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Leveraging Altiris Connector Solution to Import Data Sources 

May 08, 2007 11:02 AM

One of the biggest challenges for most Altiris customers is building a centralized repository for all of their asset data. In most cases IT departments have data for both discoverable and non-discoverable assets scattered across the enterprise amongst different departments. Getting this data into Altiris can be a time consuming, if not impossible, process from a resource standpoint. Thankfully Altiris Connector Solution allows seamless integration with other databases and other data types and can simplify and automate the synchronization between one or more data types.

Contents

Introduction

This white paper focuses on leveraging Altiris Connector Solution to import data from Microsoft Excel .xls format. However, a majority of the process applies for other data source types such as Oracle, SQL, Access, .csv, and others. By leveraging Microsoft Excel it allows many non technical resources to normalize the data in a fashion which is easy to understand and offers a higher degree of accuracy and successful integration within Altiris Asset Management. This process as well as pre defined data mapping and import rules are included to help even the novice Altiris Administrator in getting started on this endeavor.

Installing Altiris Connector Solution

To install Altiris Connector Solution it is highly recommended to be logged on to the Altiris server locally with the Altiris Application Identity Account used during the initial install. If you can not be on the console directly use Microsoft Remote Desktop with /console switch as seen in the example below.

Launch the Altiris Console and browse to the Configuration Tab -> Upgrade/Install Additional Solutions and choose Solutions -> Altiris Connector as seen below. This will install the following components:

  • Altiris Connector Solution Data Integration Component
  • Altiris Connector Solution Event Integration Component
  • Altiris Connector Solution User Interface Integration Component
  • Altiris Connector Solution Documentation
  • Altiris Connector Solution Quick Start

Once Altiris Connector Solution and its components have been downloaded and installed you should validate that the solution has been installed correctly both by looking at the Altiris Log Viewer and by checking to see if the appropriate folder structure exists by going to the Configuration Tab -> Server Settings -> Notification Server Infrastructure -> Data Replication. You should have a Data Sources folder as well as an Import/Export Rules folder as seen below.

Choosing Resource Types for Data Import

Deciding upon which resource types in which you have data and would like to import into the CMDB is the first step in process. Altiris has many discoverable and non discoverable resources out of the box. The resources are broken down by Asset Types, Contract Types, Financial Types, Organizational Types and Receiving Types. Certainly Altiris has the flexibility in allowing you to create additional Resource Types but this is not covered within this whitepaper. For the most part you will have all the fundamental types required to get started on building an excellent single repository. Each Resource Type is broken down as follows:

Asset Types

  • Furniture and Fixtures
    • Furniture and Fixtures
  • IT
    • Computer
    • Monitor
    • Network Device
    • Network Printer
    • Network Resource
    • Peripheral
    • Scanner
    • Virtual Machine
  • Office Equipment
    • Cell Phone
    • Desk Phone
    • Office Equipment
  • Asset

Contract Types

  • Lease Agreements
    • Lease Schedule
    • Master Lease
  • Other Contracts
    • NDA
    • Service Level Agreements
    • Warranty
  • Software Licensing
    • Software Licenses
      • Mac OS
      • OS License
      • Software License
      • Unix License
      • Win32 License
    • Master License Agreements
    • Software Purchase
    • Virtual Licensing Agreement
  • Contract

Financial Types

  • Accounting Code
  • Cost Structure
  • Depreciation Schedule

Organizational Types

  • Company
  • Cost Center
  • Location
  • User

Receiving Types

  • Catalog Items
    • Catalog Item
    • Catalog Items Bundle
  • Invoice Types
    • Invoice
    • Receiving Slip
  • Purchase Order Types
    • Purchase Order

Creating a Normalized Excel Workbook

To normalize the import of data, ensure consistency and get the most out of Altiris Asset Management it is recommended to create a Microsoft Excel Workbook which has a sheet for each and every Resource Type you plan to map to within the CMDB. A sample spreadsheet is included in conjunction to this white paper to immediately use and or use as template or guideline to further assist you. With each Resource Type you plan to import create a new resource for that type and look at all the tabs and fields that make up that type and decide upon which fields you have data for that you would like to import to. As an example see the below screenshot for a cell phone Resource Type.

