IRM's CMDB integration is more useful and powerful than a simple import of static discovery set data. It gives the user the ability to sync several different object types either automatically or under manual control and approval. This flexibility is important because different types of data are best handled differently. For example, foundational data such as Categories and Types are best synced manually, whereas instance data is best synced automatically on an ongoing basis.
The CMDB Integration is controlled by Synchronization Operations, or SyncOps for short. These are IRM configuration objects that describe various details of how a synchronization is to be handled. A basic set of SyncOps are created by the ServiceNow Integration Service (SNIS) and the user can add others but only for select kinds of objects. The user can edit any kind of SyncOp, but can only delete the kinds that can be created.
Within IRM, the data synchronization is for the most part controlled via the SyncOp Manager dialog and its accompanied subdialogs. The following types of data synchronizations are supported:
Manufacturer synchronization
Functional category synchronization
Type synchronization
Instance synchronization
This dialog lists SyncOps and their key parameters in a data grid; initially there is one row for each kind of object that can be synchronized.
Synchronizations can be done in the following Modes:
Manual -- the SyncOp is started manually, by the user clicking the Play button, and runs to completion. It then becomes Inactive.
Incremental -- the SyncOp runs continuously, monitoring for changes and pushing those changes automatically
Periodic -- in the future, IRM will support the ability to run SyncOps on a periodic basis (e.g. daily or weekly)
The following is a breakdown of the main phases that the Integration Service goes through during the synchronization process, all of which are also appropriately addressed in the following topics:
The user clicks the Play button, starting a Manual SyncOp
ServiceNowIntegrationService creates Proxy objects for all external objects that are missing from IRM
ServiceNowIntegrationService tries correlating those Proxies to a current IRM object
When finished, the Lifecycle Stage is set to Completed.
The user clicks the 'Play' button, starting an Incremental SyncOp
external object creation/update is recognized by ServiceNow Integration Service (SNIS) and processed according to SyncOp properties
IRM object creation/update is recognized by ServiceNow Integration Service (SNIS) and processed according to SyncOp properties
When finished, the Stage is set to Syncing, where ServiceNow Integration Service (SNIS) detects and pushes changes incrementally. The syncing continues until the user manually stops/cancels it.
The user modifies SyncOp properties and/or mappings inside the SyncOp Manager dialog
there is no Proxy creation, only updates to existing ones.
The following table represents the breakdown of IRM's SyncOp Lifecycle Stages depending on the operating states of the SyncOp, while below it are some additional notes and caveats about certain of them:
Initial Values
Started
Creating proxies
Correlating proxies
Completed
Accepted
Catalog Creation
Syncing
Cancelled
Inactive
Operating States
Started
Creating proxies
Correlating proxies
Syncing
Non-Operating States
Completed
Accepted
Cancelled
Inactive
During the Creating proxies lifecycle stage the ServiceNow Integration Service is creating Proxies and this can be considered a transient stage, where the user does not need to perform any actions, but is aware about the stage the operation is in.
The user can Cancel the process, which sets the SyncOp to Inactive lifecycle stage.
The details of each sync operation are specified via another dialog - the SyncOp Properties dialog - this is explained in detail in the following subtopics, for each type of object.
