Administering MDRs › How to Update Metadata Files for CMDBf Mapping

How to Update Metadata Files for CMDBf Mapping

To improve readability of attribute comparisons, you can use CA CMDB metadata files to translate between MDR attribute names and CA CMDB attribute names. For any MDR attribute that does not have CA CMDB mapping, the Federated View displays the attribute name sent by the MDR. Metadata can be defined for CMDBf data providers to do the following:

• Display MDR attribute values using CA CMDB attribute names
• Prevent MDR provider attributes from being displayed in Federated View
• Define MDR provider attributes that do not have CA CMDB equivalents

You define metadata using the cmdb_metadata_federation_viewer_site_attr.htmpl file. This file contains instructions on how to update the file. Metadata can apply to all CMDB families (common attributes) or family-specific attributes.

To map external MDR attribute names to CA CMDB labels, you update the respective cmdb_metadata_extensiontable.htmpl form, using the following fields in the cmdbmetadata macro:

• mdr_attr - the name of the MDR attribute to be translated.
• mdr_name - the name of the MDR being translated. Regular expressions are supported.

Example: Attribute mapping

The following three metadata statements defines metadata that equates the CA CMDB "phys_mem" attribute with the provider attribute "mdr_memory" for all providers named "myMdr" or starting with "MDR". In addition, "physical_memory" is equated to with "phys_mem" for all other providers.

<macro name=cmdbMetadata attr="phys_mem"  provider_attr="mdr_memory" provider_name="myMdr">
<macro name=cmdbMetadata attr="phys_mem"  provider_attr="mdr_memory" provider_name_regexp=”MDR.*">
<macro name=cmdbMetadata attr="phys_mem" provider_attr="physical_memory" provider_name_regexp=”.*">

Example: Attribute hiding

The following metadata statement hides the MDR provider "widget_cost" attribute for all providers named "myMdr".

<macro name=cmdbMetadata hide_provider_attr="YES” provider_attr="widget_cost" provider_name="myMdr">

Example: Setting an attribute label

The following metadata statement defines an attribute name “ext_mem_capacity” using the label “External Memory Capacity” under the attributes category in the CMDBf Viewer.

<macro name=cmdbMetadata  attr=”ext_mem_capacity” category="Attributes” heading="External Memory Capacity” help="Total external memory">

More information:

How To Display MDR Attribute Values With CA CMDB Attribute Names

How To Hide MDR Provider Attributes

How To Define MDR Attributes Without CA CMDB Equivalents

Define CMDBf Data Provider Metadata