(KB1699116) Deprecated fields are not de-activated for SAM application (cmdb_sam_sw_install table)

[dreinhardt]

Hello SAM community,

I wanted to share my latest KB finding about deprecated fields of SAM Pro, so that you can ensure that these fields are not used in your projects.

The below content is part of a support case and KB1699116.

Support Case Answer:

The fields such as background, entitlement, foreground, is_classified, is_subscription_normalized, is_normalized, normalized_publisher, normalized_revision, normalized_version, prod_id, revision, and processor_mapping in the cmdb_sam_sw_install table are deprecated and not used by current SAM Pro operations.

Handling Deprecated Fields:
Do not delete or rename columns and avoid setting out-of-box dictionary entries to inactive, as this can cause issues during upgrades or patches.
You can Safely hide deprecated fields from users by removing them from form and list layouts.
If desired, change the label of deprecated fields in the dictionary to indicate their status, such as "normalized_revision (Deprecated)" (KB1699116).

The issue concerns deprecated fields in the cmdb_sam_sw_install table that are no longer used by SAM Pro. These fields can be safely hidden from users by removing them from form and list layouts or changing their labels to indicate they are deprecated. Do not delete or rename out-of-box fields, as this may impact upgrades. Only custom fields can be deleted, and it is best practice to remove them from views rather than deleting. There is no risk to current SAM operations when hiding these deprecated fields.

KB1699116

- Deprecated fields are not de-activated for SAM application. - Known Error

Description

• There are various fields across SAM which are deprecated however they are not de-activated. These fields cause confusion to customers. For e.g. "is_normalized" on the cmdb_sam_sw_install table [This field does not indicate whether an install is normalized or not. Instead, the normalization state is indicated by norm_publisher, norm_product, and norm_display_name]
  
  
• Other deprecated fields on cmdb_sam_sw_install:
  - recon_exclusion_reason
  - prod_id
  - entitlement
  - foreground
  - background
  - is_classified
  - is_normalized
  - is_subscription_normalized
  - normalized_publisher
  - normalized_revision
  - normalized_version
  - processor_mapping
  - revision

Best, Dennis