you can specify a data mask using the Data Mask parameter. See Data Class Attribute Parameters (page 11). The following table lists and describes the characters that can be used in defining a data mask and their meaning.
The following table gives examples of data masks.

Resource Association TypesA resource association type defines a child (to) to parents (from) relationship between one resource type to one or more resource types. This association lets child resources be linked to a parent resource. Example: A computer monitor can be associated with a computer, a cell phone can be associated with a user, and a lease with several pieces of equipment. Associations make it easier to keep track of and find data about related resources.

Data Mask Characters

Character Meaning

A Any letter. Entry required.

a Any letter. Entry optional.

9 Any digit or space. Entry optional; “+” and “-” not allowed.

0 Any digit (0 through 9). Entry required; “+” and “-” not allowed).

* Any letter, digit, space, “+”, or “-”. Entry optional; spaces are removed when data is saved.

# Any letter, digit, “+”, or “-”. Entry required.

\ Treat the masking character following the “\” as a regular character with no special masking properties.

All other characters

All other characters not in the data mask must be as listed in the data mask.

Data Mask Examples

This mask Result in

########## Pty Ltd

Any string containing exactly 10 letters or digits followed by the string “Pty Ltd”. Example: “A123456789 Pty Ltd”.

(000)9999-9999 Telephone number. Required 3 digit area code surrounded by “(“ and “)” followed by up to 4 digits, a “-”,and followed by up to 4 more digits. Example: “(801)224-5700”.

0000-0000-0000-0000

Credit card number (not American Express). Exactly 16 dig-its in groups of exactly 4 separated by a “-”. Example: “0111-3456-8989-0001”.

09/09/0099 Date with 1 or 2 digit month and day separated by a “/” and followed by a “/” and a 2 to 4 digit year. Example: “1/1/2001”, “1/17/2001”, “10/11/2001”, and “12/2/01”.

AAAaaa000999 A string containing 3 to 6 letters followed by 3 to 6 digits. Example: “Com002”, “Comput002”, or “Comp00002”.

\000\# A string that starts with a “0” followed by exactly 2 digits and ending with “#”. Example: “056#”.


After a resource association type is created, a field is added to the child resource, letting you select a resource or resources of the type specified by the parent in the resource association type. Example: if you create a resource association type that links the Monitor resource type to the Computer resource type, the Monitor resource type will include a field that lets you select the computer with which the monitor is associated.
CMDB Solution includes numerous predefined resource association types, and you can also create your own.

Resource Type RelationshipsUnderstanding the relationships between various resource types, especially the crucial organizational resource types, helps you understand dependencies within the Notification Database. Not all resource types can be directly associated with each other, but most can be indirectly associated with each other. This is important for reporting purposes. Example: A computer asset is associated with a user and the user is associated with a department. Although the asset cannot be directly associated with the department, the asset will be reported as one of the department’s assets, due to the indirect relationship created through the user to the department.

The following table shows direct resource type relationships. The Resource Type column is the child (from) and the Creates Association With column is the parent (to).

The following table shows indirect resource type relationships, including the path taken to create the association. The Resource Type column is the child (from) and the Creates Indirect Association With column is the parent (To).

Resource Type Direct Relationships

Resource Type

Creates Direct Association With

Asset Cost Center, Location, User, Department, and Asset

Company Creates no direct associations

Cost Center Location and Manager (User)

Department Cost Center, Location, and Manager (User)

Location Cost Center and Manager (User)

User Company, Department, Location, and Manager (User)

Resource Type Indirect Relationships

Resource Type

Creates Indirect Association With

Asset User > Company

User > Department

User > User

Company Creates no indirect associations

Cost Center Creates no indirect associations

Department Cost Center > User

Location Cost Center > User


For information on how to view a resource’s existing associations, see Resource Association Diagram (page 36).

Creating a Resource Association Type

To create a resource association type


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Associations > Asset Association Types or Contract Association Types > User Defined.

3. Right-click User Defined and select New > Editable Association Type.

4. In the content pane, specify values for the fields. See Resource Association Type Page (page 20).

5. Click Apply.

Working with Resource TypesEditing a Resource Type (page 16)

Creating a Resource Type (page 17)

Exporting and Importing Resource Type Definitions (page 17)

Setting Default Values for Resource Type Fields (page 18)

Editing a Resource TypeAfter a resource type has been created, you can add additional data classes to the resource type, but you cannot remove existing data classes or change the base resource type.

To edit a resource type


2. In the left pane, click the resource type you want to edit under Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Types > resource type category.

3. In the content pane, click Edit Data Classes List, select the data classes you want to add, and then click OK.

For information on how data classes work, see Data Classes (page 9).

4. Click Apply.

Manager Existing Users can be specified as Managers

User Department > Cost Center

Department > Location

Resource Type Indirect Relationships

Resource Type

Creates Indirect Association With


Creating a Resource Type
Creating a resource type can provide you with increased flexibility because the resource type is defined exactly as you want it. However, you should create a new resource type only as a last resort if there are no predefined resource types that meet your needs. Because the predefined resource types are linked to numerous reports, summary data, and other features, if there is a predefined resource type that you can use or modify to fit your needs, we recommend using it. See Predefined and User-Defined Resource Types (page 8).

NoteMost resource type categories allow user-defined resource types. You can add resource types to an existing folder or create your own. Some categories have a User Defined folder that can be used for resource types. The Financial Types and Organizational Types categories do not allow user-defined resource types.

To create a resource type

Before you begin creating a resource type, be sure you create the needed data types first.


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Types > resource type category.

3. Right-click resource type category and select New > Resource Type.

4. In the content pane, enter a name and description for the resource type.

5. Click the Base Resource Type link, select the base resource type in the Items Selector dialog, and click Apply.

For information on how base resource types work, see Base Resource Types (page 8).

6. If you want to add data classes, click Edit Data Classes List, and select the data classes you want to add, and then click OK.

For information on how data classes work, see Data Classes (page 9).

7. Click Apply.

Exporting and Importing Resource Type DefinitionsYou can share resource type definitions with other Notification Servers. This eliminates the need to redefine types that you have already defined on another Notification Server.

The resource type exporting feature exports all of the necessary XML code to create a resource type on another Notification Server, including any data classes that are associated with the resource type. CMDB Solution is not required to export a resource type, but it is to import one.

To export resource type definitions

Perform this procedure on the Notification Server from which you want to export the resource type definition.



2. In the left pane, right-click the resource type definition you want to export, and
select Export.

To export all of the resource type definitions within a folder, right-click the folder and select Export.

3. Specify the name and location of the .XML file.

4. Click Save.

To import resource type definitions

CMDB Solution must be installed to perform this procedure.

NoteIf you import a resource type into a Notification Server that already has a resource type with that name, you will end up with two resource types with the same name. Only the ID number (GUID) associated with the resource type needs to be unique between resource types. If you import a resource type with the same GUID as a resource type already in Notification Server (it is the same resource type), the imported resource type will replace the one that is already in Notification Server.

1. Place the .XML resource type definition file you want to import in a location accessible from the Notification Server computer.


3. In the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Types > resource type folder.

4. Right-click resource type folder and select Import.

5. Select the .XML file you want to import.

6. Click Open.

Setting Default Values for Resource Type FieldsYou can set and edit default values for resource type fields. When you use the resource type to add a resource to Notification Server, the default values you specified will automatically be entered into the appropriate fields.

Using default values for fields that do not change from resource to resource saves data entry time. Example: If your company uses the same cost center for most purchases, you can set that cost center as the default. Then, you only need to change the value when a different cost center is used.

When data is imported, default values are not applicable.

To set default values for resource type fields


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Default Values.

3. In the content pane, select the resource type for which you want to set default values.

4. In the page that opens, enter default values for the wanted fields of the resource type.


5. Click OK.
6. In the content pane, click OK.

Resource Type Interface ItemsEdit Resource Type Page (page 19)

List Resources Page (page 20)

Resource Association Type Page (page 20)

Resource Data Class Page (page 21)

Resource Data Class Summary Page (page 22)

Edit Resource Type PageThis page specifies the base resource type and data classes of a resource type.

For information on creating or editing a resource type, see Working with Resource Types (page 16).

To access the Edit Resource Type page


2. If you are creating a new resource type, in the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Types > resource type folder.

3. Right-click resource type folder and select New > Resource Type.

If you are editing a resource type, in the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Types > resource type category > resource type to edit.

Edit Resource Type Page Items

Item Description

Name Name of the resource type. After the resource type is cre-ated, this value is not editable.

Description Description of the resource type. After the resource type is created, this value is not editable.

Base Resource Type The resource type upon which this resource type is based. All of the data types of the base resource type are included in this resource type. After the resource type is created, this value is not editable.

