Legal Notices Introduction... 3

Transcription

1 HP Asset Manager Customizing Asset Manager for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) Legal Notices... 2 Introduction... 3 Partitioning... 3 Data: Core and module tables... 3 Organization table... 4 Asset PortFolio table... 4 Other Portfolio table... 5 Data - Itemized lists... 5 Administration... 8 Actions... 8 Workflows... 8 Restrictions... 8 Generic values... 8 Showing many entities... 8 Side effect... 9 Limitation... 9 Precautionary measures... 9 Appendix... 9 Identifying custom itemized list fields... 9 Identifying screens with custom itemized list fields in their columns in the list For more information... 14

2 Legal Notices Copyright Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Confidential computer software. Valid license from HP required for possession, use or copying. Consistent with FAR and , Commercial Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Adobe, Adobe logo, Acrobat and Acrobat Logo are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Corel and Corel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation or Corel Corporation Limited. Java is a US trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows Mobile and Windows Vista are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. 2

3 Introduction Asset Manager, by default, helps you manage the Portfolio of a single company. Yet the managed service provider (MSP) needs the ability to support multiple clients. In Asset Manager the MSP can customize the database structure and global administration, which makes it easy to design a database that can store the Portfolios and supporting processes of many client companies. There are two common types of MSPs: A service company that manages many customers in a single database. A company (usually a rather large one) whose departments and subsidiaries are considered internal customers of the IT department. This document describes a robust and straightforward customization that supports the functionality that a typical MSP requires. The document: Provides a systematic way for partitioning Asset Manager data through a customer field. Exposes previously undocumented functionality concerning itemized lists. This functionality was created because of the specific way in which itemized lists work. Partitioning The main issue in a system that is suitable for an MSP is how to partition the database into separate entities so that users are not able to see each other s information. To that end, you need to use a company identifying field (ENTITY CODE) either in tables that could contain data that needs to be secured, or in tables that have little common information from one entity to another. This field allows a unique code to be assigned each record to associate it with a particular entity (company). Note: Partitioning works only if you are an MSP with only one kind of entity. A company can have both a company and a location, as two different kinds of entity. Another company can have only the company entity; but a single record can belong to several entities. There are three possible solutions: Solution 1: Use a new simple ENTITY CODE text field Solution 2: Use a new ENTITY CODE link field Solution 2 offers a more sophisticated customization. In this solution, records are linked to an entity table (normally Employees and Departments, Companies, or a new table). Because performance is a critical concern in large databases, HP suggests a hybrid approach that combines both solutions. For each sensitive table (such as amportfolio), a field is added to the table to hold the entity code; but data integrity is maintained between that field and the entity table. In Asset Manager versions prior to 4.4, add a direct field in the table, create a default value that takes the value from the entity table, and then create a workflow to synchronize the two values. In AssetCenter version 4.4 and greater, create a linked field to the entity table and then denormalize the linked field. This customization enables better performance by eliminating a link (join) between the tables while still maintaining data integrity. The field used to associate the record with an entity will be referred to as the EC (for Entity Code) for the remainder of this paper. Data: Core and module tables This section presents the core tables that you use for the implementation. In these tables you either: Add the EC field, or Make sure that there is a mandatory link to a table with an EC field, and that the link is appropriate for partitioning. 3

4 Note: If you add the EC field, you must add it to at least one screen of the table. Organization table SQL Name Description EC/Link (1) amabsence Absences Employee.EC amcompany Companies EC amcontact Contacts Company.EC amempldept Employees and departments EC amemplgroup Employee groups EC amfloorplan Floor plans EC amfloorplanpos Floorplan positions FloorPlan.EC (2) amlocation Locations EC amstock Stock Location.EC amstockrule Stock rules Stock.Location.EC amtraining Training Employee.EC Asset PortFolio table SQL Name Description EC/Link (1) amasset Assets PortFolioItem.EC amastprojdesc Assets included in projects Asset.PortFolioItem.EC ambrand Brands (3) amcomputer Computers PortFolio.EC amconnection Connections Port.Asset.PortFolioItem.EC amlogicaldrive Logical drives Computer.PortFolio.EC ammodel Models of products, assets, contracts, work orders,... (3) ammonitor Monitors PortFolioItem.EC amnature Natures (3) amnetworkcard Network cards Computer.PortFolio.EC amphone Telephones PortFolioItem.EC amphysicaldrive Physical drives Computer.PortFolio.EC amport Ports Asset.PortFolioItem.EC amportfolio Portfolio items EC amrelmodelcompat Compatibility between models (3) amsoftinstall Software installations or utilizations PortFolioItem.EC amsoftliccounter Software control counters Supervisor.EC Notes: (1) Proposal 4

