What is Development Process for Service Mapping?

[jimmillet]

Hi, I have run into a situation at one of my clients in a Service Mapping project that is causing me to wonder what is standard or best practice Service Mapping process? This question raises a few points that I will try to enumerate. Background: I am a user with sm_admin and discovery_admin roles in DEV, UAT, PROD SN instances, and I am doing "Top Down" mapping, which requires connection sections to be created in the discovery patterns. So here are my questions:

1) Which SN instance is usually used to make these connection pattern updates? Directly in PROD? Or in DEV using local update set that is promoted up thru UAT to PROD SN? If the latter, I am not given full "admin" role, which is needed to create update set.

2) The client is leery of "connection section" pattern updates, as this updates the single pattern record in sa_pattern table and could interfere with future upgrades if SN updates the pattern. I really wish the "connection section" was stored separately from the "identification" section, like the "extension" section is. I realize that would be a product enhancement.

One of the issues I am trying to address is that so far the maps that have been created are very simple, just stopping at the web layer (IIS), and I trying to train the existing team how to build connection sections to add additional nodes to the map (ie MS SQL DB), but running into some of the access issues I mentioned, so wondering how others do this.

So looking for some feedback on how others have done the mapping....directly in PROD instance? in DEV using update sets? other ways?

I realize there might not be any "standard" or "best" practice, but SN designed the product and access to envision a certain way of working to create these maps, as far as access needed to do the mapping (ie sm_admin role).

Thanks in advance for your feedback,

Jim Millet

[Community Alums]

Hi @jimmillet ,

Watch this Video, this will help you understand.

Mark my answer correct & Helpful, if Applicable.

Thanks,

Sandeep

[Tom Sienkiewicz]

Hi, for creating/updating I know of two methods to first develop in DEV and then move to UAT/PROD. I would not recommend trying to create/updat epatterns in PROD directly:

• export Pattern/Service (preferred) - under Patterns list, select your Pattern(s) and choose "Export Patterns with CI items (for new pattern) or just Export Pattern for updating a pattern which is already on the target instance. <-- this creates an Update Set. Then go to Application Services and use the "Export Service Definitions". <-- this creates  a .json file
  On target instance, you then import the Pattern from Update Set, then import the Service Definition using corresponding module. You need to move any credentials manually if needed. Rerun discovery on target.
• Update Set - you need to ensure that  the Pattern, credential, Service, CI type etc. are included in the update set, then import it to target instance. Rerun discovery on target.

You might also need to move discovery schedules manually if needed.

I'm not sure there is a way to add a new Connection and still keep the pattern available for upgrade. But you should be able to see those affected patterns in the upgrade history, then you can compare their versions and see if it is OK to apply the upgraded version or not.