Re: Adding Custom Attributes to Base Element

[Jason Miller]

I am thinking there are a number of people on this list (including myself)
who have upgraded with custom attributes in Base Element without any issue.
We have taken ours from 7.5 -> 7.6 -> 7.6 p1 -> 7.6 p2 -> 7.6.03 -> 7.6.04
SP1 without any issue.  That said I wouldn't be surprised if there would be
an issue if you had a CMDB that originated with CMDB version 1 or 2 and
tried to bring it up to 7.6.xx.  Those were the CMDB learning years and it
has come a long way since then.  I think you are probably OK if you are
starting with a fairly recent version of the CMDB.

I don't see how adding a custom class outside of BMC.CORE is going to
help Alejandro
accomplish his goal.  It sounds like your suggestion would equate to
creating a whole new custom CMDB structure in a custom namespace instead of
using the BMC one.  The way I read it he wants to use many of the classes in
the CDM but just needs a few new attributes that apply to all classes.

Jason

On Sat, Jul 23, 2011 at 10:39 AM, John Doe  wrote:

> **
> Let me explain how this will work, for those of you who have not gone
> through an upgrade.
> The reason best practice is to add a custom class (outside of BMC.CORE) and
> add your own attributes to that custom class, with custom field ID ranges is
> because when you upgrade it will only keep these additions made this way.
> That's why I stated "I'd recommend you do not add them to Base Element.
> Instead create your own custom Class and add those attributes to that
> class.  Otherwise, your next upgrade will be a nightmare."
>
> When you upgrade (which is inevitable) the Common Data Model is constantly
> changed and adapted.  They will completely restructure all of the classes in
> BMC.CORE. Therefore, if you add custom fields to Base Element the upgrades
> will "remove" them.  I have been through several upgrades and personally
> witnessed this.  Obviously, if you have hundreds of thousands of records in
> these attributes you are up a creek with out a paddle.  Patches sometimes
> will remove custom fields too.
>
> I know the road you are wanting to go down seems easier right now.  But it
> will be a "nightmare" in the future.  I would also recommend reading the
> book about How to Create a CMDB from the ground up.  I have been through
> that mistake also.
>
> Take care and obviously your environment and situations will dictate your
> decisions.  Good luck.
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> *From:* Mahesh 
> *To:* arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
> *Sent:* Friday, July 22, 2011 2:35 PM
>
> *Subject:* Re: Adding Custom Attributes to Base Element
>
> ** One of the best practice with regards to customization is having a
> custom field ID range. Also, whenever you extend the data model, BMC
> recommends usage of a custom namespace instead of BMC.CORE .
>
> Thanks
> Mahesh
>
> On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 1:58 PM, pritch  wrote:
>
> I've had the same experience as Victor noted.  I've added them with no
> problem - did need to work them forward through the joins.
>
> The only thing I'll add is to watch Field ID's.  If the field ID that is
> used (generated or otherwise) is also used in another form feeding the same
> join, the field ID of one of those items on the join can change.  If that
> happens and you build workflow to process the field, it can have some type
> mismatch issues (ie one is an integer and the other a date field).  At least
> that's what we've seen.
>
> - Original Message -
> From: "Victor Olufowobi" 
> To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
> Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 2:21:23 PM
> Subject: Re: Adding Custom Attributes to Base Element
>
> **
>
> Since these attributes need to apply to all further subclasses I don't
> think creating a custom class is a good idea. I have added a few attributes
> myself to Base Element without any issues. The time needed for the
> attributes to propagate to all existing subclasses depends on your system
> and the number of subclasses you have. You still need to modify the AST
> forms for the new attributes to be available in the required classes.
>
> Victor.
>
>
>
> On Fri 22/07/11 18:11 , "Alejandro Canon" aca...@extensionsa.com sent:
>
>
> **
>
>
> John,
>
>
>
> Thanks for your recommendation. That custom class you mention should be a
> subclass of Base Element (BE), right?
>
> I´m asking that because I don’t see how a custom subclass of Base Element
> can propagate attributes to all existing subclasses in CDM.
>
> I was thinking creating a custom namespace and adding attributes in BE but
> stored in custom namespace.
>
>
>
> Alejandro.
>
>
>
>
> De: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:
> arslist@ARSLIST.ORG] En nombre de John Doe
> Enviado el: Viernes, 22 de Julio de 2011 12:00
> Para: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
> Asunto: Re: Adding Custom Attributes to Base Element
>
>
>
> **
>
>
>
> Alejandro,
>
>
>
>
>
> I'd recommend you do not add them to Base Element.  Instead create your own
> custom Class and add those attributes to that class.  Otherwise, your next
> 