5 (2) Normally cannot - or should not - be accessed directly (3) Having these tables common to all customers depends on one main factor. If the IT department is fully responsible for the asset management, it will be able to: o Select a unique inventory tool. o Use the model name normalization functionality. o Focus on having a common set of models. o Add reasonable administration (for example, a validity check in requests) to have all users sharing the same model structure. If the IT department is not fully responsible for asset management, models and associated tables can be partitioned as well. Because having common tables can be major source of management costs savings, HP advises against partitioning them. Other Portfolio table SQL Name Description EC/Link (1) amproject Projects Supervisor.EC amastprojdesc Assets included in projects Supervisor.Project.EC (2) amworkorder Work orders Requester.EC Note: Module tables such as amrequest and amorder have to be managed in the manner described above. Data - Itemized lists Concerning itemized lists, you cannot, as with the tables described above, simply add the EC field into existing standard tables. Indeed, itemized lists are managed in a special way by Asset Manager (using caching, automatic value filtering, and other methods) that makes it impossible to have restrictions work the same way. There is, however, functionality in Asset Manager that allows you to store custom itemized list values in linked tables. That way, you can add fields (at least the EC field) in linked tables and partition them as desired. To store custom itemized list values in linked tables, perform the following steps: 1. Create one new table to replace amitemlistval. You can choose any name for this table. In this example we will call it amcustitemlistval. The table should be identical to amitemlistval except that a) The link towards amitemizedlist must be replaced by a Identifier text field identical to that in the amitemizedlist table, and b) The EC field must be added. 2. Create links to amcustitemlistval. For each custom itemized list field you want to include in the new database partition, a normal link called Prefix_NameOfStdField that points to the amcustitemlistval table must be created. You can choose any prefix you want, but this example uses the prefix "IL." For example, in the amempldept table there is a standard field named Title which is controlled by the amtitle custom itemized list. You create a normal link (either a single link of type neutral, or a 5

6 multiple reverse link of type normal) named ILTitle pointing to the amcustitemilistval table. To identify custom itemized list fields in your database, see the Appendix. 3. Update the amoption table. So that the Asset Manager Windows client can show IL* links instead of standard custom itemized list fields, and correctly retrieve the appropriate records in the new table, you have to add a new non-user option in the amoption table and enter a correct value. If you have not done so already, import the standard wizard Update the options table... that is in the datakit (<Asset_Manager_Install_Directory>\datakit\standard\wizard). In order to use the wizard to create non-user options, you have to apply the two following modifications. To do so, select the text mode and directly modify the script (if you use the graphical mode and modify the node properties, you will get errors). In the InitialOptions node, replace the value parameter. Replace the following entry: AmDbGetList("SELECT " & Replace(OPTION_COLNAME, " ", ",") & " FROM amoption WHERE OptSection LIKE '" & LikeParam(OPTSECTION_PREFIX) & "%'", " ", ",", "=") With the following entry: AmDbGetList("SELECT " & Replace(OPTION_COLNAME, " ", ",") & " FROM amoption", " ", ",", "=") In the COMMANDBUTTON cmdadd node, in the Click parameter, in the following If Then Else End if sequence: If Mid(NewOptSection, 1, Len(OPTSECTION_PREFIX)) <> OPTSECTION_PREFIX Then 'OptSection does not properly prefixed -> Risk of conflict w/ system data RetVal = AmMsgBox("The name of the section must start with '" & OPTSECTION_PREFIX & "'.") Else 'OptSection OK -> Proceed 'Retrieve new option name and list of option NewOptEntry = EscapeSeparators({tbNewOptEntry}, ",=", "\") Options = {lboption.values} 'Check former existence of option If InStr(1, "," & SubList(Options, "*", "1 2") & ",", "," & NewOptSection & " " & NewOptEntry & ",") > 0 Then 'This option name is used already in the section RetVal = AmMsgBox("There is already an option using this name") Else 'This option name is not used -> Add new option to list lnewcounter = lnewcounter + 1 RetVal = amsetproperty("lboption.values", AppendOperand(Options, ",", NewOptSection & " " & NewOptEntry & " =" & NEW_ID_PREFIX & lnewcounter)) End If End If Keep only the statements in the Else block of statements. 4. Launch the wizard. 6

