Each customer-specific instance of CI Synchronizer (CI Sync) is provisioned with a default set of rules (i.e. default configuration).
The default configuration (normally just referred to as the default Data Synchronization Rules) drive the following major functions of your CI Sync instance:
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The CI Sync Web User Interface (UI) - i.e. what you see when creating a sync job between a given source and destination system.
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The record level mappings between the source system asset/resource types (including their associated child records) and the destination CMDB CI Classes/tables.
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The attribute level mappings between the source system fields (per asset/resource type) and the destination CMDB CI record attributes.
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The transformation logic (and “value maps”) that take incoming values from the source system and transform those into new values suitable for use in the destination CMDB CI record values.
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The way source system assets/resources (including their associated child records) are correlated or matched to existing CI records in the CMDB. This is to ensure existing CIs are updated, or new CIs are created, and in all cases to avoid creation of duplicate CIs.
In short, the Data Sync Rules are responsible for delivering data into your ServiceNow system in a way that meets your customer specific needs.
Syncfish designed the default Data Sync Rules to meet the requirements of a “typical” customer with a “typical” CMDB in a “typical” ServiceNow platform. Unfortunately, there is no single definition of “typical” across those three elements (customer, CMDB, ServiceNow platform). Even customers using an out-of-the-box ServiceNow will often have unique requirements. For example, how asset locations are determined, or which attributes should/should not be synced, or which destination CI Classes/tables are most suitable for storing particular record types and so on.
Syncfish therefore recognizes each customer may require changes to the default Data Sync Rules.
In response CI Sync includes the concept of customer specific “overrides” for the Data Sync Rules engine. These overrides change the behaviour of a given rule/set of rules to make the sync behaviour specific to an individual customer.
This capability has been incredibly important to our customers and is one of those powerful features that separates CI Sync from other simpler, commoditized and sometimes “free” CMDB integration tools/plug-ins.