Data Importer Basics and Sample Import

Products

• CA Service Management - Asset Portfolio Management

Issue/Introduction

This article describes how to perform an asset import.  The import will generate four new asset entries and depending on the entry, a new model, class, and Asset Family will also be created.

The first entry will have the asset name "TestImport1".  The same entry will add a new model called "WorkLaptop" and a new class called "Laptop" and will apply to the existing Asset Family "Computer" Asset Family.

The second entry will have the asset name "TestImport2".  The same entry will add a new model called "DesktopPrinter" and a leverage the existing class "Ink Jet" and the existing Asset Family "Hardware.Printer" .

The third entry will have the asset name "TestImport3".  A new Asset Family called "NewAssetFamily" will be created, a new Model called "NewModel" will also be created as will a new Class called "NewClass".

The fourth entry will have the asset name "TestImport4" and will leverage the same Asset Family, Model, and Class values as "TestImport1".

Environment

Release : 17.3

Component : CA Asset Portfolio Management

Resolution

1. On the ITAM Application Server, go into Services (run "services.msc") and start the "CA Asset Portfolio Management - Data Importer Engine" service.

   

2. Download the "Asset-small-scale-run.csv" CSV file that is attached to this tech article.

3. Login to the IT Asset Manager Web UI as either the "uapmadmin" user or a user with Administrative rights.

4. Click on "Administration" tab, then subtab "Data Importer"

   

5. Click on New Import:

   Under "Name" and "Description", enter arbitrary content.  We will use "Test Asset Import" for both fields.

   You can skip the "Legacy Map File" entry and "Data File" entries.

   On "Upload File", click "Browse" and locate the "Asset-small-scale-run.csv" CSV file

   On "Main Destination Object", choose "Asset (All Families)".  This is important as we'll be importing several assets across multiple Asset Families.

   On "First Row Has Column Names", leave this checked on.

   On Data File Locale, leave as English (United States).

   On Data Delimiter, change this to {Comma}

   Under Advanced Settings:

   On "Maximum Error Threshold (in %)", leave as 80

   On "Primary Lookup Object Processing Type" choose "Insert Only"

   On "Create Secondary Lookup Object", check this box "On".  You will see a warning about all secondary objects that do not already exist that will be created.  Click OK to dismiss.  

   This step is important as without this setting, the import may fail to create the new Asset Family, Class, and Model entries that do not currently exist.

   On "Update Secondary Lookup Object", leave this unchecked

   On "Error on Secondary Lookup Object Errors", leave this unchecked

   The setup should look like this:

   

   Save the new import.

6. Under Mapping, choose "Load Source Fields"

   For each entry, click on the pen icon to the left of the entry and setup each mapping.  When you are done per mapping, click on the Green Check mark to close the mapping.

   IMPORTANT:  Do not forget to click on the Green Check mark when you are done configuring a mapping.  Clicking on another pen icon while you have a mapping definition in progress will cause you to lose your changes to the existing mapping.

   Source Field:  %Asset Family%
   Destination Field:  Asset.Asset Type Hierarchy.Asset Family.Value
   Primary Lookup:  Unchecked
   Secondary Lookup:  Checked On
   
   Source Field:  %Class%
   Destination Field:  Asset.Asset Type Hierarchy.Class.Value
   Primary Lookup:  Unchecked
   Secondary Lookup:  Checked On
   
   Source Field:  %Model%
   Destination Field:  Asset.Model.Model Name
   Primary Lookup:  Unchecked
   Secondary Lookup:  Checked On (see note below about Secondary Lookup)
   
   Source Field:  %Name%
   Destination Field:  Asset.Asset Name
   Primary Lookup:  Checked On (see note below about Primary Lookup)
   Secondary Lookup:  Unchecked (grayed out)
   
   Source Field:  %Serial Num%
   Destination Field:  Asset.Serial Number
   Primary Lookup:  Unchecked 
   Secondary Lookup:  Unchecked (grayed out) 

   Note about Primary and Secondary Lookup:
   
   Primary Lookup is used to search and reference a primary field on the Asset object attributes.  We are using the Asset Name as it is a required field when creating an Asset and is a reasonable field to search for the existence of a given asset.  One could also have chosen Serial Number as a possible Primary Lookup.  At least one entry in the import needs to have Primary Lookup enabled.

   Secondary Lookup is mainly used for any attributes which would have a reference to another object.  For instance, Model is a separate object from Asset, but the Asset object does tie into the Model object.  This checkmark instructs the importer to search for a suitable Model object with the given attribute value.  This checkbox is usually pre-populated depending on the mapping selection and should not be overridden.

   The mappings should look like this:

   

   Save the mapping changes (Save button is toward the top of the page)

7. Scroll down to the section for "Schedule".  

   The file we'll be using is already uploaded from earlier on (used to define the fields and mappings).  Click on the Submit Button to send the import job

   

   At the top of the Import Details page, you will see a Confirmation Message and job id submitted.

   

8. Click on "Import Jobs" on the left hand side (circled in red in the preceding image)

   Here, you will see the import jobs that have been created.  The top entry should be the job that was submitted.

   

   Eventually, the job will go from Ready to Queued to the final status (Completed, Failed or Completed with Errors).  One can click on the "Go" button to refresh the job listings.  Jobs usually take at least a minute to run.

   

9. The job will complete.  One can click "View Logs" on the far right hand side to examine how the import process had run.

   

10. One can also go into the Asset tab and search for "TestImport%" under Asset Name to view the newly imported assets.

    

Additional Information

This exercise is meant to demonstrate how one can use a single import file to import multiple assets across different Asset Families and generate any missing secondary information, such as undefined Asset Families, Models, and Classes.

The import will insert only the bare minimum content needed to define a given asset.  Required fields for Asset Family, Asset Name, Model, and Class are all covered in this import activity. Either an existing data value or a new data value will be generated.

Similarly, this import generates secondary content that did not exist before the import attempt, but only the bare minimum content is created.  Example:  The Model "DesktopPrinter" which is associated with the existing Asset Family "Hardware.Model" is created, but the given Model "DesktopPrinter" will lack any other attribute values, including the attribute "Class" despite "Class" having been defined in the import. (The "Class" attribute is not a required field for a given Model)  The value for class "Ink Jet" is applied to the imported Asset "TestImport2" but not the Model "DesktopPrinter"

The assumption is that the ITAM installation that this import is being applied is a default setup with all existing information present.  This import may fail if there is a configuration present that has any custom attribute changes defined in its configuration, such as any that were marked as a required field.

The content provided should be performed in a non-production test environment.  Broadcom does not warrant against any data conflicts that may arise in using this article and it is also advised to have a backup of your environment performed before attempting the instructions in this document.