Enterprise Administration Guide › Implementing Shared Accounts › How to Import SAM Endpoints and Shared Accounts › How the SAM Feeder Works

How the SAM Feeder Works

The SAM feeder lets you create or modify many SAM endpoints or privileged accounts in a single step. Understanding how the SAM feeder works helps you configure SAM in the most suitable way for your enterprise, and helps you troubleshoot any problems that may occur.

The following process explains how the SAM feeder works:

1. You, or an automated process, create and save one or more CSV files in the polling folder.

   Each line in the CSV file represents a task to create or modify a SAM endpoint or privileged account. You create separate CSV files for endpoints and for privileged accounts.

2. When the polling task starts, the SAM feeder uploads the CSV files in the polling folder to CA ControlMinder Enterprise Management. You can configure the polling task to run at a specified time, or you can start the polling task manually.

   Note: If the SAM feeder cannot rename a file, the file cannot be processed. The unprocessed CSV file remains in the polling folder.

3. CA ControlMinder Enterprise Management renames the CSV file original_timestamp.csv, and moves the file to the processed files folder.

   Note: original is the name of the original CSV file, and timestamp is a timestamp that indicates when the file was processed. For example, if you name the original CSV file endpoints.csv, CA ControlMinder Enterprise Management names the file in the processed file folder endpoints_091209130256.csv.

4. CA ControlMinder Enterprise Management processes each line in the CSV file in turn. For each line in the CSV file, the following happens:
   • If CA ControlMinder Enterprise Management can complete the task, it:
     • Completes the task, for example, creates an endpoint.
     • Creates an audit record for the task.
   • If CA ControlMinder Enterprise Management cannot complete the task, it:
     • Copies the line in the CSV file to a CSV file in the error files folder.
     • Adds a column named FAILURE_REASON to the CSV file in the error files folder.
     • Adds the reason why the task failed to the FAILURE_REASON column.
     • Creates an audit record for the task.

   The CSV file in the error files folder provides an easy way for you to review failed tasks. The name of this file is also original_timestamp.csv.

   Note: The CSV file in the processed files folder lists all processed tasks but it does not specify the status of the task. That is, if the task is completed or failed.

5. CA ControlMinder Enterprise Management repeats Step 4 for each line in the CSV file.