See Base Resource Types (page 8).

Association Types Display associations inherited from the Base Resource Type.

View Details (Editing only) A checkbox lets you switch between viewing the base type data classes and the base type associations. A table displays a list of the applicable data classes or associa-tions.


List Resources PageThis page lists the resources associated with a resource type. This page contains a subset of the functionality provided by the Resource List Page (page 36).

Double-clicking a resource launches the Resource Manager console.

To access the List Resources page


2. In the tree view pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Types > resource type category > resource type.

3. In the content pane, click the List Resources tab.

Resource Association Type PageThis page lets you create and view associations between resource types.

Each association forms a child-to-parent relationship between two resource types. The association adds a field to the child resource for specifying a parent resource. Example: To associate a non-network printer with a computer, create an association where the printer is the child resource and the computer is the parent. The association will add a field to the printer resource that lets you specify the associated computer.

For more information see Resource Type Relationships (page 15).

To access the Resource Association Type page


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Associations > resource associations group > resource association.

Data Classes List of data classes that define the resource type. This list is not displayed until at least one data class is added to the definition of the resource type.

Editable: Display all editable data classes.

All: Display all existing data classes.

Show inherited data classes: Display all data classes inherited from the Base Resource Type.

Allow Edit: Show or hide the data class in the resource page.

Edit Data Classes List Opens a dialog that lets you select the data classes used to define the resource type.

Resource Association Type Page Items

Item Description

Name Resource association type name.

Description Description of resource association type.

Edit Resource Type Page Items

Item Description


Resource Data Class PageThis page defines the attributes of a data class. For information see Adding Data Class Attributes to a Data Class (page 11).

Tab Name The Resource Display page tab on which the field for selecting the parent resource is added.

From Type The child resource type in the association.

To Type The parent resource type in the association.

Allow Association to Itself Allow the asset to be associated with itself.

Minimum Cardinality Specifies the minimum number of relationships that must be established between the child and parents.

Maximum Cardinality Specifies the maximum number of relationships that can be established between the child and parents. If you do not want to limit the number of relationships, select the Unlimited checkbox.

Enable Editing From Specifies the mechanism style used to select an associated resource. The options are:

Computer Type Association Picker

Contract Assigned User Picker

Generic Picker

Hierarchy Picker (for hierarchal parent resource types)

Hierarchy Picker Showing Children (for hierarchal parent resource types)

Asset List

List

Resource Association Picker for Asset

Resource Tree Picker for Asset

Software Purchase Association

Selecting the checkbox with the same name as the resource association type allows a reverse resource association to be created between two resources. Example: Selecting the User checkbox for the Owners resource association lets you create an association from a user (parent) to an asset (child). Unless you select this box you can create associations only from a child resource to a parent resource.

Resource Association Type Page Items

Item Description


NoteThis page is applicable only to data classes that can be edited. For data classes that cannot be edited, see Resource Data Class Summary Page (page 22).
To access the Resource Data Class page


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Data Classes > data class folder > data class.

Resource Data Class Summary PageThis page includes a list of resource types that use the data class, the number of resources that reported data, the last time a resource reported data, and a list of the attributes that define the data class.

NoteThis page is applicable only to predefined data classes that cannot be edited. For data classes that can be edited, see Resource Data Class Page (page 21).

To access the Resource Data Class Summary page


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Data Classes > data class folder > data class.

Resource Data Class Page Items

Item Description

Name Name of the data class.

Description Description of the data class.

Multiple Rows Checkbox to specify if the data class has multiple rows. Each attribute in a multiple row data class is a cell in a table row. An invoice where there can be multiple items that need to be added requires a multiple row data class. For more information, see Data Classes (page 9).

Data Entry Tab Name Name of the Resource Display page tab on which the data class attributes are added as fields.

Data Class Definition List of the data class attributes associated with the data class and their parameter values. For a description of the parameters, see Data Class Attribute Parameters (page 11).

Add New Attribute Opens the Data Class Attribute Configuration dialog, which lets you add new data class attributes.


Chapter 4Resources

Resources are items that can be managed by the Notification Server, such as computers, phones, contracts, and users. Resources are based on templates called resource types. Predefined resource types are provided for commonly used resources and you can also create your own. Whenever possible, use the predefined resource types. For information on the benefits of predefined resource types, see Predefined and User-Defined Resource Types (page 8).

NoteWith all resources, you can manually enter data or you can import it from an external source. To manually enter data, see “Adding a Resource” in Altiris Asset Management Help. To import data, you will need Altiris Connector Solution or an Altiris connector for a specific application.

Resource CategoriesResource types are grouped into categories for convenience. Resource types within a category have similar characteristics, a common purpose, or other similarities. The following are the main resource categories:

Asset Types Category (page 23)

Contract Types Category (page 33)

Service Types Category (page 33)

Datacenter Types Category (page 33)

Asset Types CategoryAssets represent physical items, whose data is added to the Notification Database using a resource type. CMDB Solution tracks and manages any asset. Each asset can be associated with a user, cost center, location, and department.


The following table lists and describes the Asset Types category resource types.
Asset Types Category FieldsMany asset types are defined with the same data classes, which results in the same fields. The following tables list and describe these fields and the asset types that include them.

Asset Types Category Resource Types

Resource Type Subcategory

Resource Type

Description

--- Asset A dual-purpose resource type. First, it lets you enter generic asset data. Second, the resources displayed in the list of resources are an aggregate of all asset category resources.

All predefined asset types are based on this resource type. If you are creating a resource type, we recommend basing it on an existing asset type to take advantage of built-in func-tionality.

Furniture and Fixtures

Furniture and Fixtures

Furniture and fixtures, such as chairs, desks, file cabinets, bookcases, artwork, tables, and lamps.

IT Computer Works with inventory data from Inventory Solution to let you associate additional data with the computer data collected by Inventory Solution, such as a barcode value. For infor-mation, see Computer Resource Type (page 32). Common fields for this resource type are picked up automatically when the resource is added through the Notification Server.

Fax Machine Fax machines.

Monitor Computer monitors.

Network Printer Networked printers.

Network Resource

Network resources, such as hubs, switches, routers, and bridges.

Peripheral Any peripheral device connected to the net-work.

Scanner Image scanners.

Virtual Machine Virtual machines.

Office Equipment

Cell Phone Company cell phones.

Desk Phone Company desk phones.

Office Equip-ment

Company office equipment, such as calcula-tors, photo copiers, paper punches.


Asset Type Category General Tab Fields
Field Data Class Description Resource Types

System Number

Identity Value on the asset tag attached to the resource.

ComputerFaxMonitorNetwork DeviceNetwork PrinterNetwork ResourcePeripheral

ScannerVirtual MachineFurniture and Fix-turesCell PhoneDesk PhoneOffice Equipment

Barcode Identity Barcode value for the resource. Used with Barcode Solution, the barcode can greatly simplify the way assets are tracked and updated in the con-sole.



Color ID Network Printer Details (fixed data class)

Color printing. Network Printer

DoubleSided ID Network Printer Details (fixed data class)

Double-sided printing. Network Printer

Last Barcode Scan

Identity Last time an asset barcode was scanned.



Location N/A Resource Association

Click the button to associate an asset with a location. To use reports including cost center information about the asset, it must be associ-ated with a location.




Manufacturer Manufacturer Free text field for entering the name of the manufacturer of the resource. If you are creating a new asset type and want to use reports including manufacturer, model, or system number information, the new asset type must include the predefined Manufacturer data class.



Max Resolution

ID Network Printer Details (fixed data class)

Maximum resolution. Network Printer

Model Manufacturer Free text field for entering the model name of the asset.



Name (ID Network Printer)

ID Network Printer Details (fixed data class)

Network ID for the printer. Network Printer

Serial Number

Serial Number Serial number for the resource. The individual serial number for each asset is an important feature of the overall solution. Use Inventory Solu-tion to track hardware and gather data, including the serial number.



ServerName ID Network Printer Details (fixed data class)

Name of the printer’s server. Network Printer

Speed ID Network Printer Details (fixed data class)

Printer speed. Network Printer

Asset Type Category General Tab Fields (Continued)



Asset Types Category Accounting Information Tab Fields


Asset’s Status N/A Resource Association

Lets you define an asset’s status. Impor-tant for tracking the lifecycle of your assets and used in several reports.


ScannerVirtual MachineFurniture and FixturesCell PhoneDesk PhoneOffice Equip-ment

Available for Use

Accounting Information

The date entered in this field will by default be the date of the purchase order for the item.

This field appears only if the resource is a Purchase.