Each field area on the General Tab, Accounting Tab, or Comment Tab can be mapped to the Excel spreadsheet within the workbook for import. Each column on the spreadsheet should be named exactly as the fields within the Resources Types. For fields which are named identical such as Description could be listed more then once on other tabs name them on the Excel spreadsheet as Description, Description1, Description2, etc… Best practice would be to start on the tab on the far left and map each field on the resource type to each column in the excel spreadsheet moving to the right although not absolutely necessary just less confusing and ensuring you have all the fields represented that you want. See the example below.

The entire Microsoft Excel workbook should be completed in this manner for each Resource Type. This will become the master file for gathering all the data across the enterprise and then added below each of its respective columns for each worksheet. A completed workbook will look like the one included with this whitepaper or the example below.

The workbook should be placed on the Altiris Notification Server or a shared directory that it can be accessed from the Notification Server. The included rules with this white paper will map to the local Notification Server at C:\Customer Asset Import Spreadsheet\Customer Asset Import Data.xls. This can obviously be changed and the data sources changed appropriately to reflect your own choices.

Creating New Data Sources Mappings

In order to synchronize the data on the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet data mappings need to be created within Altiris to the workbook's respective worksheets. To create these data sources open the Altiris Console and browse to Configuration Tab -> Server Settings -> Notification Server Infrastructure -> Data Replication and right click on the Data Sources folder as seen in the example below and choose New OleDB Data Source. The OleDB Data Source is what is required for mapping to the Excel Workbook. However, you can see that there are many methods that are supported for data sources other then Excel that can be used as well.

The new OleDB Data Source Configuration Page will appear.

We are now going to give it a name in this example we will call it "Excel Cell Phone". You may add a description as well if desired such as "Import rule for Cell Phones". We are going choose the data source type to be Excel .xls as seen below.

Once you have chosen the data source you will now be able to browse and select the Microsoft Excel Workbook that you have created and stored that the Altiris Notification Server has access to. Either browse or type the path to the file. Click Load List which will read your workbook and present you with the option to choose which worksheet you want to map to as in the example below.

Once you have chosen the worksheet as in this example for a Cell Phone import check the "Allow Imports" checkbox and click "Save" and click "Test Data Source" to ensure it maps correctly. Do this for all your Data Sources.

Now we need to create an Import Rule which will allow you to granularly map each excel column to the resource type fields. To create these import rules in the Altiris Console browse to Configuration Tab -> Server Settings -> Notification Server Infrastructure -> Data Replication and right click on the Import/Export Rules folder as seen in the example below and choose New Resources Import/Export Rule and you will be presented the Import/Export Rule Edit Page.

We are now going to give it a name in this example we will call it "Cell Phone Import". You may add a description as well if desired such as "Import rule for Cell Phones". We are going choose the data source type to be the data source(s) we created above, the Resource Type it's being mapped to within Altiris and replication direction which is "import" as seen below.

You will notice how the checkboxes for "Allow Resource Creation" and "Allow Resource Update" are checked. This will allow the actual creation of new resources within the CMDB in addition to updating resources in the CMDB if they already exist. If you do not want to update existing assets you can certainly leave "Allow Resource Update" unchecked.

The "Resource Lookup Key" will allow you to match what is being imported to what already exists in the CMDB. If you have the serial numbers as an example for all your cell phones that that may be a good key to use. If you don't then Phone number may be better. This key should be adjusted based on the completeness of the data that you have gathered throughout the enterprise. You will notice the column mappings have been for the most part automatically based on the previous best practice of naming your worksheet columns the same as what the data class name was for the resource in the CMDB. Validate that all the fields you require are mapped appropriately. Column names that will not or may not be mapped automatically will be ones where you had to name them with a number as in the previous example of Description, Description1, etc… You will need to map these manually.