7 5. In the New section field enter AwRtti. In the New option field enter ItemizedList. Then click Add the new entry: 6. In the newly added line in the Options listbox, in the Value column, enter: LinkEdit-IL$(MainField) WhereCond="Identifier = '$(MainField.Format)'" In a possible customized screen you might see something like: 7

8 Administration Actions Actions can be managed like normal tables. However, since actions such as wizards should be mostly common to all users, you will probably have to manage generic values. See the Restrictions section below. Workflows This time, the way to partition should not use fields in workflow records. You should have the activation condition in the event of the activity starting a given entity s workflow evolution from ActivationCondition to ActivationCondition AND CurrentUser.EC = <given entity> (if activition condtion in AQL). Restrictions You need to add access restrictions to all those tables that contain "CurrentUser.EC = EC. The user who is logged in with those restrictions is able to see the records with the same EC as their own Employee Record. If the table does not contain the AC field but is linked through a simple link to a table that contains the field, the restriction will be "CurrentUser.EC = link.ec See the column EC/Link in the Core and module tables section. It is possible to have more than one level of links; but keep in mind that each link level impacts performance. Generic values You may need to have some records available for all entities. For that purpose you can add a generic value, such as All. The access restriction will evolve to "(CurrentUser.EC = EC) OR (EC = 'All'). Note: Be aware that the OR condition can seriously affect performance. Showing many entities You may need to allow the end users to see only some, but not all, entities. This can be done by using the Employee Groups table and creating more complicated access restrictions. An Employee Group may be created for every entity; and then the users who want access to the information of that entity would be added to the group. The access restriction then evolves to: EXISTS (SELECT EG.lGroupId FROM amemplgroup EG, amrelemplgrp R WHERE ((EG.EC = <TableName>:EC) AND (R.lGroupId = EG.lGroupId)) AND (R.lEmplDeptId = CurrentUser)) Where < TableName > is replaced with the name of the table for which the particular access restriction is intended. Of course, such a restriction reduces performance. If performance is unacceptable to the user, the administrator can implement another solution: Give users the right to change the entity in their profile so that they can log in again and work in the context of the new entity. The administrator must add a control so that the user can select only authorized entities; however, this is not sufficient if you need to show many entities together. 8

9 Side effect Because you no longer have the link from amcustitemlistval to amitemizedlist (which was replaced by the Identifier field), you lose the open/close functionality. In you need this functionality, there is a possible workaround: Manage open/close status in the amitemizedlist table and modify the procedure that checks the status. Ask your Account Executive to request the implementation description from Asset Manager Product Management. The custom itemized list field substitution applies only to pages. Each time a standard custom itemized list field is referenced (mainly in wizards and columns in the list in screens), Asset Manager shows its real value (such as the value in the Title field instead of that in the ILTitle.Value field). There are two ways to fix this effect: Replace custom itemized list fields by the value from the link. For instance, replace Title with ILTitle.Value. Create default values for custom itemized list fields that take the value from the link. For instance, the default value script for Title would be: Retval = ILTitle.Value. Next, you have to create workflows that synchronize the values in case of updates. Note: To help you find the screens with custom itemized list fields in their columns in the list see the Appendix. Limitation The substitution of custom itemized lists in pages is not supported in the Web client. Precautionary measures As with any customization, you take precautionary measures during implementation. For instance, make a backup copy of your database before trying any of these customization steps. Appendix Identifying custom itemized list fields To quickly identify these fields, you can use the template functionality in Asset Manager Application Designer. Click Actions -> Templates. First you copy and paste the following code into a file with a.tpl extension, such as CustItemizedList.tpl: $ Desc:List of Custom Itemized List Fields (TXT format) $ Type:txt $include "dbscript.tpl" $(AppInfo) List of Custom Itemized List Fields TABLE SQL NAME FIELD SQL NAME FIELD LABEL $for Tables sort (SqlName ASC) $for Fields sort (SqlName ASC) $if $(Usertype)=8 $(Tables.SqlName) $(SqlName) $(Label) $(Desc) $endif $endfor $endfor Then you can place the CustItemizedList.tpl file in the directory <Asset ManagerInstallDirectory>\Doc\Info. To use another directory, copy the dbscript.tpl 9

