Recently, I have been working with my colleagues in integrating a CMDB with other ITIL processes. We discussed with the CMDB vendor about how we could extract data from it, and the answer was there was no way, and the CMDB is considered the end of the line (not life!).
I spent years talking about (and implementing) CMDB solutions at many customers. We discussed data integration, federation, reconciliation and many other aspects. In many cases, after a long time implementing it, we'd look at a perfect CMDB without a clear understanding on what we would be doing with it.
I understand CMDB is intended to gather data from different sources and is the cornerstone of the ITIL processes. Ideally these ITIL processes would leverage the data in CMDB, without replicating it. The reality thou is different: in many cases, some data need to be extracted from CMDB and loaded into another product (whether from the same vendor or not).
At IBM, we've built the ITIL processes on same platform (Tivoli Process Automation Engine) as the CMDB. Nevertheless, we provide many different ways to extract from (and load into) Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database (CCMDB).
If your CMDB vendor doesn't provide a way to extract data, my challenge to you is to describe what are the use cases you're planning to use the CMDB for. My opinion: building a CMDB should not be the target, but just the catalyst of a Service Management initiative.
Thoughts? Am I missing anything?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
How to pass the subnetworking to be used in a TSAM provisioning
After enabling the parameters in the TSAM GUI, as described at
http://eduardoware.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-expose-parameters-in-tsam.html
and setting the multiple NIC support, as described at:
http://eduardoware.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-enable-multiple-nic-interfaces.html
then create a new Custom Property, as depicted below:
Remember to set the type to VST.
Furthermore, the proper name of the Property is PMRDP.Net.Subnet_0
http://eduardoware.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-expose-parameters-in-tsam.html
and setting the multiple NIC support, as described at:
http://eduardoware.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-enable-multiple-nic-interfaces.html
then create a new Custom Property, as depicted below:
Furthermore, the proper name of the Property is PMRDP.Net.Subnet_0
How to enable multiple NIC interfaces in TSAM
- Go To -> Administration -> Provisioning -> Provisioning Global Settings
- Search for the following property
PMRDP.Net.MultiNicSupport
and set its value to true.
How to expose parameters in the TSAM SimpleSRM interface
TSAM provides the capability for the end-user to select CPU, memory and disk size, along with which Resource Pool, Image and additional Software to install. Besides that, it's possible to expose any internal parameter in the GUI, opening opportunity for the user to specify values for internal properties.
One use case for this feature is the ability to select which VLAN the VM should be allocated.
The following steps show how to expose the parameters in the GUI (as tioadmin):
One use case for this feature is the ability to select which VLAN the VM should be allocated.
The following steps show how to expose the parameters in the GUI (as tioadmin):
- Stop TSAM/TPM
cd /opt/IBM/tivoli/tpm/tools/
./tio.sh stop - Create a temporary directory
mkdir ~/temp
cd ~/temp - Copy SRMCommons.jar to the new directory
cp /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/ctgAppSrv01/installedApps/ctgCell01/MAXIMO.ear/SRMCommons.jar . - Open the JAR file
/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/java/bin/jar xvf SRMCommons.jar - Edit the config.properties
vi ./com/ibm/tivoli/simplesrm/configuration/config.properties - Search for property ParameterPassing, set it to true:
#If "true" - passing parameter button is visible in Create and Add panels.
ParameterPassing=true - Rebuild the JAR file
/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/java/bin/jar cvf SRMCommons.jar . - Copy the new JAR file to the WebSphere directory (you might want to keep a copy of the original JAR file to revert back to the original GUI):
cp SRMCommons.jar /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/ctgAppSrv01/installedApps/ctgCell01/MAXIMO.ear/SRMCommons.jar - Restart TSAM/TPM:
cd /opt/IBM/tivoli/tpm/tools/
./tio.sh start - You'll see a new area at the bottom of the Create Project with Server option:
- Clicking the Custom properties button, you'll be able to add any parameter to the Virtual Server Template.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Virtualization with VMware and IBM: Enjoy the Ride, but Don’t Forget to Buckle Up!
Good VMware / IBM Security presentation. Recorded session available:
Virtualization with VMware and IBM: Enjoy the Ride,
but Don’t Forget to Buckle Up!
Thursday, August 5, 2010, 9:00 AM PDT / 12:00 PM EST
Organizations are under increasing pressure to deliver more functionality to their businesses and customers. At the heart of this transformation is virtualization. However, the ultimate success of virtualization is not simply dependent on energy efficiency, performance and ease of use. It must also provide these benefits without compromising the overall security, reliability and availability of the IT infrastructure.