Because Altiris allows resources to be associated to one another you can also use this process to associate resources to other resources by using the Association Mappings. The trick to this is to do a first pass and import all the Resource Types in first then do a second pass and associate them to one another. You cannot associate to what doesn't exist. This is why the "Allow Resource Update" is important for second passes. Save the rule and click the "Test Rule" button to ensure you have everything mapped correctly. At the time of writing this white paper there is an issue with Altiris Application Management Solution 6.1 and Connector Solution 6.1 being installed on the same Notification Server where you may be presented with an error.

Unspecified error

"An error occurred generating key mapping controls. The resource type (Guid:27d97657-77d9-4ebf-8076-618e2771562b) for this association type does not exist."

To correct this problem have your SQL DBA run this command in SQL Query Analyzer on the Altiris database to correct the problem.

DELETE 
FROM ResourceAssociationType
WHERE ChildResourceTypeGuid = '27d97657-77d9-4ebf-8076-618e2771562b'

You can have Import rule(s) run on a schedule or it can be run manually by using the "Execute Now" button. Until you have a good understanding of this process I do not recommend using the scheduling component. Complete all other Import rules in this fashion.

Importing and Validating Data

Now that you have all your data sources and rules created and mapped. Validate one last time all the data on your Microsoft Excel workbook looks correct and your ready to do the import within Altiris. On each Import rule you created go back and click the "Execute Now" button you will see a status dialog that tells you what has occurred such as the number of rows of data processed, resources created, resourced updated and or deleted. Once you have done this for all your rules you should now do into the Altiris console for each Resource Type and validate the data for accuracy. If you see any problems you can right click on any resource and choose to delete it from the database. Hopefully you have spent the proper time already ensuring the completeness and accuracy of the data being imported into the system so you do not have to do this.

Conclusion

The Altiris Connector Solution can save an organization literally hundreds of hours on manually entering data into the CMDB directly and help pull information from a variety of sources seamlessly in. Although this white paper focuses just on one aspect of leveraging the solution other data sources and systems can be completely integrated within Altiris by leveraging other data sources and being setup on a scheduled basis for automated imports and or exports while still providing a single unified web architecture to manage. Examples of this can be integrating a CRM solution within Altiris, a financial backend solution like JD Edwards, SAP, Peoplesoft, Oracle Financial and others providing increased visibility to upper level management and higher degree of trust between the business and information technology departments by sharing and leveraging data that normally would not be synchronized. Like many Altiris products the focus should first be on the process and workflow then customization and implementation of those within Altiris which allows companies the ability to create their own best practices rather then being limited to a different vendor's limitations and or view of how workflow and process should be conducted.

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Comments

Jul 28, 2011 11:17 AM

 

I did this in smp 7.0 it is now broken in my smp 7.1 test  enviroment - basically same as 6.5

Data connector looks to be part of SMP 7.1 platform and not seperate peice anymore

Nov 29, 2010 09:54 PM

Anyone can guide me how do I associate my import computers data after my Altiris agent have installed.

It seen like after the computers is installed with Altiris agent it will duplicate another computer name but will not merge with my imported data.

Jun 11, 2010 07:09 AM

Anyone have the Asset v7 CSV template for import? I manage to found for NS6

Feb 04, 2010 03:28 PM

Do you know anyone who has created the import/export rules for SM7?

Sandy

Dec 19, 2008 04:18 AM

This document provide me a very good help regarding the Asset Tracking details. Thanks buddy, its very helpful for me.
Thanks,
Sundaram.

Sep 10, 2008 06:17 AM

Actual location of import / export folders in 6.5 is location of connectors in 6.5 is
Configuration > Solutions Settings > Connectors

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