Re: Ticket data content issues (Healthcare Industry)

[Lee Cullom]

Shane,

Someone from HCA should be on this list who could answer in greater detail, 
but... at one time, they had customized Remedy to include some legalese that 
was presented to the Remedy user upon logging in related to Patient sensitive 
information.  In addition, I believe there were certain categorizations that 
would trigger an additional audit record, because those categorizations were 
related to Patient Sensitive information.  Finally, in asset management, there 
were fines associated with patient sensitive information being left on an asset 
on disposal, so there was workflow that would remind the user of that during 
the disposal process.

There may be more... and I may have forgotten a few things here and there.  But 
that was the gist of them I believe...

Lee

Lee Cullom | Northcraft Analytics
IT Metrics Specialist | Business Intelligence for ITSM
678-438-7244 | lee.cul...@northcraftanalytics.com
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http://www.northcraftanalytics.com
Click on "View Demo" to see the product in action









From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) 
[mailto:arslist@ARSLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of Shane Buchholz
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 12:09 PM
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Subject: Ticket data content issues (Healthcare Industry)

**
I have had a request from our security officer to find out if there are any 
specific security concerns we should be aware of in relation to processing 
Incident tickets in a healthcare environment.  I think he is specifically 
looking at the Summary, Notes and Work Info data that could be entered by the 
Service Desk or any of the Technicians/Analysts.  If anyone from the healthcare 
industry has some insight they could share I would appreciate it.  I apologize 
for not being able to be detailed in the request, but this was presented to me 
as a hypothetical so I don't have much to go on.

ARS 7.5
ITSM 7.6
Windows Server 2008 (64-bit)
SQL 2005

Thanks,

Shane Buchholz
Systems Analyst II - Remedy
I.S. Business Operations
Samaritan Health Services


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<><>

Re: Adding Custom Attributes to Base Element

[John Doe]

Let me explain how this will work, for those of you who have not gone through 
an upgrade.
The reason best practice is to add a custom class (outside of BMC.CORE) and add 
your own attributes to that custom class, with custom field ID ranges is 
because when you upgrade it will only keep these additions made this way.  
That's why I stated "I'd recommend you do not add them to Base Element.  
Instead create your 
own custom Class and add those attributes to that class.  Otherwise, 
your next upgrade will be a nightmare."

When you upgrade (which is inevitable) the Common Data Model is constantly 
changed and adapted.  They will completely restructure all of the classes in 
BMC.CORE. Therefore, if you add custom fields to Base Element the upgrades will 
"remove" them.  I have been through several upgrades and personally witnessed 
this.  Obviously, if you have hundreds of thousands of records in these 
attributes you are up a creek with out a paddle.  Patches sometimes will remove 
custom fields too.  


I know the road you are wanting to go down seems easier right now.  But it will 
be a "nightmare" in the future.  I would also recommend reading the book about 
How to Create a CMDB from the ground up.  I have been through that mistake also.

Take care and obviously your environment and situations will dictate your 
decisions.  Good luck.







From: Mahesh 
To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 2:35 PM
Subject: Re: Adding Custom Attributes to Base Element


** One of the best practice with regards to customization is having a custom 
field ID range. Also, whenever you extend the data model, BMC recommends usage 
of a custom namespace  instead of BMC.CORE .