Join VMware and experts from IBM Security as we examine many of the concerns associated with virtualization and help organizations better understand and prioritize these risks, as well as help you build a strong security posture that will positions your organization to reap the full rewards of this exciting technology.
View this webcast to find out about:
Involving the IT security team in the initial stages of virtualization projects
Maintaining compliance when adopting a virtualization solution
The limitations of traditional security in virtual data centers and how to mitigate security risks
Featured Speakers:
Bob Kalka, Director, Security Solutions, IBM
Ravi Kumar, Group Product Marketing Manager – Security, VMware
Register today!
Virtualization with VMware and IBM: Enjoy the Ride,
but Don’t Forget to Buckle Up!
Thursday, August 5, 2010, 9:00 AM PDT / 12:00 PM EST
Organizations are under increasing pressure to deliver more functionality to their businesses and customers. At the heart of this transformation is virtualization. However, the ultimate success of virtualization is not simply dependent on energy efficiency, performance and ease of use. It must also provide these benefits without compromising the overall security, reliability and availability of the IT infrastructure.
Join VMware and experts from IBM Security as we examine many of the concerns associated with virtualization and help organizations better understand and prioritize these risks, as well as help you build a strong security posture that will positions your organization to reap the full rewards of this exciting technology.
View this webcast to find out about:
Involving the IT security team in the initial stages of virtualization projects
Maintaining compliance when adopting a virtualization solution
The limitations of traditional security in virtual data centers and how to mitigate security risks
Featured Speakers:
Bob Kalka, Director, Security Solutions, IBM
Ravi Kumar, Group Product Marketing Manager – Security, VMware
Register today!
TDI 7.1 - DLA video and write-up
Hot off Eddie's press. The old material we had on this was pre-Eclipse and older IdML components
This is becoming real smooth :)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIMhQRtB2T0
Here is the latest version of the PDF:
http://www.tdi-users.org/twiki/pub/Integrator/IsmPage/GettingStartedcreatingIdMLDiscoveryBooksDLAswithTDI7.pdf
This is becoming real smooth :)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIMhQRtB2T0
Here is the latest version of the PDF:
http://www.tdi-users.org/twiki/pub/Integrator/IsmPage/GettingStartedcreatingIdMLDiscoveryBooksDLAswithTDI7.pdf
Monday, August 16, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Integrating TADDM with BMC Atrium
We got competition!
There is a company that releases a way to integration TADDM with BMC Atrium. See information at: http://www.seamlessti.com/ibm_taddm_cmdb.html
It seems it connects to the TADDM database, instead of using the TADDM API. Suspicious...
There is a company that releases a way to integration TADDM with BMC Atrium. See information at: http://www.seamlessti.com/ibm_taddm_cmdb.html
It seems it connects to the TADDM database, instead of using the TADDM API. Suspicious...
Friday, April 23, 2010
The power of a single Service Management platform
When IBM acquired MRO and decided to build many Service Management products on the top of the Maximo platform, it certainly benefited from the same GUI, lots of common functionality (Integration Framework, Escalation, Security model, to name a few).
However the main benefit of putting all these products (CCMDB, TSRM, TAMIT, TPM) on the top of the Tivoli Process Automation Engine (TPAE) platform is the fact that the data is shared among all the products. So instead of having to push CMDB data into a Service Desk tool or push Incidents to a CMDB, the TPAE platform holds the data once for all these applications to use.
I can't think a better way to build a CMDB-centric ITIL implementation that having all ITIC processes sharing the same data. The alternative is to push CMDB data into a Service Desk tool, an Asset Management tool, and so on, making the project focus on data shuffling.
The benefit is that, using an IBM-based solution, the ITIL implementation can evolve from starting with one ITIL process to the next one, and the task is to install and configure the ITIL Process Management, not to be concern about how to move data around.
Thoughts?
However the main benefit of putting all these products (CCMDB, TSRM, TAMIT, TPM) on the top of the Tivoli Process Automation Engine (TPAE) platform is the fact that the data is shared among all the products. So instead of having to push CMDB data into a Service Desk tool or push Incidents to a CMDB, the TPAE platform holds the data once for all these applications to use.
I can't think a better way to build a CMDB-centric ITIL implementation that having all ITIC processes sharing the same data. The alternative is to push CMDB data into a Service Desk tool, an Asset Management tool, and so on, making the project focus on data shuffling.
