Resource Databases Connector

The Database Resources Connector is a highly configurable connector that enables ASM Core to import resources from external databases.

The connector requires configuration of the associated ICNF file within the ASM Core folder structure so that it can cater for any schema in third-party databases. This connector can import external resource data into ASM Core such as:

• Configuration Items

• Services

• Service Actions

• Person records

• Subscriber Groups

• Knowledge articles

• Organization

• Location

• Cost Center

• Contract records.

The connector can retrieve data from many tables in a database and define links and views for the elements imported.

Resources cannot be imported until the associated ICNF file has been configured for the target database. Learn more about Configuring the Database Resource Connector.

This section of the documentation describes the details of the connector, including:

• The name of the files used

• Connector class

• Connection methodology

• Use case scenario

You should familiarize yourself with the information in Installing Connectors before installing any connectors, and read the Integration topics for more information on how to configure them.

Use Case Scenario

Purpose	An organization records employee data in a third-party database and wants to import and merge that data with ASM Core.
Role	The role of this connector is to expose the data in order to allow for population and ongoing consistency checks of the ASM Core CMDB.

Connector Description

The table below provides a description of the CMDB databases Connector.

Information fields	Name
Connector	3rd-party database <-> ASM Core
Assembly	Alemba®.Connector.SQL.FedCMDB.dll
Connector class (Source class)	Alemba®.Connector.SQL.FedCMDB.Connector
Configuration file	Alemba®.Connector.SQL.FedCMDB.icnf
Connection methodology	Database

Connection Parameters

The login account used to access the database must have permissions to read and write to the specified table(s).

If using Windows Authentication to log into the database

• the Windows User configured for the ASM Connector Service, and the IIS User account for the Web UI, must both have read and write permissions to the database

• append ;Integrated Security=SSPI to the connection string

• leave blank the Login ID and Password fields in the connection parameters

Parameters	Description
Connection String	Database server connection string. Formats: Server=<DatabaseServer>;Database=<DatabaseName> Server=<DatabaseServer>;Database=<DatabaseName>;Integrated Security=SSPI Server=localhost;Database=Core Server=localhost;Database=Core;Integrated Security=SSPI
Login ID	Login ID for the third-party database
Password	Password for the third-party database

Connecting to an Oracle database may require a different connection string format, for example, Datasource=<DatabaseName>.

Diagnostics

The connector has the facility to trace information. The data can be obtained through Polling tracing or Application tracing.

Configuring the Database Resource Connector

This connector requires configuration of the connector configuration file (.ICNF) to expose the tables and attributes in the third-party database that contain resources to be imported into ASM Core.

Unlike other connectors, the ICNF file for the Database Resources Connector does not come pre-configured. Configuration of Alemba®.Connector.SQL.FedCMDB.icnf is required.

A Tutorial for Configuring the Database Resources Connector has been provided as a guide on how to configure the ICNF file for this connector. For further assistance with configuring your ICNF file, contact your Account Manager to engage an Alemba® Professional Services Consultant.