Introduction

This user guide describes CMDB Analyzer for SDE version 1.0 and later.

Installing CMDB Analyzer For SDE

System Requirements

To change the application maximum heap size, edit file cmdbAnz.l4j.ini.

For example,

-Xmx512m : set heap size to 512M
-Xmx128m : set heap size to 128M
-Xmx1024m: set heap size to 1G

Supported BMC Service Desk Express (SDE) Version

CMDB Analyzer for SDE 1.0 supports Service Desk Express 9.6 with Microsoft SQL Database. We will support more SDE configurations in the future iterations.

More Information

If you need more information, please contact support@bluelineG.com, or go to BlueLine Graphics, Inc. web site www.bluelineG.com.

Getting to Know CMDB Analyzer For SDE

The following diagram describes function areas in CMDB Analyzer for SDE main window:

1. Project Panel (Left side panel) - Organize workspace, projects and views
2. Project Panel Toolbar (On top of Project Panel) - To create and switch workspace and create project.
3. Tools Panel (Toolbars in view) - List toolbar buttons for a view
4. View Panel (Right side pane) - Display SDE data visualization views

Working with Workspace

A workspace is a directory that contains configurations for projects and views. Only one workspace is activated at a time but you can switch between workspaces.

• Switch Workspace

  You can switch workspaces at any time. If there are unsaved views, you will be prompted to save them.

   

   

• Create New Workspaces

  If the specified workspace directory doesn't exist, once the "OK"  button is pressed, a new directory with the workspace name will be created.

Working with Projects

A project is a folder in file system that contains SDE data views.  There are different types of views:

• CI View - displays CI hierarchy and properties, and links incidents.
• Incident View - provides incident visualization and analysis
• Service Map View - displays services in a background image map

There are two types of project you can create in CMDB Analyzer For SDE:

Off-line Project

Off-line project works without connection to a SDE server. To create an off-line project you need to associate the project with exported SDE database files. You can use a server project to export SDE database files. Exported database files are stored in a directory you specified before the export process is started. This is the directory that you need to specify in the off-line project creation wizard.

Steps to create an off-line project:

1. Click "Create Project" tool button in the Project Toolbar
    
2. Select "CSV File" data source option
   
   
    
3. Enter the directory path that holds the exported database files
   
   

Server Project

To create a server project you need to have a SDE administrator account. (Note: the screenshot below is for SDE connecting to a Microsoft SQL Database).

Steps to create a server project:

1. Click "Create Project" tool button in the Project Toolbar
    
2. Select "SDE Server" data source option
    
3. Enter SDE Database login info
   
   
    

Save Password

If you uncheck "Save Password" option, the password will not be saved - you have to enter the password every time you open the project.

Tip: To change project settings after project has been created, right-mouse click on a project in Project Panel and then select "Preference...".

Delete Project 

To delete a project, right-mouse click on the project tree node and select “Delete”. If you have any unsaved views, you will be given options to save the views or cancel the delete operation.

Refresh Project

Refreshing a project will close all views, clean the data store and then retrieve data from data source.

Close/Open Project

Closing a project will remove all views from the project and release resources it holds. Opening a project will rebuild all its views.

Navigating in Project Panel

Project Panel organizes projects and their views in the current workspace. The followings are the basic mouse operations available in the Project Panel:

• Mouse Wheel - Scrolls the Project Panel up and down
• Mouse Drag - Scrolls the Project Panel at any direction
• Mouse Double Click - Opens an item in the tree
• Right-Mouse Click -  Pops up a menu

Viewing Configuration Items, Services and Relationships

Double-click “Main View” under "CI Views" opens a CI View that displays graphically CIs and their relationships. If you have defined services in SDE, you will see services hierarchy and their connections to CIs also. By default the CI View displays all CIs, services and relationships found in the data source.

• Left mouse button  - Hold to move the graph around (Pan)
• Mouse wheel - Zoom in and zoom out
• Click on a CI or relationship - Highlight instance
• Right-mouse click - Pops up a menu
• Hold Left mouse button and 'alt' key on a CI - Drag the CI around

The following is the fully expanded toolbar seen in CI View and the description of the tool buttons:

	Collapse/Expend toolbar		Save		Graph Filter
	Duplicate view		Print		Copy snapshot to clipboard
	Export to image		Change graph layout		Configure graphics properties
	Zoom in		Zoom out		Reset zoom
	Find CI		Show Object Magnifier		Center graph in view area
	Center and fit graph in view area

You can use the following actions to customize your views or to create new views.

Using Graph Filter

Graph Filter allows you to display only the selected CIs, services and relationships to reduce the complexity of the graph. You can use the Graph Filter window to change the filter settings.

You can turn on/off the CIs, services and relationships, and you can also specify if you want to display CIs and services that have no connections to other CIs or services (dangling nodes).

Duplicating CI View

Duplicating a CI View basically generates an exact copy of the view. To create a duplication, you can

• Right-mouse click on a CI View node in the Project Panel and select menu item "Duplicate"
• Or Click the "Duplicate" button in the CI View toolbar

Creating Sub-graph

You can also create views that show only a subset of CI instances and relationships. We call this kind of view a sub-graph. Starting from a CI instance, you can create an outbound sub-graph, an inbound sub-graph, or an all-direction sub-graph.

The screenshot below shows the difference of these three sub-graph types.

To create a sub-graph, right-mouse click on a CI instance node and select menu item "New Subgraph View...".

