Query on/Issue with 'Reference Attribute' for Business Serice and Service Offering

[Suggy]

Hello,

CSDM says relationship between 'Business Serice' and 'BS Offering' is "REFERENCE ATTRIBUTE

Q1 - What was the reason to use 'Reference Attribute'? Why cant we use 'CI relationship' itself? 

Q2 - Are we not supposed to create CI realtionships for BS and BSO? Any issues?

As per this post we need to use the Dependency Views --> Map Related Items 

Q3 - In this case, if I go to Business Offering 'BSM map view', I still cannot see this relationship in the map, but can see in from the 'Business service' form. Isnt this a gap? Any solution for this?

@Barry Kant  @CMDB Whisperer or any other experts, if you could answer this please 🙂

[Suggy]

.

[Barry Kant · Accepted solution]

Good day Suggy,


Q1 - The very generic idea most likely is:
References are used when there is a single relation (parent). 
Relations are used when there are multiple relations possible. There is a downside as references are not (good) visible in a dependency view. 
Q2 - you can do this but not to replace the reference. The reference is used in the logic eg in DPM. What can be done is to add a CI relations based on the reference (to keep it in sync where the reference is in the lead). 
Q3 - I am not sure on this one. can you give more details on this?

BR,
Barry

[Suggy]

Hi @Barry Kant  thank you so much for replying.

P1 - Also I saw your another response here

where you mentioned "

If you have a reference then it will not be part of the Impacted Service output. 
If you also make a CI relations then it will be part of the Impacted Services output."

but can you please explain ehat exactly you mean by above 2 lines?

Today on our INC form, we have 'Service' and 'Service Offering'. I have not created any CI relationship

but still I see imapcted services and offerings.

P2 - My other question was, I read this post where its mentioned as , use " Dependency Views --> Map Related " instead of creating CI relationship between Service and offering.

but The references from related item works only from the parent side (in this case the service) and not the other way round which you have only replied in that post.

so I thought to creating CI relationship, but again you mentioned "dont create CI relationship as that impacts the Impact Analysis output (potential loop)."

but I did not understand what you meant by "Impact Analysis output (potential loop)"

So I am again confused whether to add CI rel to Service and offering or not? If I add, how does it relate to "Impact analysis".

[Barry Kant]

Good day Suggy, 

P1-
it is indeed how it works (not that good per say). 
as there is no relation it will not find the parent service. 
2 options:
either the logic needs to get a tweak. (--> if record is offering then also add the parent service).

P2-
that will work if the navigation starts on the server level. It will not work if the navigation starts on offering level. Not sure why as the parent reference is actually on the offering record. So that would be easy.

Not sure about the loop today. In the past I had problems when there were relations up and down that the impact analysis was running in loops.

BR,
Barry