Book Depre-ciation

Custom Depreciation

Tax Deprecia-tion


The three depreciation fields: Book, Cus-tom, and Tax, all have the same function-ality and are designed to be linked to Depreciation Schedules, but for different purposes. Example: The government specified depreciation timeframe on a monitor may be 5 years and thus a Depreciation Schedule will be linked to the Tax Depreciation field. But the company may have a policy of replacing monitors every 3 years, and thus a Depreciation Schedule will be linked to the Book Depreciation field.

These fields appear only if Expense Type is set to Depreciate.

Used in depreciation reports under Reports > Assets and Inventory > Asset Management > Accounting.



Business Use Ratio


Percentage for the extent the resource is used for business purposes. This will automatically be entered as 100% when the resource is entered through a Pur-chase and by default this field will appear blank. Enter a number in this field only if you wish to lower the percentage.

This field appears only if Expense Type is set to Depreciate.

Used in depreciation reports.




Cash from Disposal


Cash recouped from sale of asset. This is a static field and does not automatically update the original purchase order.

This field appears only if Asset’s Status is set to Disposed.



Cost Items Cost Items Items that are expenses associated with a resource. Example: Ink cartridges for a printer.

Type: The type of cost.

Cost Code: Links to predefined Account-ing Codes.

Description: Free text description.

Purchase Order: Links to a Purchase Order.



Date Discov-ered Missing


Date asset was discovered missing.

This field appears only if Asset’s Status is set to Missing.



Date of Res-ervation


Date the item has been reserved for.

This field appears only if Asset’s Status is set to In Stock.



Disposal Date Accounting Information

The date the asset was disposed. Used in disposal reports (Reports> Assets and Inventory> Asset Management > Disposal).




Asset Types Category Accounting Information Tab Fields (Continued)



Disposal Rea-son


Reason for disposing of the asset. Useful for tracking lifecycle.




Expense Type Accounting Information

Gives you the option of defining the resource as a depreciable asset or an expense. If the resource has associated non-depreciable expenses, enter the expense as a Cost Item rather than a separate resource.




Planned Dis-posal Date


Planned date for disposal of the resource.




Purchase or Lease


Define if the resource is a purchase or on a lease agreement. If the asset is a pur-chase, extra fields appear including Expense Type, which lets you use depreciation fields and functionality.



Reserved Accounting Information

Select if the item has been reserved.




Return Date Accounting Information

Date the materials were returned.

This field appears only if Asset’s Status is set to RMA.

ScannerVirtual MachineFurniture and Fixtures

Cell PhoneDesk PhoneOffice Equip-ment




RMA Number Accounting Information

Returned materials authorization number.




StockRoom Details


Free text field for stock room details.




Warranty Period


Enter a whole number for the number of days the resource is under warranty.



Work Order Accounting Information

Details of the Work Order for the RMA.







Asset Life CycleYou can track assets through all stages of the asset life cycle, from procurement to retirement. The following is the life cycle of a laptop computer:

1. Request Laptop: Purchase data is entered in the Notification Database using a purchase order. The asset status is set to “On Order”.

2. Acquire laptop: Specifics about the laptop are entered into the database. The asset status is set to “In Stock”.

3. Deploy and inventory laptop: The laptop is issued to a user, connected to the network, and appears as an active asset as a result of inventory scans. The asset status is set to “Active”.

4. One of the following events:Laptop breaks and cannot be repairedLaptop is used for 3 years and becomes obsoleteLaptop is lost or stolen

5. Laptop is retired/end of life: The laptop is disposed of and no longer an active asset in the database. The asset status is set to “Retire” or “Disposed”. See Retiring vs. Disposing of an Asset (page 31).

Retiring vs. Disposing of an AssetAfter an asset can no longer be used in the enterprise, you must deactivate it. When you deactivate an asset, it no longer appears in reports and is no longer considered an asset. Depending on the age and usefulness of the asset and the reasons for deactivating it, you can choose either retirement or disposal.

If an asset is broken beyond repair or has become obsolete, dispose of it. You can record any costs associated with the disposal and remove the asset from the Notification Database. If an asset is salvageable and can be recycled within your company, retire it. The asset will remain in your company and appear in the Notification Database but is no

Asset Types Category Associations Tab Common Fields

Field Description Resource Types

Associated Assets

Lets you associate other assets with the asset. With assets you can also use the Resource Association Diagram (page 36) to view all associated assets and resources. See Resource Type Relationships (page 15).



Owners Lets you associate Users with the asset. Once you have created associations between different resource types and assets or other resource types, use the Resource Associa-tion Diagram (page 36) to view all the associations for the particular item.




longer considered active. If a retired asset is reassigned to another user, change its status back to active.
Computer Resource TypeThe Computer resource type provides a large amount of built-in functionality for managing computer resources. This resource type also integrates tightly with data provided by Altiris Inventory Solution.

A benefit of the Computer resource type is being able to enter data associated with a computer that is not collected by Inventory Solution, such as a location or cost center. This resource type also lets you override data about a computer that is collected by Inventory Solution. See Renaming Retired and Disposed Computers (page 32).

To make working with computer resources easier, there are several features that help you maintain your data. See the following:

Renaming Retired and Disposed Computers (page 32)

Synchronizing Inventory Solution Computer Data (page 48)

Disabling the Computer Purge Feature (page 45)

Cleaning Up Computer Data (page 45)

Assigning Computer Ownership to the Primary User (page 44)

Assigning Asset Location Based on (page 47)

NotesTo track computer assets without Inventory Solution or to work with computers that are not included in data provided by Inventory Solution, do not use this asset type; instead, create a new asset type for the computer data.

When you add computer data to the Notification Database, the combination of Name and Domain for a computer must be unique.

Renaming Retired and Disposed ComputersThere are situations where a computer is retired or disposed of and you want the replacement computer to have the same name. However, two computers with the same name can cause errors. To avoid this, rename the retired or disposed of computer in the Notification Database before adding the replacement computer to the network.

To rename a retired or disposed computer in the Notification Database

1. In the Altiris Console, select the Resources tab.

2. In the left pane, select the resource type of the resource you want to rename.

3. In the content pane, find the resource you want to rename in the list of resources and select it.

4. Click the button on the toolbar.

5. Enter a new name for the computer in the Edit Computer Name field of the dialog that opens.

If the name of the computer is not editable, the status of the computer is not set to Retired or Disposed. To change the status of the computer, select the Accounting


Information tab, change the status in the Asset Status field to Retired or Disposed, and click Apply. The computer name is now editable.
6. Click Done.

Contract Types CategoryCMDB Solution lets you track almost any type of contract data, including the location of contract documents, payment data, service data, and contract details. A contract, which is a type of resource, can be associated with other resources such as a computer, printer, and monitor.

The predefined contracts included in CMDB Solution are Service Level Agreements and Contracts. All other contract resource types are installed with Altiris® Asset Management Solution™. Contract are found in the Resources tab under Resource Management > Resources > Contract Types.

Service Types CategoryThese resource types—Services and System—are a way of helping you track your critical infrastructure. They show the roles that machines play. Example: If you have an Exchange Server, that machine is providing an e-mail service. The Exchange Server itself will be listed as a System resource type, while e-mail will be listed as a Services resource type. They are found in the Resource tab under Resource Management > Resources > Contract Types > Service Types. For an example of service types in a scenario, see Creating an E-mail Service (page 60).

Datacenter Types CategoryThese resource types, used for tracking IT management resources, are found in the Resource tab under Resource Management > Resources > Configuration Items > Datacenter Types.

Datacenter Types Category Resource Types

Resource Type

Description

Computer Type Includes three default resources (Server, Test, and Workstation) to let you specify what type of function or role a computer has. You determine the computer type in the Type tab when editing or creating a new computer resource.

Power Power sources used by the network. These are intended to be associated with UPS resources.

Rack Network resource racks. You can specify which network resources (example: servers, power switches, hubs, and so on) are included in each rack.

UPS Uninterrupted power supply resources. Includes details on volt-age, input/output frequencies, currents, and so on.


Bulk Editing
Lets you edit the common fields of multiple resources simultaneously.

To bulk edit


2. In the left pane, select the resource type of the resource you want to edit.

3. In the content pane, select the resources you want to edit.

4. Right-click the resources and select CMDB Functions > Bulk Edit.

5. Make the wanted changes in the page that opens.

NoteTo edit resource associations and dataclass attributes from a list of resources, select the relevant checkbox and then make the wanted changes in the Click to select field. If you want to remove resource associations, select the relevant checkbox and click OK without making other changes. Example: When bulk editing a list of computers, select the Location checkbox, leave Click to select blank, then click OK, and you will remove all location resource associations.

6. Click OK.

Merging ResourcesYou can merge any two assets or contracts together into a single record, even if they do not contain the same fields. However, you cannot merge an asset with a contract.

