To use Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) features with supported non-CMDB tables, you must first create identification rules that uniquely identify the table records. Each non-CMDB table can be associated with a single identification rule.

Before you begin

Role required: itil has read access, itil_admin (on top of itil) has full access

About this task

Each identification rule consists of a single identifier for the table, one or more identifier entries, and one or more related entries.

Review the following topics before creating identification rules:
When creating identifier entries, you can configure the Search on table and Criterion attributes fields on the Identifier Entry form to implement one of the following options:
Regular identifier entry
Lets you select attributes from the associated identifier table.
Lookup identifier entry
Lets you select attributes from any related table (Lookup table), other than the currently selected table.
Hybrid identifier entry
Lets you select attributes from both the currently main selected table, and from another table (Lookup table).

For non-CMDB tables, only independent identification rules are supported.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to All > Identification/Reconciliation > CI Identifiers.
  2. In the Identifiers list view, click New.
  3. Fill out the Identifier form.
    Field Description
    Name Name of CI identifier.
    Applies to Supported non-CMDB table.
    Independent Must be checked to indicate that the identifier can identify a record independently of other records.
  4. Click Submit.
  5. In the Identifiers list view, locate and open the identifier that you just created.
  6. On the Identifier form, select the Identifier Entries tab and then click New.
  7. Fill out the Identifier Entry form.
    Note: If criterion attributes have only two attributes and sys_class_name is one of them (for example [name, sys_class_name], [ip_address, sys_class_name]), then the other attribute can't be NULL, even if Allow null attribute is enabled. This restriction is due to sys_class_name being considered a special system matching attribute.
  8. Click Submit.
  9. On the Identifier form, select the Related Entries tab and then click New.
  10. Fill out the Related Entry form.
    Table 1. Related Entry form
    FieldDescription
    Identifier Preset with the identifier that this related entry is associated with.
    Active Check box that specifies that the related entry is active.
    Related table A related table (lookup table) that references the record that is being matched.
    Referenced field A referenced field in Related table with a reference to the associated identifier table.
    Criterion attributes The set of attributes to uniquely identify the related item. Attributes can belong to the current class, or to a parent class.
    Note: It's possible to add reference fields as a criterion attribute. However, such fields might not always be effective:
    • Reference fields store sys_ids that point to a record in another table, and thus is considered a weak criterion attribute (in terms of uniqueness) for the current table.
    • The system detects and then replaces invalid values in a reference field with 'Unknown'. For example, an invalid Model ID value is replaced with the value 'Unknown'. Also, if several CIs end up having that same reference field set to 'Unknown', then these CIs become duplicate CIs.

    Click the lock icon to view, add, or remove attributes from the identification rule.

    Allow null attribute If at least one criterion attribute in the related table isn't null, allow to attempt matching with an identifier entry even if there are criterion attributes which are null.
    Priority Priority of the related entry for the specified Related table. Rules with lower priority numbers are given higher priority while matching a related item for a specific related table. Related entries for the specified related table with identical priorities are applied randomly.

    You can keep gaps between the priority numbers, so you can assign the unused priority numbers to new entries without modifying the existing priority order.

    Optional condition Filter conditions to narrow the set of records that will be searched for a matching related item.
  11. Click Submit.

What to do next

To add criterion attributes to a Hybrid Entry CI Criterion Attributes field in a hybrid identifier entry, instead of using the Identifier Entry form, you must use background scripts. After saving the identification rule, navigate to System Definitions > Scripts - Background, and then enter a script that adds the attributes and click Run script.

Sample script:
var gr = new GlideRecord('cmdb_identifier_entry');
// get the identifier entry you want to update
gr.get('<identifier_entry_sys_id>');
// set the attributes you want in the hybrid rule in a comma separated list
// for example: 'name,serial_number'
gr. hybrid_entry_ci_criterion_attributes='<column_name_1>,<column_name_2>,<etc.>';
gr.update();

This process requires the admin role.