Creating Tight Sub-graph

A sub-graph can be "loose" or "tight". "Loose" means there could be opposite branches in the sub-graph. For example, an outbound sub-graph (going downstream) has some upstream branches because some nodes have multiple parent nodes. "Tight" sub-graph, on the other hand, can not have opposite branches. For example, a tight inbound sub-graph (going upstream) should not have more than one outbound (downstream) path. The picture below shows the difference between a "loose" sub-graph and a "tight" sub-graph.

Deleting CI View

To delete a CI View, right-mouse click on a CI View node in the Project Panel and select menu item "Delete". You can not delete "Main View".

Displaying CI Attributes

Right-mouse click on the CI View to open up the CI View menu and select "Show Attributes" or "Hide Attributes" to show/hide the attribute panel. Click on a CI node or service node, if the attribute panel is visible,  CI properties will be displayed in the attribute panel.
 

Showing Incident Information

In the attribute panel click the "Incident" tab. If the selected CI has associated incidents, attribute panel will list these incidents also. To visualize all associated incidents in the CI View, right-mouse click on the CI View and then select the menu item "Show Incident Info". Incident count is displayed under the CI icon with different colors.

To change the color scheme, click the edit icon in Color Bar:

The Color Bar Editor allows you to define the number of colors you use (Color Steps), what colors you use (Start Color and End Color) and the mapping between incident count and the color (Incidents per Step).

Cross Referencing

Many views in CMDB Analyzer for SDE can be cross-referenced. Right-mouse click on an incident in the incident table and then select a view. The referenced view will give the visual indication of the selected incident if applicable.

Defining Icons for CIs

CI Icons and the icon mapping file are stored in the directory "system\bridges\com.blg.bmc.sde\config". When a new project is created, icons and mapping file get copied to the project directory. If you want project specific icons, change the icon configuration in the project directory. The file "categoryConfig.xml" defines the icons for CIs by CI category code. After you make changes to this file, you have to restart the application in order to see the changes.

Setting Manual CI Status

You can set CI status manually by right-mouse click on the CI and select either "OK", "Warning" or "Critical" status. Manual status propagates to the top CI or service node. Service maps will also display propagated status.

Using SmartZoom

SmartZoom allows you to spread out otherwise crowded CI instance nodes and relationship lines in the graph. You can use the mouse wheel or the zoom buttons in the toolbar to perform smart zoom.

Using Object Magnifier

You can use Object Magnifier to view parts of the graph in great detail, or use it as an overview window to have a bird view of the whole graph. The CIs and relationships in the Object Magnifier window are all alive - you can perform any mouse or keyboard actions as if you are working in the main view window.

Zoom out and turn magnifier as an overview:

Basic Object Magnifier Mouse Operations :

• Drag Magnifier Spotter to target a specific area to magnify. The crosshair of the Magnifier Spotter is always aligned with the Crosshair in the Magnifier Window.
• Drag the Crosshair in Magnifier Window and release it. Both Crosshair and Magnifier Spotter will align again.
• Drag the Magnifier Window title bar to move the window.
• Drag the Magnifier Window border to resize the window.
• Use mouse wheel in the Magnifier Spotter to zoom.
• Use mouse wheel in the Magnifier Window to zoom.
• Use mouse to pan, pick CI instances and relationships, popup menus, and so on - as if in main view window.

Changing Graphics Attributes

You can use Graphics Properties window to change graphics attributes of CI nodes, graph background and grid fill color. Once the CI View is saved these graphics properties are saved too.

Changing Graph Layout

You have three graph layouts to choose:

• Top-to-bottom hierarchical tree
• Left-to-right hierarchical tree
• Radial tree

Top-to-bottom and left-to-right trees are good choices for laying out simple graph. Radial tree is more suitable when a large number of nodes are involved with complex connections between nodes. You might need to try all three layouts to select the best layout option.

Taking Snapshot

Click "Snapshot" button on the CI View toolbar to take a snapshot of the view and copy it to the clipboard. The snapshot image only covers the visible view area.

Tip: Use "Export Image" option to export the whole graph to an image file.

Exporting Image

To export the whole graph to a gif image file, click "Export" on the CI View toolbar and select "Export Image...".

Finding CI

Open the "Search CI" window to search for a CI or service. If you type in a partial string you will get a list of CIs whose names or IDs contain the string.

Printing

Click "Print" on the CI View toolbar to pop up the print preview window.

Options in the print preview window:

• Select page orientation - Landscape or Portrait
• Scale the whole graph to fit into a single page
• Scale preview window
• Start to print

Building Service Maps

If you have services defined, you can create a service map that graphically displays services on top of any image you choose. Service nodes also displays the total incidents propagated from all descend services and CIs.

Creating New Service Map

1. To create a new service map, right-mouse click on the "Service Maps" tree node in the project panel and select "New Service Map".
2. To duplicate a service map, click "Duplicate" on the service map toolbar.

Adding Service Nodes

To add a service node, drag a service on the left-side tree to the map area. To remove a service node from the map, right-mouse click the service node and then select "Remove".

Configuring Graphic Properties

To change service node graphic attributes and service map image, click "Graphics Options" on the service map toolbar.

Viewing Incidents Summary

Incident summary view lists all incidents in the system.

Viewing Incidents In Categories

Incident category view organizes incidents in categories. "Total Incident #" is the incident count of the specified category including all incidents of its descendents.

Viewing Incidents In Groups

This view groups incidents in Clients, Category and Staff&Group. If you choose "Show Open Incident Age", the group box displays the aging information of current open incidents.

If you choose "Show Incident Status", the group box displays the open incident count and closed incident count.