This feature is useful if you have duplicate entries.

The data you merge does not need to be from the same resource type. Example: You can merge a Printer and a Network Printer.

When data is merged between resources, you select which resource’s data classes to keep. For data types common to both resources, you select which resource’s data class to keep. If a data class exists only for the resource that is not being kept, the data for that data class will be discarded.

Associations from the resource that is to be deleted are transferred to the new resource. If there is more than one of the same type of association, the older association is deleted.

NotesTasks are supplied for common merge functions in the Tasks tab under Tasks > Assets and Inventory > Merge Assets.

To automatically merge duplicate users or computers, see Merging Duplicate Computer or User Resources Automatically (page 50).

To merge two resources


2. In the left pane, select the resource type of the resources you want to merge under Resource Management > Resources.


If you want to merge two resources that were not added using the same resource type, select the Asset or Contract resource type.
3. In the content pane, find and select one of the resources you want to merge, hold down the Ctrl key, and select the other resource you want to merge.

The order in which you select the resources does not matter, but be sure you have only two resources selected.

4. Right-click one of the selected resources and select Merge Resources.

5. In the dialog that appears, select the resource that will be the primary resource.

This is the resource that will be kept after the merge and the resource type on which the merged resource is based.

6. For each resource type, select the data to keep for the merged resource.

7. Click Apply.

8. The merged resource has the name of the primary resource and the other resource is deleted.

Creating and Editing Collections from Resource Lists You can add resources to collections, create and edit collections directly from any resource list.

To add resources to a collection


2. In the left pane, select the resource type you want. Example: Resource Management > Resources > Contract Types > Contract.

3. In the content pane, right-click the resources you want and select Add to Collection.

4. Select a collection and click Apply.

To create a collection from a list of resources


2. In the left pane, select the resource type you want to move under Resource Management > Resources. Example: Resource Management > Resources > > Configuration Items > Asset Types > IT > Computer.

3. In the content pane, right-click the resources you want and select Add to Collection.

4. In the dialog, click the button.

Note

Edit an existing collection by selecting it and clicking the button. This requires edit permissions over the target collection.

5. Name the collection and make any other wanted changes and click Apply.

NoteThis requires sufficient Notification Server permissions to create collections.


6. The new collection will appear by default in the Resource Management >
Collections folder.

Resource Association DiagramThe Resource Association Diagram displays a graphic that shows a resource and all associated resources. Use the Resource Association Diagram to view relationships between assets, users, locations, departments, and cost centers.

From the Resource Association Diagram, you can select an associated resource to see the resources associated with it.

The Resource Association Diagram has two filters. The Association Type Filter lets you choose which association types you want to see displayed in the Resource Association Diagram, and the Resource Type Filter lets you choose which resource types you want to see.

To open the Resource Association Diagram for a resource


2. In the left pane, select the resource type of the resource you want to view.

3. In the content pane, right-click the resource you want to view and select CMDB Functions > Resource Association Diagram. The Resource Association Diagram will open in a new window. In the Resource Association Diagram, use the right-click menu to:

View an asset’s properties.

Reassign assets.

Change an asset’s status.

Recenter the diagram.

Resource List PageThis page lists resources associated with a resource type. From this page, you can access the Resource Display page, which lets you specify details for a new or existing resource.

Each Resource List page uses a Notification Server report to specify the data displayed on the page. You can change the report used by the page to a different report, including a custom report. Example: The List Resource page for the Computer resource type displays all computers. Change this to display only computers running a specific operating system.

You can right-click on a resource listed on this page to perform item tasks. The following table lists and describes the most common item tasks. You can also access the item tasks from the Resource Display page. To add item tasks, see Creating User-defined Item Tasks (page 38).

Common Item Tasks for a Resource on the Resource List Page

Item Task Description

Edit Edit the resource.

Resource Manager

Opens the Resource Manager, which displays details about the resource.


Delete Deletes a resource from the Notification Database.

Approve Approves a contract.

Move Moves a resource.

Export Exports the resource data as an .XML file.

Properties Opens a page that displays data about the resource, including general, security, and audit data.

CMDB Functions Includes Assignment Functions, Set Asset Status, Resource Asso-ciation Diagram, and Resource Change History. Descriptions included in this table.

CMDBFunctions > action

To perform the selected action for a resource without opening the Resource Display page. Available actions depend on the resource type. Includes Add Cost Item, Dispose of Asset(s), and Retire Asset(s).

One common action is Bulk Edit. See Bulk Editing (page 34).

Assignment Functions

Assign the asset to a Owner, Cost Center, or Location. Available actions depend on the resource type.

NoteWhen you assign an owner through an item task, all previous ownership associations are deleted.

Set Asset Status > action

Sets the status of a resource. The status of a resource determines how it is treated in reports and statistics. Options:

Active: Asset is in use

Disposed: Asset is no longer associated with the company

In Stock: Asset is available for use

Missing: Asset is still associated with the company but missing

On Order: Asset will soon be available for use

Retired: Asset is no longer is use but not disposed

Returned to Lessor: Asset has been returned to Lessor.

RMA: Asset has been returned to manufacture for repair or replacement.

Bulk Edit When multiple resources are selected, choose this option to make changes to all selected resources.

Clone Creates a copy of the resource. Clone a resource and make changes to the clone to enter data for similar resources.

CMDB Functions > Resource Asso-ciation Diagram

Opens the Resource Association Diagram.

Common Item Tasks for a Resource on the Resource List Page (Continued)



To access the Resource List page


2. In the left pane, select Resource Management > Resources > resource category > resource type.

To modify what appears on a Resource List page

1. In the Altiris Console, click the Resources tab.

2. In the left pane, select Resource Management > Resources > resource type category > resource type.

3. In the content pane, click the (Pick Reports) button in the top right corner.

4. In the Items Selector dialog, select the reports you want to be able to use and click OK.

5. If you have selected more than one report as an option to be used by the page, in the content pane, click the Show field and select the report you want to use.

6. This report will now be the default report used to display data for the resource type. A default view for each resource type can be set by each user.

Creating User-defined Item TasksUser-defined item tasks can be added to the right-click menu of a Resource List page. These item tasks are created using the Editable Task Link page. To access a user-defined item task, right-click a resource in the Resource List page, select User Defined, and select the name of the item task.

NoteCreating user-defined tasks requires Connector Solution 6.5.

User-defined item tasks let you quickly access any page accessible through a URL and pass parameters to the page based on data from selected resources. Example: you right-click a user and select a user-defined item task that passes the name of the user as a parameter in the URL to a phone list Web site.

Each user-defined item task is defined for a specific resource type and all of the resource types based on that resource type. If you define an item task for the Monitor resource type, the item task will only be available when you right-click on a Monitor resource.

NoteWhen an item task is used to access a page, the GUID and name of the resource are passed to the page in the URL.

CMDB Functions > Resource Change History

Opens a page with a history of changes to the resource data.

Add To Collection

Add a resource to a collection.

Common Item Tasks for a Resource on the Resource List Page (Continued)



To create a user-defined item task

2. In the left pane, select Server Settings > Notification Server Settings > Item Tasks > User Defined.

3. Right-click User Defined and select New > Right Click Action.

4. In the content pane, enter values into the fields.

Name. The name entered will be the text of the item task in the right-click menu.

Description. A description of the item task.

Step 1. Select Target Resources

Resource Type. Resource type to which the item action applies.

Expression. Select an attribute of a resource to be modified by the new item task and set conditions for the modification. Example: All Computers WHERE [Serial Number].[Serial Number] = ‘0’.

NoteIf this logic expression is complex, it can greatly impact console performance when rendering the context menu of a resource via the resource grid.

Display target resources. Select to view all resources that will be modified by this item task.

Step 2. Configure Action

Action Type. Choose either Command Line or URL.

Base URL. URL of the page accessed by the item action (excluding parameters).

Command Line. Enter the command line to be run on your computer or the notification server (select Run at server), against the target resource.

Substitution Parameters. One or more parameters can be used by the URL or the command line. To add a parameter, click the Select attributes link and select the attributes to be modified.

NoteYou must which parameters to be used in the command line or URL. If you do not, they will not be used.

5. Click Apply.

Example: You want to perform a Yahoo search on the manufacturer of a monitor by right-clicking on the monitor from the Resource List page. The following applicable data is in your Notification Database for a particular monitor:

Name: SuperMonitor100Manufacturer: ACMEMonitor


The values in the following table are used in the Editable Task Link page.
When you right-click on the previously listed monitor in the Resource List page and select User Defined > Test, a page with the following URL is launched:

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=ACMEMonitor

ReportsTo access CMDB Solution reports, in the Altiris console, click the Reports tab and select Reports > CMDB. The CI reports are referring to configuration items. Configuration item is the base definition for any item in the CMDB database.