10 file into it; then change the template default directory by clicking Actions -> Templates -> Select folder. To refresh the templates, click Actions -> Templates -> Refresh list. To create the resulting text file, click Actions -> Templates -> List of screens with custom itemized lists fields in their columns in the list. Custom Itemized list fields in AssetCenter 4.4.1: Table Name SQL Name Label amabsence AccountingType Accounting type amabsence Nature Nature amaction Nature Nature amasset DisposReason Reason amasset Language Language amasset MaintCond Conditions amasset SoftMedia Media amasset SoftOS System amasset Status Status amasset TerminOpt Termination option amasset WarrCond Conditions amcable CableRole Role amcatalog ProdClass Classification amcatproduct Certification Certification amcatproduct Packaging Packaging amcatproduct WarrCond Conditions amcatref Certification Certification amcbksystem Depreciation Depreciation amcntrempl Profile Profile amcnxtype TargetType Targ. type amcnxtype Type Type amcolordet Color Color amcolordet RingColor Ring color amcolordet TipColor Tip color amcompany CompanyGrp Group amcompany Qualif1 Qualif 1 amcompany Qualif2 Qualif 2 amcomputer ComputerType Computer type amcomputer CPUInternal CPU version amcomputer CPUType CPU type amcomputer OperatingSystem Oper. System amcomputer OSLocale Language amcomputer ScannerDesc Scanner description amcomputer ScannerVersion Scanner version amconnection Field2 Field 2 amcontact MrMrs Mr/Mrs amcontact Title Title amcontract AssignCond Conditions amcontract LossCond Conditions amcontract Nature Nature amcontract PurchOptType Purchase option type amcontract RenOptType Renewal option type amcontract RetOptType Return option type amcontract Status Status 10

11 Table Name SQL Name Label amcontract UpgOptType Upgrade option type amdocument DocCategory Category amempldept MrMrs Mr/Mrs amempldept Title Title amexpenseline Payment Payment amexpenseline Type Type amextensioncard Type Type amfixedasset DeprCalcMode Calculation method amfixedasset DeprType Type amfixedasset Family Family aminvoice InvoiceType Type aminvoice Status Status aminvoice TransMethod Transmission aminvoiceline Status Status amloan FloatingRate Floating rate amlocation City City amlocation LocationType Location type amlocation State State amlogicaldrive Media Media amlogicaldrive Type Partition type ammodel CableType Cable type ammodel Certification Certification ammodel ContractNature Nature of the contract ammodel CPUType CPU ammodel DeviceType Device type ammodel InstLanguage Language ammodel InstOS OS ammodel InstType Type ammodel LicLanguage Language ammodel SoftMedia Media ammodel SoftOS OS ammodel WOPriority Priority ammodelport CnxMode Connection mode ammodelport Field1 Field 1 ammodelport Field2 Field 2 ammodelport Type Port type amnetworkcard Type Type amnews Topic Topic amporder Certification Certification amporder Language Language amporder Priority Priority amporder ShipMode Shipping method amporder Status Status amporder TransMethod Transmission amporder Type Type ampordline Status Status amport CnxMode Connection mode amport Field1 Field 1 amport Field2 Field 2 amport Type Port type amprodclasscode ProdClass Classification 11