Thanks
Mahesh


On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 1:58 PM, pritch  wrote:

I've had the same experience as Victor noted.  I've added them with no problem 
- did need to work them forward through the joins.
>
>The only thing I'll add is to watch Field ID's.  If the field ID that is used 
>(generated or otherwise) is also used in another form feeding the same join, 
>the field ID of one of those items on the join can change.  If that happens 
>and you build workflow to process the field, it can have some type mismatch 
>issues (ie one is an integer and the other a date field).  At least that's 
>what we've seen.
>
>
>- Original Message -
>From: "Victor Olufowobi" 
>To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
>Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 2:21:23 PM
>Subject: Re: Adding Custom Attributes to Base Element
>
>**
>
>
>Since these attributes need to apply to all further subclasses I don't think 
>creating a custom class is a good idea. I have added a few attributes myself 
>to Base Element without any issues. The time needed for the attributes to 
>propagate to all existing subclasses depends on your system and the number of 
>subclasses you have. You still need to modify the AST forms for the new 
>attributes to be available in the required classes.
>
>Victor.
>
>
>
>On Fri 22/07/11 18:11 , "Alejandro Canon" aca...@extensionsa.com sent:
>
>
>**
>
>
>John,
>
> 
>
>Thanks for your recommendation. That custom class you mention should be a 
>subclass of Base Element (BE), right?
>
>I´m asking that because I don’t see how a custom subclass of Base Element can 
>propagate attributes to all existing subclasses in CDM.
>
>I was thinking creating a custom namespace and adding attributes in BE but 
>stored in custom namespace.
>
> 
>
>Alejandro.
>
> 
>
>
>De: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) 
>[mailto:arslist@ARSLIST.ORG] En nombre de John Doe
>Enviado el: Viernes, 22 de Julio de 2011 12:00
>Para: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
>Asunto: Re: Adding Custom Attributes to Base Element
>
> 
>
>**
>
>
>
>Alejandro,
>
>
> 
>
>
>I'd recommend you do not add them to Base Element.  Instead create your own 
>custom Class and add those attributes to that class.  Otherwise, your next 
>upgrade will be a nightmare.
>
>
> 
>
>
> 
>
>
> 
>
>
>
>
>
>From: Alejandro Canon
>To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG
>Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 10:57 AM
>Subject: Adding Custom Attributes to Base Element
>
>
>**
>
>
>
>Listers,
>
>
> 
>
>
>ARS 7.6.04 SP1
>
>
>CMDB 7.6.04
>
>
>ITSM 7.6.04
>
>
> 
>
>
>I need to add about ten (10) attributes (common to all kind of CIs) to 
>BaseElement.
>
>
>I’ve read some threads (dated about 2009) recommending to NOT ADD attributes 
>in Base Element Class, because of known errors in Asset – CMDB Sync process.
>
>
>What’s your experience about that? Understanding CDM Model is based in CIM 
>Model I think there shouldn’t be problems in adding fields to Base Element 
>class.
>
>
>Believe me if I’m telling you I’ve reviewed all BaseElement attributes from 
>BMC.CORE and BMC.AM namespaces and I have no match for these 10 attributes 
>required.
>
>
>I guess a known issue could be extense time you may have to wait after saving 
>changes in CDM, because custom attributes in Base Element must be propagated 
>to all subclasses.
>
>
> 
>
>
>Regards,
>
>
> 
>
>

CN=David Zifchock/OU=CORP/OU=NAM/O=APCC is out of the office.

[David Zifchock]

I will be out of the office starting  07/23/2011 and will not return until
08/01/2011.

I will be out of the office from 7/23/2011 returning 8/1/2011.  I will
respond to your emails on return.

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Re: ARX File Reader Utility

[John Sundberg]

Kids are awake - I will have to quit for now.

Let the wild rumpus begin!!!







When I am done - I will share it on github -- should be decent eventually.