For information on reporting, see Altiris Notification Server 6.0 SP3 Help.

Editable Task Link Page Values

Item Value

Name Test

Description Test item task for searching for a monitor manufacturer.

Resource Type Monitor

Expression All Monitors WHERE [Manufacturer].[Manufacturer] not null

Action Type Url

Base URL http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%Manufacturer.Man-ufacturer%

Substitution Parameters Manufacturer


Chapter 5Configuration and Use

Configuration tasks are performed by an administrator using the Altiris Console Configuration tab. Many of these tasks need to be performed only during the initial setup of your resource management system; they are not ongoing tasks. The following are some of the more common CMDB Solution configuration tasks:

1. Configure data clean-up settings.

The following data clean-up settings are available:

Inventory to asset data synchronization (see Synchronizing Inventory Solution Computer Data on page 48)

Default computer ownership (see Assigning Computer Ownership to the Primary User on page 44)

Default computer location (see Assigning Asset Location Based on on page 47)

Duplicate computer merging (see Merging Duplicate Computer or User Resources Automatically on page 50)

Computers no longer in use (see Cleaning Up Computer Data on page 45)

2. Create custom business rules for managing and manipulating your data.

CMDB Global SettingsIf the Auto Run Picker Tree Reports checkbox is selected, each time you open a resource picker, all resources will be automatically be listed in the right (report) pane of the picker. If you clear the checkbox, the report pane will list resources only after you make a selection in the left (tree) pane; this can save time if you have many resources in your CMDB database.

If you have repaired Notification Server for any reason, your resources will no longer be using the CMDB Solution Resource Association Diagram, which has enhanced functionality. In the Override Resource RAD Tab section, click Override to ensure the CMDB Solution Resource Association Diagram replaces the Notification Server Resource Association Diagram.

In some situations, your company might use a status that is not one of the predefined values. In these situations, you can add a custom status value. The CMDB Global Settings page is used to add and delete custom asset status values.

To configure custom status values


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > CMDB Global Settings.

3. In the content pane, do the following:

To add a status value, enter the value in the Custom Status field and click Add.


To delete a status value, select the value from the list of values, and click Delete. Predefined values cannot be deleted and are not displayed in the field.
4. Click OK.

OwnershipOwnership of resources may involve single or multiple users. Assets can be partly owned by different users or departments or cost centers, and can be transferred from one owner to another.

Allowing Assets to Have Multiple UsersThe Ownership Settings page lets you configure CMDB Solution to let multiple users be assigned to a single asset. This is useful if an asset is shared, such as a desk phone or scanner.

To allow assets to have multiple users


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Ownership Settings.

3. In the content pane, select the wanted options under Ownership Style (Specify whether an asset can have Single or Multiple owners. Multiple with Warning will notify you when you are assigning ownership to a currently owned asset).

4. Select the wanted option under Ownership Rule.

Ownership Rule specifies what type of owners will be kept in the event of a conflict. Example: You run Inventory Clean Up and an asset is found to have multiple owners including users and departments. If you have User Precedence selected under Ownership Rule, the department owners will be removed from the asset’s ownership.

5. Click OK.

Notes

When you opt to allow multiple owners, you can only add multiple owners of either department or user resource types. You cannot have both resource types as owners.

Once ownership style is set to multiple, it cannot be changed to single.

Transfer Ownership of an Asset When employees change roles or leave a company, you may wish to transfer all or some of their assets to other employees. Upon transferring, an asset it will have no association with the previous owner.

To transfer ownership of an asset


2. In the left pane, select Resources > Organizational Types > User.

3. In the right pane, right-click a user and select CMDB Functions > Assignment Functions > Set Asset Ownership.


4. In the dialog, right-click the asset you want to move and select CMDB Functions >
Assignment Functions > Assign Owner.

5. Select the new Owner and click Done.

6. In the Assign Owner to Asset dialog, you can Also set the ownership of associated assets.

Percentage Ownership of Resources Assets can be owned by multiple users and cost centers. First, you must allow assets to have multiple users (see Allowing Assets to Have Multiple Users on page 42). Then, you specify ownership by user, department, and cost center, and set ownership percentages. Ownership percentages are calculated in the following ways:

Asset ownership must total 100%. If there is one owner assigned, ownership is calculated at 100%, if there are two owners assigned it is 50/50.

You must select auto calculate in the Associations tab of an asset’s edit/create resource page if ownership totals less or greater than 99.99 to 100.01%. In this case ownership will be calculated by multiplying both percentages with what is required to make 100%, while the ratio is maintained. Example: One owner owns 85% while the other owns 10%, Ownership will be increased to total 100%, and the 85:10 ratio will be maintained.

If the ownership percentage adds up to more than 100%, the ratio is maintained and the percentages are decreased to total 100%.

To specify percentage ownership for an asset


2. In the left pane, select Resources > Configuration Items > Asset Types > Asset Folder > Asset type.

3. In the right pane, double-click an asset.

4. Click the Associations tab.

5. Click Add to choose User or Department, then set Ownership Percentages.

6. Click Auto Calculate.

7. Click Apply.

NoteIf you have an asset owned by a single user the ownership will be set to 100%. If you import more owners for the asset without specifying their percentage, they will have 0% ownership. To increase the ownership percentage for the new owners you must do it in the asset’s associations tab.

Clean Up Ownership RelationshipsOwnership relationships have the potential to render data invalid or problematic. Example: A resource is owned by several departments or users. This page essentially synchronizes the ownership resource association with the ownership dataclass. If there is a conflict between the two, the ownership resource association settings will take precedence.


To clean up ownership relationships

2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Clean Ownership Task.

3. Set a schedule or click Run Now.

ImportantTo ensure ownership information is correct, you must import both the ownership resource associations and the percentage ownership data for the ownership details data class. After importing any data with Altiris Connector Solution, you must run the Clean Ownership task.

Assigning Computer Ownership to the Primary UserThis feature assigns the primary user of a computer as the computer owner, if an owner has not already been specified. This saves you the work of manually specifying the owner of your computers. You can choose which computer collections to enable the policy for, or exclude from using the policy.

NoteFor the primary user to be assigned, data about the primary user must already be in the Notification Database. Example: If you are the primary user of a computer, a record (created from inventory sent by the Altiris Agent on the computer) for you must already be in the Notification Database for this feature to work.

To assign computer ownership to the primary user


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Assign Computer's Ownership to be the Primary User.

3. Click the Include these resources edit icon.

4. Select the collections you want to enable the policy for.

5. Click Apply.

6. Click the Exclude these resources edit icon.

7. Select the collections you want to exclude from using the policy.

8. Click Apply.

9. If you want to schedule automatic assigning of ownership, in the content pane select the Enable Schedule checkbox and select a schedule in the associated field.

10. If you want to assign computer ownership immediately, in the content pane click Run Now.

11. Click OK.

Setting Default Values for Resource Type FieldsYou can set and edit default values for resource type fields. When you create a new resource of a resource type with default values, the default values you specified will automatically appear in the appropriate fields.


Using default values for fields that do not change from resource to resource saves data entry time. Examples: If your company uses the same cost center for most purchases, you can set that cost center as the default. Then, you need to change the value only when a different cost center is used.
When data is imported, default values are not applicable.

To set default values for resource type fields


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Default Values.

3. In the content pane, select the resource type for which you want to set default values.

4. In the page that opens, enter default values for the wanted fields of the resource type.

5. Click OK.

6. In the content pane, click OK.

Cleaning Up Computer DataYou can manually or automatically delete inventory data from the Notification Database for computers of any status (predefined or custom). Examples: Retired, Disposed, or Returned to Lessor.

NoteAfter inventory data for a computer is deleted, financial and other non-inventory data is still available.

To clean up data for computers no longer in use


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Inventory Clean Up.

3. Choose which computers to clean up by specifying the options Selected Status, Include these resources, and Exclude these resources.

4. If you want to schedule automatic clean-up of data, in the content pane select the Enable Schedule checkbox and select a schedule in the associated field.

5. If you want to clean up data immediately, in the content pane click Run Now.

6. Click OK.

Disabling the Computer Purge FeatureIf you are using CMDB Solution to associate additional data with the computer and device data collected by Altiris Inventory Solution, we recommend that you disable the computer purge feature (by default, it is disabled).

Notification Server provides a feature that automatically deletes computers discovered by Inventory Solution from the Notification Database that have not sent data to


Notification Server after a specified period. This is a database clean-up feature that deletes computers that are no longer interacting with Notification Server or on the network from the database. If you have added associated data for one of these computers through the Computer resource type, this data will be deleted when the computer is deleted. If you do not want this to occur, the computer purge feature must be disabled.
To disable the computer purge feature


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Server Settings > Notification Server Settings > Purging Maintenance.