The benefit is that, using an IBM-based solution, the ITIL implementation can evolve from starting with one ITIL process to the next one, and the task is to install and configure the ITIL Process Management, not to be concern about how to move data around.
Thoughts?
How Tivoli Directory Integrator can be used in the federation of a CMDB
Tivoli Directory Integrator is a fantastic and flexible data integration tool that can be used efficiently in implementing the data federation in a CMDB.
IBM's approach for CMDB federation is based on an XML file that complies to an XML schema called Identity Markup Language. TDI is a great and simple way to generate these XML files, as it abstracts all the nuances of the XML file into CI types and attributes. This video shows how easy it's to create this IDML file.
The power of TDI thou doesn't come from the IDML Connector, but it comes from the plethora of available connectors (JDBC, JMS, Notes DB, Web Service, HTTP, to name a few) and the flexibility it provides to connect many data sources without the need to write a single line of code. Want to create an IDML with just the data that changed since last time? You got it. In TDI, it's just a few click away, just the Delta capability.
Another interesting aspect is that there are other TDI connectors available in the CMDB / Service Management space: the Maximo Generic Connector let us interface with CCMDB without having to generate an IDML file, but going through Tivoli Integration Framework. The TADDM Connector lets you create (and retrieve) CI from TADDM, which will be imported into CCMDB.
Questions? Comments?
IBM's approach for CMDB federation is based on an XML file that complies to an XML schema called Identity Markup Language. TDI is a great and simple way to generate these XML files, as it abstracts all the nuances of the XML file into CI types and attributes. This video shows how easy it's to create this IDML file.
The power of TDI thou doesn't come from the IDML Connector, but it comes from the plethora of available connectors (JDBC, JMS, Notes DB, Web Service, HTTP, to name a few) and the flexibility it provides to connect many data sources without the need to write a single line of code. Want to create an IDML with just the data that changed since last time? You got it. In TDI, it's just a few click away, just the Delta capability.
Another interesting aspect is that there are other TDI connectors available in the CMDB / Service Management space: the Maximo Generic Connector let us interface with CCMDB without having to generate an IDML file, but going through Tivoli Integration Framework. The TADDM Connector lets you create (and retrieve) CI from TADDM, which will be imported into CCMDB.
Questions? Comments?
Federation and reconciliation goes hand-in-hand in a CMDB implementation
When we talk about federation in a CMDB implementation, it's because there are multiple data sources that need to be combined as a single repository (even if the data is not physically combined into one single database).
Having multiple data sources implies that they will many times refer to the same Configuration Item, raising the question of how to reconcile these records. Traditionally, CMDB products chose a primary key that is used to merge the data; however, my experience shows it's difficult to identify a single attribute that can be universally to identify a CI type. As an example, although a computer serial number might seems a good candidate, we have seen that many products don't provide such attribute, but relies on IP address as the identifier. The same argument can be used for IP address and any other attribute.
At IBM, we decided to take a different approach: instead of relying an attribute or a collection of attributes to uniquely identify a CI, we have defined many naming rules for each CI types and enforce that each data source provides the attribute of at least one rule. So if a product uses serial number to identify a CI, another uses serial number and IP address, and a third one, just IP address, this ingenious approach will be able to determine when they represent the same CI.
So the integration with IBM CCMDB is based on having products providing data according to a common data model in a process named Discovery Library Adapter.
The alternative of implementing this federation / reconciliation approach is to defer the reconciliation of the data instead of doing it before the data is imported into a CMDB. Some products define the concept of many buckets of data that are combined through a reconciliation mechanism. Although this approach simplifies the data loading process, it defers to the user the responsibility of federating and creates another hop in the data chain.
Next we'll talk about how we can use Tivoli products to assist in federating the data into a CMDB.
Having multiple data sources implies that they will many times refer to the same Configuration Item, raising the question of how to reconcile these records. Traditionally, CMDB products chose a primary key that is used to merge the data; however, my experience shows it's difficult to identify a single attribute that can be universally to identify a CI type. As an example, although a computer serial number might seems a good candidate, we have seen that many products don't provide such attribute, but relies on IP address as the identifier. The same argument can be used for IP address and any other attribute.
At IBM, we decided to take a different approach: instead of relying an attribute or a collection of attributes to uniquely identify a CI, we have defined many naming rules for each CI types and enforce that each data source provides the attribute of at least one rule. So if a product uses serial number to identify a CI, another uses serial number and IP address, and a third one, just IP address, this ingenious approach will be able to determine when they represent the same CI.
So the integration with IBM CCMDB is based on having products providing data according to a common data model in a process named Discovery Library Adapter.