So far:

-setup a Sinatra app
-setup a simple UI
-got arx file loading working
-found an arx file on my machine
-started a simple parser


A "START" at the parser
lots of things to improve :)


  def parse_arx(arx_file)
@meta = Hash.new
counter = 0
file = File.new(arx_file,"r")
while (line=file.gets)
  counter = counter + 1
  if (counter == 1) then
@meta['schema'] = line
  end

  if (counter == 2) then
@meta['fields'] = line
  end


end

return @meta  

  end
  

Here is the ARX I was playing with.


SCHEMA "AR System Currency Codes"
FIELDS "Active" "Assigned To(4)" "Code Description" "Create Date(3)" "Currency 
Code" "Last Modified By(5)" "Modified Date(6)" "Precision" "Request ID" 
"Status(7)" "Status-History" "Submitter(2)"
FLD-ID 1525 4 8 3 1521 5 6 1522 1 7 15 2
DTYPES ENUM CHAR CHAR TIME CHAR CHAR TIME INTEGER CHAR ENUM CHAR CHAR
DATA 0 "" "Testing Code" 1246312476 "XTS" "Demo" 1246312476 2 "090" 
0 "1246312476Demo" "Demo" 







-John

On Jul 23, 2011, at 7:26 AM, John Sundberg wrote:


Sounds like a great job for Ruby.


I will see if I can get it done before the kids wake up.
(Can you send me a small ARX file?)


-John


On Jul 23, 2011, at 6:53 AM, Mike Buck wrote:

**

It would be SO good to view ARX files, without having to import to the target 
form, in order see all the data.

Is anyone willing to share a utility, or build one to share, which will parse 
an ARX file and present it in an easy to digest form?

The data could be presented with column headers in notepad for example, or even 
better in Excel (similar to how a CSV file is presented).

This would be a really fantastic tool for code reviews and carry out 
pre-deployment checks.

I really do hope someone is able to help:)

Thanks very much
Mike
_attend WWRUG11 www.wwrug.com ARSlist: "Where the Answers Are"_

--
John Sundberg

Kinetic Data, Inc.
"Building a Better Service Experience"
Recipient of:
WWRUG10 Best Customer Service/Support Award
WWRUG09 Innovator of the Year Award

john.sundb...@kineticdata.com
651.556.0930  I  www.kineticdata.com










--
John Sundberg

Kinetic Data, Inc.
"Building a Better Service Experience"
Recipient of:
WWRUG10 Best Customer Service/Support Award
WWRUG09 Innovator of the Year Award

john.sundb...@kineticdata.com
651.556.0930  I  www.kineticdata.com










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Re: ARX File Reader Utility

[John Sundberg]

Sounds like a great job for Ruby.


I will see if I can get it done before the kids wake up.
(Can you send me a small ARX file?)


-John


On Jul 23, 2011, at 6:53 AM, Mike Buck wrote:

**

It would be SO good to view ARX files, without having to import to the target 
form, in order see all the data.

Is anyone willing to share a utility, or build one to share, which will parse 
an ARX file and present it in an easy to digest form?

The data could be presented with column headers in notepad for example, or even 
better in Excel (similar to how a CSV file is presented).

This would be a really fantastic tool for code reviews and carry out 
pre-deployment checks.

I really do hope someone is able to help:)

Thanks very much
Mike
_attend WWRUG11 www.wwrug.com ARSlist: "Where the Answers Are"_

--
John Sundberg

Kinetic Data, Inc.
"Building a Better Service Experience"
Recipient of:
WWRUG10 Best Customer Service/Support Award
WWRUG09 Innovator of the Year Award

john.sundb...@kineticdata.com
651.556.0930  I  www.kineticdata.com










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ARX File Reader Utility

[Mike Buck]

It would be SO good to view ARX files, without having to import to the
target form, in order see all the data.

Is anyone willing to share a utility, or build one to share, which will
parse an ARX file and present it in an easy to digest form?

The data could be presented with column headers in notepad for example, or
even better in Excel (similar to how a CSV file is presented).

This would be a really fantastic tool for code reviews and carry out
pre-deployment checks.

I really do hope someone is able to help:)

Thanks very much
Mike

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