3. In the content pane, clear the Purge managed computers reporting to this NS, which have not reported data for checkbox.

4. Click Apply.

Synchronizing Hierarchy CollectionsWith hierarchal resource types, you can automatically create collections based on the hierarchy. Example: If you have a hierarchy of departments, the Synchronize Hierarchy Collections task automatically creates and updates collections for each level of the hierarchy. This lets you collect inventory data or send a package to all of the computers at any department level.

As resources are added and removed, the members of these hierarchy collections change, so they must be updated. Synchronize Hierarchy Collections lets you update (synchronize) these collections.

To synchronize hierarchy collections


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Synchronize Hierarchy Collections.

3. In the content pane, select the resource types for which you want to synchronize collections.

You can synchronize hierarchy collections for the Cost Center, Department, and Location resource types.

4. If you want to schedule the synchronizing of collections, select the Enable Schedule checkbox and select a schedule.

NoteIf you have a large number of resources, we recommend scheduling this to run no more frequently than once a day, since the building of the collections can be quite system intensive.

5. If you want to synchronize collections immediately, click Run Now.

6. If you want to delete the collections created by this feature for the resource types selected on this page, click Delete Selected.


Assigning Asset Location Based on
CMDB Solution can be configured to automatically set the location of an asset based on the subnet associated with the asset. This saves you the work of manually specifying the location of your assets.

The Update Network Resource Location uses the subnet assigned to a location through the Location resource type. Then, based on the subnet of an asset determined through Inventory Solution, the location of the asset is assigned.

The task can be run manually or on a schedule. In some situations, you will want to run it once to set the location, and then manually maintain the asset location data. In other situations, you will want to run the task regularly. You might also want to make a collection of assets to exclude from the task, such as laptop computers of users that travel to different locations frequently.

To enable the automatic setting of computer location based on subnet


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Update Network Resource Location.

3. In the content pane, to change the collection to which this task applies, click the Include these resources link and select the correct collection.

4. Click Apply.

5. To exclude certain assets, click the Exclude these resources link and select the collection of assets to which this task does not apply. Click Apply.

NoteIf a computer appears in both Include these resources and Exclude these resources collections, it will be excluded.

6. To schedule the task to run automatically, select the Enable Schedule checkbox and select a schedule.

7. If you want to run the task immediately, click Run Now.

8. Click OK.

Changing Display NamesIn some situations, your organization might use a name for a resource type, report, or certain field that is not one of the predefined names. Example: Monitor may be called Screen. In these situations, you can change a name throughout the solution. The “Display As” Settings page is used to add and delete custom display strings.

To change a display name


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Display as settings.

3. In the content pane, click Add New.

4. Enter the original resource type name in the Original String field.


5. Enter the name you want to appear for the resource type in the Display String
field.

6. Click Apply.

7. Select Enable to activate the change.

8. Click Apply.

NoteDisplay name changes may not appear immediately. You may need to restart the IIS working process.

Changing the Order of the Resource Display Page Tabs

The Resource Data Entry Tab Settings page lets you edit the order of the Resource Display page tabs.

A value is assigned to each tab. The order of the tabs from left to right is determined by the lowest assigned value to the highest value. If two or more tabs have the same value, which is the default except for the Summary, Comment, and General tabs, the order of those tabs is determined alphabetically.

To change a value assigned to a tab, click the button associated with the tab. In the dialog that opens, enter a value and click OK.

To change the order of a tab


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Resource Data Entry Tab Settings.

3. In the content pane, click the button associated with the tab for which you want to change the value.

4. In the dialog that opens, enter a value that reflects the position in the order you want the tab and then click OK.

5. Click Apply.

Synchronizing Inventory Solution Computer DataAltiris Inventory Solution provides comprehensive computer and device inventory data, which is stored in the Notification Database. If you are using Inventory Solution with CMDB Solution, the Inventory to Asset Data Synchronization task will copy the following data for computers and devices from the data provided by Inventory Solution:

Serial number

System number

Manufacturer

Model


Copying this data lets you enter values for or modify this data through CMDB Solution and not lose the data each time Inventory Solution re-collects data. If CMDB Solution did not copy, but instead modified, the data collected by Inventory Solution, the changes made would be lost the next time Inventory Solution collects data.
The CMDB Solution synchronization feature updates computer data copied from Inventory Solution for added or removed computers, but computer and device data you have entered through CMDB Solution remains intact when the update is made. Example: You use Inventory Solution to collect data on your computers, but no system number data is available as part of the inventory. You use CMDB Solution to enter system number data for each computer. Inventory to Asset Data Synchronization updates the computer data in CMDB Solution, but it does not erase any of the data you entered for system numbers.

NoteIf you use this feature, we recommend disabling the computer purge feature. See Disabling the Computer Purge Feature (page 45).

This feature is only for users of Inventory Solution in conjunction with CMDB Solution.

To synchronize inventory computer data


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Inventory to Asset Data Synchronization.

3. Include or exclude any collections you want to synchronize (or not synchronize).

NoteIf you wish to synchronize all of your collections, leave Include these resources set to All resources.

4. To schedule automatic synchronization of data, select the Enable Schedule checkbox and select a schedule in the associated field.

5. If you want to synchronize data immediately, in the content pane, click Run Now.

6. Click OK.

Viewing a Resource Change HistoryAfter a resource is added to the Notification Database, each time a change is made, the changes are recorded. This provides an audit trail for the resource. Filters on the resource change history page include Show History for, On Dataclass/Resource Association, and Modified By There are three default views: resource view, resource view with inventory data class, and resource association view. These views are available for every resource.

To view a resource change history


2. In the left pane, select the resource type used to enter data for the resource on which you want to view the change history.

3. In the content pane, right-click the resource and select CMDB Functions > Resource Change History.


Merging Duplicate Computer or User Resources Automatically
You can automatically merge duplicate entries for any resource type; however, it is most commonly used for merging duplicated computers or users.

To merge computer or user data


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Merge Resources > Duplicate Computer Merge (or Duplicate User Merge).

3. In the content pane, select a merge key, any merge key values to be ignored, and any collections of users or computers to exclude.

4. If you want to merge data immediately, click Run Now; otherwise specify and enable a schedule.

NoteSchedules should be run at times outside of normal business hours to reduce the load on servers, and should be run daily or weekly to keep information up to date.

5. Click OK.

Merging Duplicate ResourcesTo merge duplicate resources for resource types other than computers and users, you must create a merge rule from the Merge Rules folder. The merge keys that merge rules are based on are defined by the default resource type data classes. Example: If you are creating a merge rule for desk phones, when you select desk phone, the list of available merge keys will be limited to the default data classes for telephone like phone number.

Additional resource lookup keys can be defined using Connector Solution and appear in the Merge Key drop-down list.

NoteA data class added by a user to a resource type cannot be used as a merge key.

To merge duplicate resources


2. In the left pane, right-click Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Merge Resources > Merge Rules.

3. Select New > Resource Merge Rule.

4. In the content pane, name the new rule.

5. Choose a Resource Type. Example: Desk Phone.

6. Choose a Merge Key. Example: Phone Number.

7. Add any merge keys to Ignore.

8. Select any Resources to Exclude.

9. Set a schedule or click Run Now.


10. Click Apply.
Configuring CMDB RulesCMDB Rules are custom rules created by users for managing data and tasks. CMDB Solution configuration pages such as Synchronize Hierarchy Collections and Update Network Resource Location can be regarded as CMDB Rules that are included in the solution by default. Sample CMDB Rules of the type that can be created by users are Dell Computer Manufacturer Normalization and Missing Barcode Remediation. These are found under Configuration > Solutions Settings > Connectors > CMDB Rules > Samples, see Dell Computer Manufacturer Normalization Example (page 58) and Missing Barcode Remediation Example (page 60).

NoteCMDB Rules are installed with Altiris Connector Solution 6.5.

You can create your own CMDB rules where you target a group of assets based on their type and properties, and then make changes to them. To do this, you must define the criteria for the targeted assets, the changes that will occur, and the type of action to be taken. With custom CMDB rules you can test them before running live, create schedules, and notify relevant personnel. CMDB rules are also exposed as tasks that can be called or used from the Altiris® Task Server™.

ImportantCMDB Rules are very powerful and can alter vast amounts of data. Ensure you test CMDB Rules first (using the Test Rule button) and are sure of the changes you will make before running CMDB Rules.

