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Manage CMDB Tasks

Manage CMDB tasks enable you to perform a range of automated actions on CMDB items. These tasks can automatically:

Create CMDB items (People, Configuration Items, Services, Service Actions, and Service Bundles)
Update one or more fields on CMDB items that are linked to the current request.
Delete CMDB items
Create, update or delete links between CMDB items or CMDB items and stakeholders
Transfer quantities of Software Product and Inventory items

Updates to CMDB items are added through transactions.

Creating a Manage CMDB Task

Search for the Request Details window, if it is not already on screen.
Select the Update Dependencies explorer option on the Request Details window, or the button from the toolbar. The Task Dependencies window appears with icons for task entity types displayed below the toolbar.

If the workflow template you have used to create the request already has tasks defined in it, you will see these tasks here. You can open them and change their details such as dates, assignment, or expenses. You can add new tasks or delete them from the current request without affecting the template.

Add the Manage CMDB task to the Dependency Diagram.

Select the icon from the task palette and drag it to position. Alternatively, right-click in the window, and from the menu that is displayed, select New and then the Manage CMDB task entity type. Then link the task to the previous task in the workflow.
Double-click the icon on the dependency diagram to display the Manage CMDB Task Details window .
Complete the common task fields.
At Transaction Type, select the type of transaction you would like to add.

Select Create Item to set up a transaction to create a new CMDB item or person.
Select Update Item to set up a transaction to update the details of a CMDB item or person.
Select Delete Item to set up a transaction to delete a CMDB item or person and/or update the details of the CMDB item or person.
Select Create Link to set up a transaction to link CMDB items, or CMDB items and stakeholders.
Select Update Link to set up a transaction to edit the link details of an existing link between CMDB items, or CMDB items and stakeholders.
Select Delete Link to set up a transaction to delete the link between CMDB items, or CMDB items and stakeholders.
Select Asset Management Transaction to set up a transaction to automate a licensed asset management transaction.

Click Add and complete the transaction details.

If the allocation or reservation does not meet specified usage criteria during runtime, the transaction fails and the error is written into the execution history for the Manage CMDB task.

Depending on the type of transaction, map the fields to be updated by the transaction in the transaction details.
Save the transaction details.

Viewing added transactions

The transactions appear in the browse table within the Transactions view.

Each transaction added to a Manage CMDB task appears in the transactions browse table. The following columns appear:

Name	the name specified for the transaction when adding it
Type	the type of transaction (such as Create Item, or Update Item)
Status	whether the transaction has already run (Completed) or not yet run (Pending)
Result	the outcome of the transaction after it has run - Not Run, Succeeded, or Failed
Rerun on failure	the condition for re-running the transaction if it fail, as specified in the transaction details
Fail if no items affected	the condition for failing the task, as specified in the transaction details
Fail on mapping error	the condition for failing the task, as specified in the transaction details

You can view and update transactions added to a Manage CMDB task from a request within the Manage CMDB Transactions tab if the option is selected in the Tasks tab of your workflow management security role.

To change the order in which the transactions will be run, use the Move Up or Move Down buttons.

To view or edit the transaction details, select a transaction and click Open.

To delete a transaction, select a transaction and click Delete.

Setting the transaction priority

Transactions are shown in the order of priority in the table under the Transactions view. The first (topmost) transaction will be executed, and then the second, and so on. You can change the order of the transactions by selecting a transaction and clicking the Move Up or Move Down buttons.

Processing transactions on failure

If the Process All Transactions option is selected, the task will continue to run the next transaction if a transaction fails. Clear this option if you want the task to fail immediately and stop processing the rest of the transactions on the first transaction failure.

Viewing the transaction history

A record of each transaction run for the Manage CMDB task appears in a table within the Execution History view. This view includes the date the transaction ran, whether it succeeded or not (Result column), and a message detailing the outcome of the transaction.

The Execution History view at the task level shows both failed and successful transactions, while the same named view on the Transaction Details only shows failed transactions.