How to use "name" field instead "SerialNumber" for importing and updating CMDB via SCCM import?

[Igor Virgilio]

I'm trying to import PCs via SG-SCCM, but these PCs are from OEM vendor, thus they don't have a well-defined Serial Number field, actually, its value is "To be Filled by O.E.M". 

I've tried to change the IRE rules for this case, to force the reconciliation to use the "name" field (which is unique in the company's CMDB), but it did not succeed.

Any suggestion for this case?

Thank you in advance.

[CMDB Whisperer]

I would not change your IRE rules.  I would instead change the data source query (or even better, your source data in SCCM) to filter out that dummy value of the serial number, and only allow true serial numbers to be pulled into the import set.  That way, since serial number will be effectively empty, name will take precedence with the existing OOB IRE rules.  Finally, I would be remiss not to point out that your computers should absolutely have actual serial numbers assigned in SCCM and in the BIOS itself, and if that is not happening I would definitely recommend doing this ASAP.   Because the resulting asset records still need to have a serial number associated with them.  Since the CI name is not enough to identify the asset record, this is likely to impede any asset management work you want to do now or in the future if you do not address it.

[Igor Virgilio]

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your fast response.

Definitely, changing the IRE for SCCM import is not the better option. I know the importance of having the serial number as the primary identifier. However, we have a significant number of thin clients PCs with this dummy S/N behavior, and we must leverage a workaround.

Complementing the issue, considering that each PC has the same S/N, the last PC will overwrite the previous one (as expected) for each new imported PC. 

Regarding your suggestion, do you mean changing the SG-SCCM Computer Identity, specifically the SQL statement query, to clear the S/N, which matches with "To be filled by O.E.M"?

Thank you again.

[CMDB Whisperer]

Yes.  Just return an empty string to the select statement when the serial number matches that value (or other similar dummy values), else return the actual serial number.  

As for the thin client scenario, in my experience it has been better to find other data sources that bring in the actual hardware that is used by the thin client and track those as your CIs/Assets by importing from those data sources instead of using SCCM. 

But in any case, replacing the dummy serial number value with an empty string in the SQL query should resolve your problem.

Please mark my reply helpful / correct answer if this addressed your question.

[#5]

Good response Paul.  Another path forward would be to add some script in the transformation to strip out any of the dummy serial numbers and replace them with an empty string.  In SG-SCCM you can do this through the IntegrationHub-ETL application.  You should be able to add a script operation on the serial number field to empty these dummy values out.