To configure a CMDB Rule


2. In the left pane, right-click Configuration > Solutions Settings > Connectors > CMDB Rules.

3. Select New > CMDB Rule.

4. In the right pane, make the wanted changes.

For detailed examples of creating CMDB Rules, see the various outlined scenarios and examples in CMDB Scenarios (page 57).


Chapter 6Security

In most environments, you will have multiple users that need to have various degrees of access to CMDB Solution. Each type of user has different access needs. Setting up security properly will ensure that your data is secure while permitting users to have the access they need. Example: A user might be a manager, who needs to have access to reports in the department the user manages. Another user, the administrator, requires permissions over everything.

CMDB Solution supports the two methods of security provided by Notification Server:

Role-based Security (page 52)

Scope-based Security (page 54)

Role-based SecurityIn Notification Server security, a role is a group or individual with a set of Notification Server permissions. An individual is a Windows domain or local computer user. A group is a domain, local computer, or Notification Server defined group of users. After you configure a role, you can add a user to that role.

Role-based security lets you set privileges for accessing Altiris Console tabs; the creation of reports, collections, and policies; the changing of security settings; the changing of incidents; and more.

We recommend that you add those that need access to CMDB Solution to roles and then set the privileges for these roles accordingly. To assist you, there are several predefined roles available.

Predefined Security RolesSeveral security roles are added to Notification Server by CMDB Solution. These roles simplify the process of granting the appropriate rights to users. If the rights and permissions provided by these roles are adequate for your needs, all you need to do is


assign the appropriate users to each role. The privileges of each role can also be modified if needed.
Viewing and Configuring Role-based Security

To view or configure role-based security


2. In the left pane, click Configuration > Server Settings > Notification Server Settings > Security Roles.

3. In the content pane, select a security role.

4. To set the security options for the role, select the wanted privilege checkboxes.

NoteYou can clone an existing role and make modifications to the new role, leaving the original role intact.

5. To add users to the role, click the Membership tab.

6. Click the icon.

7. Search for and select the wanted users.

Predefined CMDB Security Roles

Role Description

CMDB Administrators Rights to all CMDB related elements of the Altiris Console (tasks, configuration items, console, and so on).

Can create, edit, and delete asset and contract types; view, edit, and create assets and contracts; and create reports and policies.

Access to the Configuration, Resources, Reports, and Tasks tabs.

Privileges: View/Create/Edit/Delete/Approve.

CMDB Manager Rights to all CMDB related elements of the Altiris Console, except configuration.

Can view, edit, and create assets and contracts (but not asset and contract types); can create reports and policies.

Access to the Resources, Tasks, and Reports tabs.

Privileges: View/Create/Edit/Approve.

CMDB Worker Rights to the Altiris Console, specific reports, and specific resource types.

Can view and edit assets and contracts.

Access to the Resources and Reports tabs.

Privileges: View/Edit.


8. Click Apply.
For information on security, see Altiris Notification Server 6.0 SP3 Help.

Role Creation ConsiderationsFor information about security roles, see the Altiris Notification Server 6.0 SP3 Help. As you create a role, consider the following:

To create a resource of a given resource type, the role must have read access to the resource type, create children access to the resource type default folder, and read and write access to the data classes and associations of that resource type.

To edit a resource, a role must have write permission on the folder of the resource type (if the folder has never been moved, this is the default folder).

If a new resource type is created, its default folder is set to its base resource types default folder. Example: New license type items will be created in the license default folder.

We strongly recommend that the default folders not be restructured.

Scope-based SecurityWith scope-based security, you set permissions on items in the Altiris Console. You can set permissions on resource types, data classes, resource association types, item tasks, reports, folders, collections, and other items. Permissions let you control exactly what data is accessible by users or groups belonging to Notification Server security roles.

You might want to limit who can view or manage certain resource types for security reasons. You can limit what resource types are viewable and manageable from the Resources tab. You can set security for an individual resource type or a complete folder. Example: You can limit who can see the contract resource types, or you can limit who can change the permissions for the Computer resource type.

NoteWhen setting security for resource types, you are not determining who can add or edit resources, but who can view and manage the resource type itself.

You can also limit who can view or edit the data about a resource. Example: You might not need to limit which asset workers can view the list of computers, but you might want to limit who can view the accounting data for computers. Further, you might want to allow only certain people to view the accounting data for computers, while other people are allowed to both view and edit the accounting data for computers.

Setting Permissions for Resource Types and Data Classes

To set permissions for a resource type or data class


2. In the left pane, right-click the resource type or data class item on which you want to set security, and select Properties.

3. Click the Security tab.

By default, an item inherits permissions from the parent object in the tree.


4. To change the inherited permissions, clear the Inherit the permission from
parent object that apply to child objects checkbox.

5. Click Apply.

After clicking Apply, you can have the permissions that were inherited copied to this entity or removed.

6. To copy the inherited rights for editing, click Copy; to remove all inherited rights, click Remove.

NoteIt is recommended to always Copy and then modify the existing settings.

You can define which permissions each user or role has. You set these permissions by adding or editing a permission.

7. To add a new permission, do the following:

a. Click Add.

b. Select a role.

c. To add a user or group, click Advanced.

d. Select the permissions you want this user, group, or role to have.

e. Click Select.

8. To edit a new permission, do the following:

a. Select the user, group, or role and click Edit.

b. Select the permissions you want this user, group, or role to have.

c. Click Select.

9. Click Apply.

NoteRemoving inheritance and/or adding permissions for individual users instead of security roles can greatly increase the maintenance effort required to update security rights.

Security Scoping for ReportsYou can set security-enabled reports to show only assets that the user running the reports has security access to. There are two fields for enabling this feature:

Associated Security Reporting (page 55)

Report on Owned Resources (page 56)

Associated security reporting reports on associations between a user and organizational resource types, while reporting on owned resources reports on resources owned by locations, cost centers, and departments.

Associated Security ReportingEnabling this feature allows security enabled reports to filter their results based upon resource associations between the logged on user and the organizational types. Select one or more the following association types to be used to filter the report results.


To enable associated security reporting

2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Report Scoping.

3. In the content pane, under Security Enabled Report Filtering, select Enable associated security reporting.

4. Click OK.

Report on Owned ResourcesEnabling this feature allows security enabled reports to filter their results based upon the "Report on owned resources" permission. This permission is applied against Locations, Cost Centers and Departments.

To enable associated security reporting


2. In the left pane, select Configuration > Solutions Settings > CMDB Solution > Report Scoping.

3. In the content pane, under Security Enabled Report Filtering, select Enable "Report on owned resources" permission security for report.

4. Choose one or more of the association types to act as filters in the report.

5. Click OK.


Chapter 7CMDB Scenarios

The purpose of this chapter is to provide examples of CMDB rules, and show you how to create them step-by-step for educational purposes. Although the scenarios may or may not be applicable in your organization, the processes for creating them will be.

Creating a CMDB Rule for Retired AssetsIn this scenario, you will create a CMDB rule for retired assets. If an asset’s Status is “Retired”, the rule will update the asset’s Comment, asking the user to prepare the asset for disposal or reassignment. At the same time, an e-mail is sent to an administrator informing him/her to collect the asset.

The scenario requires you to complete the following items:

Create a CMDB Rule for Retired Assets (page 57)

Create the CMDB Rule Execution and Send E-mail Tasks (page 58)

Create a Job for the CMDB Rule Execution and Send E-mail Tasks (page 58)

Create a CMDB Rule for Retired Assets




4. In the right pane, enter Test CMDB Rule in Name.

5. In Resource Type under Step 1. Select Resources, select Asset.

6. In Target Using, select Logic Expression.

7. Click the Add icon under Expression.

8. Click Select.

9. In the dialog, select Resource Associations > Asset’s Status.

10. Click OK.

11. In the expression drop-down list select =.

12. In the text field enter Retired.

The expression should read [Asset’s Status].[Name] = Retired.

13. Click the Add icon again under Expression.

14. In the new expression line select [Asset’s Status].[Name].

15. In the dialog, select Data Classes > General Data Classes > Comment > Comment.

16. Click OK.


17. In the expression drop-down list select is null.
The expression should read [Comment].[Comment] is null.

18. Expand Step 2. Add data class to modify.

19. In the Comment row, in the Source column, select <Value> in the drop-down list.

20. In the text field type Please prepare this asset for collection by the IT staff.

21. Click Apply.

Create the CMDB Rule Execution and Send E-mail Tasks

1. In the Altiris Console, click the Tasks tab.

2. In the left pane, right-click Task Management > Client Tasks.

3. Select New > Task/Job.

4. In the left pane of the dialog, select Server Tasks > Execute CMDB Rules.

5. In the right pane, enter Test CMDB Rule Execution in Name.

6. Click Add rule.

7. In the dialog, select Solutions Settings > Connectors > CMDB Rules > Test CMDB Rule.

8. Click Apply.

9. Click OK.

10. In the left pane, right-click Task Management > Client Tasks.


12. In the left pane of the dialog, select Server Tasks > Send Email.

13. Enter the appropriate information, including e-mail address and a note that the asset is ready for disposal in the relevant fields, and click OK.