12 Table Name SQL Name Label amproject Status Status amquery Type User type amreceipt RetReason Reason for return amreceiptline Status Status amreport Nature Nature amreqline Status Status amrequest Certification Certification amrequest Priority Priority amrequest Status Status amrequest Type Type amreturnenv City City amreturnenv ShipMode Shipping method amreturnenv State State amreturnenv Status Status amsoftinstall Language Language amsoftinstall SoftOS Operating system amsoftinstall Status Status amsoftliccounter Type Nature amstock ReqPriority Priority amstock ReqStatus Status amstock ReqType Type amtaxformula Category Category amtermfldcfgrole CableRole Role amtermflddevice CableRole Role amticket ResolCode Resol. code amticket SatisLvl Satisfaction amticket Status Status amtickethistline Nature Nature amtickethistline ResolCode Resol. code amtickethistline SatisLvl Satisfaction amtickethistline SuspType Suspension type amtopologydet CableRole Role amtopologydet CableType Cable type amtopologydet DeviceType Device type amunit Dimension Dimension amunit DstConvSym Reference unit amunit Symbol Symbol amviewdef Type Type amwfscheme GroupName Execution group amworkorder Priority Priority Identifying screens with custom itemized list fields in their columns in the list To quickly identify these fields, you can use the template functionality in Asset Manager Application Designer. Click Actions -> Templates. First you have to copy and paste the following code into a file with the.tpl extension such as ScreensWCustItemizedListFields.tpl. $ Desc:Screens with custom itemized lists fields in their columns in the list $ Type:txt $include "dbscript.tpl" 12

13 $(AppInfo) List of screens with custom itemized lists fields in their columns in the list $for Screens sort (SqlName ASC) * * SCREEN=$(SQLNAME) $for FIELDSINLISTCONFIG sort (SqlName ASC) $if $(FIELD.Usertype)=8 field $(FIELD.sqlname) in list is a $StrUserType($(FIELD.Usertype)), format type is $(FIELD.UserTypeFormat) $endif $endfor $endfor Then you can place the ScreensWCustItemizedListFields.tpl file in the directory <Asset ManagerInstallDirectory>\Doc\Info. To use another directory, copy the dbscript.tpl file into it and then change the template default directory by clicking Actions -> Templates -> Select folder. To refresh the templates, click Actions -> Templates -> Refresh list. Finally, to create the resulting text file, click Actions -> Templates -> Screens with custom itemized lists fields in their columns in the list. As a result, you might see: * * SCREEN=sysamEmplDept field MrMrs in list is a Custom itemized list, format type is ammrmrs field Title in list is a Custom itemized list, format type is amtitle * * SCREEN=sysamEmplGroup * * Etc. 13

14 For more information Please visit the HP Software support Web site at: This web site provides contact information and details about the products, services, and support that HP Software offers. HP Software online support provides customer self-solve capabilities. It provides a fast and efficient way to access interactive technical support tools needed to manage your business. As a valuable support customer, you can benefit by being able to: Search for knowledge documents of interest Submit and track progress on support cases Submit enhancement requests online Download software patches Manage a support contract Look up HP support contacts Review information about available services Enter discussions with other software customers Research and register for software training Note: Most of the support areas require that you register as an HP Passport user and sign in. Many also require an active support contract. To find more information about support access levels, go to the following URL: To register for an HP Passport ID, go to the following URL: Limited responsibility clause Asset Manager is integrated with several third-party applications. Examples: Database engines, Web servers, single sign-on software, load-balancing and clustering hardware and software solutions, reporting software such as Crystal Reports, etc. Support for these applications is limited to their interface with Asset Manager. Support does not cover installation problems, setup and customization problems nor malfunctioning of the third-party application. White papers contain examples of implementations that may work in your environment with or without customization. There is no guarantee that this will be the case. It could also be that some of the solutions covered by white papers appear as standard features in a future release of the software. When this is the case, there is no guarantee that you will be able to upgrade the solution you implemented based on the white paper to the equivalent standard feature Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Itanium is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries and is used under license. Customizing AM for Managed Service Providers.doc