The alternative of implementing this federation / reconciliation approach is to defer the reconciliation of the data instead of doing it before the data is imported into a CMDB. Some products define the concept of many buckets of data that are combined through a reconciliation mechanism. Although this approach simplifies the data loading process, it defers to the user the responsibility of federating and creates another hop in the data chain.
Next we'll talk about how we can use Tivoli products to assist in federating the data into a CMDB.
Federation capability on CMDB
Since the inception of a Configuration Management Database concept, there has been this notion that CMDB needs to be a federated solution. But what qualifies a federation, as the term is certainly overused and stretched in many directions.
Here is wikipedia.org definition of IT Federation:
A Federation is multiple computing and/or network providers agreeing upon standards of operation in a collective fashion. The term may be used when describing the inter-operation of two distinct, formally disconnected, telecommunications networks that may have different internal structures. The term may also be used when groups attempt to delegate collective authority of development to prevent fragmentation.
Well, it doesn't tell a lot, except it says about multiple computers working together. I see two distinct ways to achieve such interoperability:
My recommendation for a CMDB is to have a balance between data integration and real-time federation, where the key attributes of brought to a centralized database and unsupervised or volatile attributes are kept in their original data sources.
Next I will talk how reconciliation is related to federation and CMDB.
Here is wikipedia.org definition of IT Federation:
A Federation is multiple computing and/or network providers agreeing upon standards of operation in a collective fashion. The term may be used when describing the inter-operation of two distinct, formally disconnected, telecommunications networks that may have different internal structures. The term may also be used when groups attempt to delegate collective authority of development to prevent fragmentation.
Well, it doesn't tell a lot, except it says about multiple computers working together. I see two distinct ways to achieve such interoperability:
- data integration, traditionally called ETL (extract, transform and load), where data from a data source is physically moved to another data source. A data integration has the benefits of all the data will be concentrated into one single repository, which addresses an intriguing question about a CMDB: without bringing the data together, how can we build a CMDB if the data sits in an external data without any kind of Change Management process to update it?
- use tools, like IBM InfoSphere Federation Server to portrait the data as a single repository, even if it resides physically in many data sources. The main advantage of this approach is the fact that the data doesn't need to be synchronized and it's retrieved only when needed. It creates the issue of how to keep track of CMDB changes when there are many data sources, and the associated products are updating the data sources at their own will.
My recommendation for a CMDB is to have a balance between data integration and real-time federation, where the key attributes of brought to a centralized database and unsupervised or volatile attributes are kept in their original data sources.
Next I will talk how reconciliation is related to federation and CMDB.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Running KVM and VMware Server in the same machine
After enabling virtualization in the BIOS, I can't start a VMware VM anymore, as I received the following message:
Error while powering on: Failed to initialize monitor device.
To fix this problem, I had the unload the kvm modules:
sudo rmmod kvm_intel
sudo rmmod kvm
After that, I can load a VMware VM. Then, the KVM doesn't work, as you can test by running the following command:
eduardo@eduardo-laptop:~$ kvm-ok
INFO: Your CPU supports KVM extensions
INFO: /dev/kvm does not exist
HINT: sudo modprobe kvm
KVM acceleration can NOT be used
Error while powering on: Failed to initialize monitor device.
To fix this problem, I had the unload the kvm modules:
sudo rmmod kvm_intel
sudo rmmod kvm
After that, I can load a VMware VM. Then, the KVM doesn't work, as you can test by running the following command:
eduardo@eduardo-laptop:~$ kvm-ok
INFO: Your CPU supports KVM extensions
INFO: /dev/kvm does not exist
HINT: sudo modprobe kvm
KVM acceleration can NOT be used
The fix is right there: run sudo modprobe kvm, then everybody is happy!
Maybe not. After loading the kvm module, the VMware VM just dies. I guess there is no harmony between KVM and VMware. Any ideas?
Maybe not. After loading the kvm module, the VMware VM just dies. I guess there is no harmony between KVM and VMware. Any ideas?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
New version of the TDI IDML Connector
Mat Davis put a lot of work in enhancing and publishing a new version of the IDML Connector. It's available at:
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/brandcatalog/portal/opal/details?NavCode=1TW10CC16
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/brandcatalog/portal/opal/details?NavCode=1TW10CC16
Monday, February 15, 2010
Self provision of virtual machines using IBM Tivoli products (TiSAM, ITM and Omnibus)
Here is a video Eswara and I made showing self-provisioning of virtual machines using TiSAM, ITM and Omnibus.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
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