Create a Job for the CMDB Rule Execution and Send E-mail Tasks

1. In the Altiris Console, click the Tasks tab.

2. In the left pane, right-click Task Management > Jobs.


4. In the left pane of the dialog, select Jobs > Server Job.

5. In the right pane, enter “Test CMDB Rule Job” in Name.

6. Click Add Existing.

7. Add Test CMDB Rule Execution and Send Email tasks in that order.

8. Click OK.

Dell Computer Manufacturer Normalization ExampleThis CMDB Rule is provided as a sample in the solution when it is installed and is found in the Configuration tab under Configuration > Solutions Settings > Connectors > CMDB Rules > Samples > Dell Computer Manufacturer Normalization. When entering data, it is common for the same name to be entered in several different ways.


Example: Dell Computer Corporation may be entered as “Dell Computers”, “Dell”, “Dell Servers”, and so on. The Dell Computer Manufacturer Normalization rule searches the database for computers with Manufacturer field entries including the word “Dell”, and changes the entries to a uniform “Dell Computer Corporation”.
If you were creating this rule from the beginning, here is how you would do it:




4. Enter Dell Computer Manufacturer Normalization in the name field.

5. In Resource Type under Step 1. Select Resources, select Computer.

6. In Target Using, select Logic Expression.

7. Click the Add icon under Expression.

8. Click Select.

9. In the dialog, select Resource Attributes > Data Classes > CMDB Data Classes > Manufacturer > Manufacturer.

10. Click OK.

11. In the expression drop-down list select like.

12. In the text field enter Dell%.

13. Click the Add icon again under Expression.

14. In the expression drop-down list select <>.

15. In the text field enter Dell Computer Corporation.

NoteThis expression will look for any entry beginning with “Dell” except for entries that read “Dell Computer Corporation”.

16. Expand Step 2. Add data class to modify.

17. In the Source column in the Manufacturer row, select <Value>.

18. In the text field, enter Dell Computer Corporation.

NoteAny Manufacturer fields found to have an entry beginning with Dell (except for those that already read “Dell Computer Corporation”) will be changed to “Dell Computer Corporation”.

19. Click Test Rule.

20. Click Run Now.

21. Click Apply.


Missing Barcode Remediation Example
The Missing Barcode Remediation CMDB Rule is provided as a sample in CMDB Solution. The rule is found in the Configuration tab under Configuration > Solutions Settings > Connectors > CMDB Rules > Samples > Missing Barcode Remediation.

This rule has the following features:

An expression that will find any asset without a barcode or without any text in the Comment field,

Adds the text “Attention Required” to the Comment field of any assets meeting the expression’s conditions.

Creating an E-mail ServiceCreating an e-mail service lets you monitor and manage all the components involved, from one resource. An e-mail service generally involves the use of one or more Exchange Servers, Active Directory, and an Internet Service. In this scenario, you will create an e-mail service resource type based on the services resource type. Once the resource type has been created, you will create an e-mail resource and add the required computers that comprise the e-mail service.

To create an e-mail service based on the Service Resource Type


2. In the left pane, right-click Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Types > Other Resources and select New > Resource Type.

3. Name it E-mail Service.

4. Click Resource in the Base Resource Type field.

5. In the dialog, select Services and click Apply.

NoteBasing a new resource type on an existing one is recommended where possible, as the new resource type will then have all the functionality of the base resource type.

6. Select Show inherited association types.

7. In the left pane, right-click E-mail Service and select Move.

8. In the dialog, select Configuration > Resource Settings > Resource Types > Service Types.

9. Click OK.

10. Click Apply.

Now that you have created the resource type, the next step is to create a new e-mail service resource and populate it with the required components.

To create an Email Service Resource


2. In the left pane, select Resources > Service Types > Email Service.

3. Click the button.


4. Name the new resource Test Email Service.
5. Click the Components tab.

6. In the Supporting Systems field, click the button.

7. In the dialog, choose the relevant resource types (Computers, Services, and so on), then select the relevant resources included in your e-mail system (exchange servers, ISP service, and so on) and add them to the supporting systems field.

8. Click Apply.


C

Index

Numerics2300 45

AApplication Metering solution 3asset

multiple users 42retiring or disposing 31

Asset Administrators security role 53Asset Control Solution

installation 6requirements 6

Asset Data Classes 10asset life cycle 31Asset resource type 24asset type

category 23resource type 23

assigning computer ownership 44associated security reporting 55association type

creating 16Assset Types Category Common Fields 24attribute

adding to data class 11automatically generated value 13parameters 11

attribute propertymaximum length 12type 12

audit information 37auto run picker tree reports 41auto-generated values 13automatically generated values 13

Bbase resource type 4, 8bulk edit 34, 37

Ccategory

asset types 23Cell Phone resource type 24change history 49clean up ownership relationships 43CMDB manager security role 53CMDB rules 51CMDB worker security role 53collection

synchronizing hierarchy 46computer

assigning ownership automatically 44

cleaning-up data 45ownership assignment 44renaming disposed 32, 32

computer ownership 44computer purge feature 45Computer resource type 24, 32computer type 33computers

merging duplicates 50Contract Administrators security role 53Contract Data Classes 9Contract Management Solution

installation 6requirements 6

contract typeresource type 23

contract types category 33custom status value 41

Ddata class 4

adding an attribute 11asset 10attribute parameters 11configuring 10creating 10overview 9setting permissions 54

data class attribute 4automatically generated 13

data class attribute parameter 4data mask 13, 13data synchronization 48datacenter types category 33default values for resource type fields 18, 44deleting computers 45Desk Phone resource type 24display order 13disposed computer renaming 32disposing of assets 31duplicate computers 50duplicate users 50

Eedit

bulk 37Edit Resource Type page 19exporting resource types 17

FFax Machine resource type 24field display order 13Furniture and Fixtures resource type 24

Hhidden attribute 13hidden field 13hierarchy collection 46

Iimporting resource types 17input mask 13installation 6inventory clean up 45Inventory Solution 3Inventory Solution data synchronization 48IT Infrastructure Library standards 3item foreign key 12item task 4

adding 38item tasks

table of 36ITIL standards 3

Kkey attribute 12key field 12

Llicensing 6life cycle of an asset 31

MManufacturer attribute policy 26mask 13merging computers 50merging resources 34merging users 50Monitor resource type 24multiple user assets 42

NNetwork Printer resource type 24

MDB Solution 6.5 1

C

Network Resource resource type 24Notification Server 6

OOffice Equipment resource type 24override resource RAD tab 41ownership 42

transfer 42transfer ownership of an asset 42

ownership rule 42ownership style 42

Pparameters for attribute 11percentage ownership of resources 43Peripheral resource type 24power 33Predefined Resource Types and User Defined Resource Types 8, 8primary computer user 44purging computers 45

Rrack 33registration 6renaming disposed computers 32renaming retired computers 32report on owned resources 56reports 40

security scoping 55require field 12required attribute 12requirements 6resource 4

categories 23change history 49merging 34

resource associationcreating 16

resource association diagram 36resource association type 5

creating 16overview 14

Resource Association Type page 20resource associations

clean up ownership 43Resource Data Class page 21Resource Data Class Summary page 22Resource Display page

tab order 48resource foreign key 12Resource List page 20, 36resource reports 40resource type 5

advised usage 8

asset types 23Assets 24Cell Phone 24Computer 32contract types 23creating 17Desk Phone 24editing 16exporting 17Furniture and Fixtures 24importing 17Monitor 24Network Printer 24Network Resources 24Office Equipment 24Scanner 24service types 23setting default values 18, 44setting permissions 54

resource type interface items 19Resource Type Relationships 15resource types

computer type 33contract 33datacenter 33power 33rack 33UPS 33

retired computer renaming 32retiring assets 31role creation considerations 54role-based security 52

SScanner resource type 24scope-based security 54security 37

configuring role-based 53considerations 54predefined roles 52role-based 52scope-based 54setting for data class 54setting for resource type 54

security scoping 55, 56service type

resource type 23setting the tab order 48static list 12status value

custom 41synchronizing hierarchy collections 46synchronizing Inventory Solution data 48

Ttab order 48terminology 4transfer asset ownership 42

transfer ownership of an asset 42

UUPS 33users

merging duplicates 50

VVirtual Machine resource type 24

MDB Solution 6.5 2