IntegrationHUB ETL and business rules on cmdb_rel_ci

[Amar_Be]

Hi,

I'm using the IntegrationHub ETL (IHETL) to update CIs and create relationships.

The CIs are updated correctly and the relationships created as expected.

But the Business rules defined on the table cmdb_rel_ci are not triggered by the IHETL when the relationships are created.

I've created a very simple test BR that just log the action that triggered the BR.

When the relationships is created manually, the BR is triggered.

When the BR is on a CI class (cmdb_ci_ups, for instance), it is triggered by the IHETL.

But when it is on the CI relationship class, IHETL do not trigger the business rules.

I'm on Washington release.

Does anyone have an idea on the cause or solution of this issue?

[mbourla]

Hi @Amar - we have also just seen this behaviour.  We have a new business rule that runs when a new CI Relationship is inserted, but it just does not run at all if the record has been inserted by IRE during an IH-ETL map execution. That's also on Washington. I might have a look at whether it's fixed in Xanadu but it's doubtful. Definitely worth raising a HI ticket for, I'd say, to get a formal response from ServiceNow.

[Sandeep90]

@mbourla @Amar_Be  The BRs are not executed during relationship inserts because IRE uses a disabled workflow to enhance performance, which has been the standard behavior for a long time. I recommend adding the BRs to CIs instead of the relationship table, as the latter contains a large volume of data and experiences frequent changes. A poorly designed BR on this table could significantly impact system performance.

There is a system property to change the behaviour if you need it and support should be able to provide it. 

[mbourla]

Many thanks for that, @Sandeep90 - that's very helpful.

I'll do as you suggest, and have the BR on one of the CIs instead. 

The integration I'm building isn't making any actual changes to the CI itself, and is just creating a relationship to it.  However I noticed that it does still update sys_updated_by and sys_updated_on on the CI, because it's updating last_discovered and discovery_source.  So it should trigger an update business rule on the CI.

[Amar_Be]

Hi Sandeep,

Thank you for your answers.

But it is documented no where that IHETL isn't triggering business rules on CI relationships.

On the other hand, the implementer is responsible for what he is implementing. In case of performance issues, the implementer have to review is code.

Having a business rule that run on a CI when we want to manage the relationship creation is a non-sens. That what I would call poor design.

The behavior when a relationship is created should be the same hat ever the way it is created. That is the definition of a business rule.

Performances issues can be simply avoided by using the filter conditions in the business rules. So I still don't see a reason to have this behavior from IHETL.