The document describes how Tideway Foundation can help populate a CMDB by regularly discovering configuration items (CIs) like servers, software, and dependencies across the IT environment. It captures this information and automatically transfers it to populate and maintain an accurate, up-to-date view in the BMC Atrium CMDB with minimal manual effort. Key benefits include accelerated CMDB deployment, improved data quality through regular updates, and generation of impact analysis reports for change management. The Tideway adapter transfers discovery data to Atrium using its Java API. Example outputs demonstrate the level of configuration data captured for servers and how dependencies are mapped into business services views that can be viewed in both Foundation and Atrium.

1. Foundation BMC Atrium CMDB Population
Version No 1.0
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 1 of 12

2. 1. Contents
1. Contents ............................................................................................................................ 2
2. Preface............................................................................................................................... 3
2.1. Purpose........................................................................................................................... 3
2.2. Document History ........................................................................................................... 3
3. The CMDB Challenge ....................................................................................................... 4
4. How does Tideway Foundation help? ............................................................................ 5
4.1. Key Benefits .................................................................................................................... 5
4.2. How does it work?........................................................................................................... 5
5. Example Output ................................................................................................................ 7
5.1. Server Discovery............................................................................................................. 7
5.2. Highlight Changes Between Discovery........................................................................... 9
5.3. Dependencies ............................................................................................................... 10
5.4. The Atrium Adapter....................................................................................................... 11
5.5. Example Data Transfer ................................................................................................. 12
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 2 of 12

3. 2. Preface
2.1. Purpose
This document describes the outputs from Tideway Foundation which are typically used in
CMDB population projects. All standard reports within Foundation export as CSV by default.
Additionally, a set of generic export adapters and data mapping sets allow the export of any
data to CSV and RDBMS. Tideway also supplies an adapter to BMC Atrium CMDB, which
includes data mapping for BMC’s Common Data Model.
2.2. Document History
Date Version Details
22nd April 2009 0.1 Initial Draft
nd
22 April 2009 1.0 Final Draft. M.Wallenstein
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 3 of 12

4. 3. The CMDB Challenge
Many organisations are in the process of adopting ITIL as a framework for improving their
service management processes. For ITIL v2 the CMDB is central to this framework and
requires high quality CI and dependency data to drive the ITIL processes.
Populating the CMDB can prove difficult for several reasons:
• Existing CI data is usually held in many siloed data stores. It is usually inconsistent
and rarely includes any dependency data.
• Gathering the data and keeping it up to date manually is intensive and very difficult to
maintain in the long term.
• Poor coverage or stale CI data usually leads to mistrust of the data, resulting in poor
adoption of the CMDB.
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 4 of 12

5. 4. How does Tideway Foundation help?
Through regular agent-less discovery of the IT estate, Tideway Foundation is able to identify
servers and their configuration. Foundation will additionally model business applications and
map them to its view of the underlying infrastructure components. Through continuous
discovery of the estate this mapping is kept up to date.
This CI and dependency information is automatically populated into the Atrium CMDB,
minimizing initial CMDB deployment time. Subsequently, the accuracy of this information is
maintained through regular updates. Newly indexed or changed configuration information is
automatically reconciled with pre-existing data.
Tideway’s unique Provenance feature allows full traceability of the source of the data; vital for
providing confidence when the data is utilised in ITIL processes.
4.1. Key Benefits
• Acceleration of CMDB roll-out through the automated population of configuration items
and their key attributes in the CMDB
• Population of up-to-date service maps into the CMDB, providing business context for
any IT component
• Generation of accurate impact analysis reports for proactive management of change
• Increased data CI data quality in the CMDB at minimum cost, and subsequently
accelerated adoption of the CMDB due to increased trust in the data
4.2. How does the integration work?
The Tideway adapter communicates directly with the Atrium Server using the BMC Atrium
CMDB 2.0.1 Java API to achieve robust data transfer.
Tideway Foundation Adapter for BMC Atrium CMDB auto-populates and maintains the Atrium
CMDB with configuration items from Foundation - such as networks (switch data from
Ciscoworks), servers, software products, and business applications as well as the
dependencies between them.
The update frequency can be anything from daily to monthly, dependent upon requirements. To
ensure only relevant information is stored in the CMDB, the set of exported CIs is fully
configurable. Since the Foundation and Atrium data models are customizable, the mapping
between the Tideway model and the Atrium data model is fully configurable. As a result, the
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 5 of 12

6. adapter supports any modified Atrium data model. Exported sets of dependencies are
constructed into service views or impact views to maintain a complete, up-to-date picture of a
business application within the CMDB. This provides an instant understanding of the impact of a
change or incident to any infrastructure component on any modeled business application.
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 6 of 12

7. 5. Example Output
The following examples highlight the discovery capability of Foundation and the associated CI
data captured. Regular discovery keeps the data up-to-date and is fed on a regular basis into
Atrium.
5.1. Server Discovery
These views highlight Configuration data captured for servers
High level view
• Hardware vendor
• Services supported
• Link to running software
Contextual data included by
dynamic SQL query or CSV
import
Full OS details; type, version,
patches, packages
OS End of Life & Support details
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 7 of 12

8. NIC Details, links
to switch and port
from CiscoWorks
HBA Details
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 8 of 12

9. 5.2. Highlight Changes between Discovery
Foundation retains full history for all nodes in the data model. This allows individual CIs to be
tracked; in this example RAM and Patches have changed
Track attribute changes over time
RAM and patches have changed
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 9 of 12

10. 5.3. Dependencies
Foundation discovery captures a view of the server and software estate. Dependencies
between components are visualised in the context of Business Services:
Logical Business Service
Software
Components
Servers
Edge network
This dependency structure can be pushed to Atrium and used for change impact analysis and
improved service management from a business perspective.
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 10 of 12

11. 5.4. The Atrium Adapter
Foundation Enterprise Edition ships with the Atrium Adapter and data mapping sets. Setup of
the adapter is straightforward:
One click will confirm that the connection is correct and working.
Atrium data mapping sets can be downloaded and edited to suit your requirements:
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 11 of 12

12. Data mapping sets are defined in XML format and can be easily extended
5.5. Example Data Transfer
This image illustrates a Business Service dependency map presented within Foundation, and
following a push to Atrium the same service represented within the dependency viewer.
© Tideway Systems Inc., 2008 Page 12 of 12