Merge two separate MDBs

[Manirul_Hak]

Hello,

We have APM r12.9 and CA Service Desk r12.9 installed separately.Both the products are using their own separate mdb.we need to merge these two separate mdb in a single mdb anyhow so that both the products can be pointed to the same mdb.

How can we achieve that? what are the procedures should we follow?

 

Thanks

Manirul

[Alexandre Almeida]

Hi Manirul,

 

Although I don't have much experience with this procedure I believe one way to meet your requirements would be to run the mdb setup part of SDM on top of your  APM database, this will create the structure needed by SDM.

 

Once this is done you could export all the data from your existing SDM server (see Data Extraction section of Service Desk Administration Guide) and then load it into the APM database. Last step would be to point your SDM application to the new database.

 

Hope someone else can comment whether the above is feasible.

 

If this is not your production environment you could give this a go.

[TMACUL]

pdm_extract all

 

Administration Guide Release 12.7.00

 

pdm_extract--Extract Data from Database

The pdm_extract command extracts data from specified CA SDM database tables or the entire CA SDM database, and outputs it as ASCII-formatted text.

Syntax

This command has the following format:

pdm_extract [-c|-e|-r] [-d] [-h] [-u] [-v] [-C] --B] [-f formatstring| ALL | table1 . . . TableN]

ALL

Extracts output from all tables in the database.

table1. . . tableN 

Extracts output from the specified tables. Table names must be separated by spaces.

The default format, if none is specified, is an ASCII file compatible with pdm_userload.

[Manirul_Hak]

Let me share my strategy. CA Service Desk Manager mdb will be kept as it is.Then I will be installing mdb for APM 12.9 on top SDM mdb and APM application as well.Next I need to export the table data of APM 12.9 and import in the newly created mdb(single mdb which is being used by SDM as well).For that I need to know which are the table data and configuration data need to be exported and imported to the new single mdb to get the same APM environment it was in standalone.

 

Thanks

Manirul

[Manirul_Hak]

Hi Alexandre_Almeida

I have the same strategy as you mentioned only reverse.I am planning to keep SDM mdb as it is.There is a reason behind this.The mdb created by SDM is much more stable and vast than other products. I only  need to know what are the data need to be exported from previous APM system to replicate it in new environment.

 

Thanks

Manirul

[Alexandre Almeida]

Manirul, I have suggested the other way round because SDM comes with the 'Data Extraction' feature which is not available in APM.

 

I believe you will have a hard time exporting all the data manually from APM and I do not have a list of tables to be exported, I will leave it for others to comment.

[Anon Anon]

There is no way to do this.  At least none documented or supported.  (The whole idea of the MDB was to be the single place initially, so the thought of "merging" was never considered.)

 

What I can tell you is that if you wanted to take the APM data and put it into the SDM MDB, you would need to extract it from APM (via searches and exporting to csv), and then after installing APM on the SDM MDB, import back (via import jobs).  But this is no small/simple task, especially if your APM data has many child objects attached (costs/payments, notes, relationships, etc) as you would need to be able to extract those as well, and import them back in, making sure to connect up to the correct MAIN object.  And you cant do this via UUID, as the UUID is not exportable/importable between systems.

 

Also, if the same asset/item exists in both the SDM and APM mdb's currently, you need to somehow make sure that it updates the SDM item instead of creating a new one. 

 

And there is also no way of extracting your APM configurations (extended fields, hidden fields, changed fields, custom searches) from one system to another.  They would need to be re-created by hand. 

 

Lastly, in doing this, you would lose all your history from the stand alone APM MDB.  There is no way to export and import that history and the audit trails of it. 

 

So, this is not something that an just be done in an hour or two.  It requires careful thought, consideration, testing, and data analysis. 

 

In my opinion, the best way to do this is to move the main data objects (assets/models/locations/legal documents) as best as you can via export/import into the MERGED system, and then make sure your processes all use the new system, while leaving the old system around for a specified amount of time (6, 9, 12 months) as a historical repository if needed. 

 

Rick

[Manirul_Hak]

Thanks Rick.

It seems complicated to extract data from APM than to SDM.I think we should give a try to extract SDM data  and reload it to new system as Alexandre and Tiago mentioned .We have started data analysis already.

 

Manirul

[TMACUL]

HI Manirul,

 

  You would like to use MDB from CA SDM, I´m looking for this and i agree with Alexandre, it´s easier use SDM to ITAM.

 

  Do you have ITCM?

 

  Some table are common and in this case it´s possible you will need to do something.

 

  However if the best option for your case is load APM to SDM, You can use ITAM Data importer, but you will need trace all objects, following Schneider recommendation.

 

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Installing ITAM Data Importer on a Workstation

Description: The following steps will highlight the process to install ITAM Data Importer on a user’s computer.

To Install ITAM Data Importer

 

1. 1. Log onto the workstation as an Administrator
2. 2. Install the SQL Server client that corresponds to the SQL server used.
3. 3. Copy the Data Importer folder to any location on your workstation from the ITAM application folder at the following location: “D:\Program Files (x86)\CA\ITAM\Data Importer”
4. 4. Copy the ca.olf file from the ITAM application server to the same location on your workstation (C:\Program Files (x86)\CA\Shared Components\CA_LIC)
5. 5. Run the following executable: “ITAM Data Importer.exe” and test the login with your credentials.