4.2.1.4. Library - Concepts & Terminology

IRM comes with a large Library of Managed Object Types, including Equipment Types and Cable Types.

A Managed Object Type contains information about a specific product as might be found in a catalog, datasheet, brochure, or other literature about the product.

For the SaaS version of IRM, maintenance of the Library is handled transparently to the customer by Planet Associates.
For the on-premises version of IRM, Planet Associates distributes Library update files that an IRM Admin User can use to upgrade the installation, via the Global Console.

Types in the Library are grouped into Packages and versioning is done at the Package level -- individual Types do not have versions. Once a Package has been published, all of the Types contained in it will never have certain critical fields changed.

For example, the number and types of Ports and Slots will not change, but less critical information such as the number of watts consumed while the equipment is running may be changed in order to correct any errors in the Library. If critical information needs to be changed for some reason, a separate new version of the Type will be published. This restriction is in place in order to maintain data the coherency of customers' data.

While Planet Associates maintains most of the information in the Library, certain Type fields are "owned" by the customer, such as:

Specific Standard Configurations
Pricing Details
Vendors or Suppliers

If these fields are changed by the customer and a new version of the Library is subsequently imported into IRM, the values put by the customer for those fields will be preserved, even if that Type is otherwise updated.