This article describes how ServiceNow users can leverage the Flexera Integration app to migrate from Data Platform to IT Visibility.

Introduction

This knowledge base article provides instructions and resources for customers migrating from Data Platform to IT Visibility. The article is for Flexera customers who use the Flexera Integration app to integrate Data Platform with their ServiceNow environment. Details about the prerequisites, migration steps, post-migration steps, and known issues appear in the sections below:

• Prerequisites
• Migration Steps: Import Technopedia Data to Data Platform
• Migration Steps: Export Technopedia GUIDs and Data Platform Data to ServiceNow
• Migration Steps: Install Migration XML and Run the Fix Script in ServiceNow
• Migration Steps: Import IT Visibility Data to ServiceNow
• Post-Migration Steps
• Known Issues

NOTE: Reach out to your Flexera representative or to Flexera technical support if you require assistance with the prerequisites or the migration process.

Prerequisites

Before beginning the migration process, review the following prerequisites:

• Requires Data Platform version 5.5.66 or later.
• Requires access to the Data Platform machine with administrator rights.
• Requires the ServiceNow Normalize task in Data Platform Admin Console
• Requires ServiceNow instance with administrator rights.
• Requires Flexera Integration App 5.1.2 or later.
• Requires Flexera One subscription with IT Visibility capability
• Requires your Flexera One organization has IT Visibility enabled for data_platform_compatibility
• Requires URL to generate an access token for IT Visibility on Flexera One. Example: https://login.flexera.com/oidc/token.
• Requires a refresh token for IT Visibility on Flexera One. The refresh token is a required parameter when you generate the required access token. You can generate a refresh token for your IT Visibility org in Flexera One at https://app.flexera.com/settings/api-credentials.
• Requires URL to connect to the Technopedia API and fetch Technopedia GUID data. Example: https://api.flexera.com/content/v2/orgs/28010/graphql%22
• Requires migration files (SQL, config, migration XML, and ImportTechnopediaData.exe) from Flexera. These files are included in a ZIP archive and linked to this knowledge base article as SS-249 support documents.zip.

Migration Steps: Import Technopedia Data to Data Platform

The following steps explain how to import Technopedia data into Data Platform. 

NOTE: Files referenced in the instructions are available in this article's attached document: SS-249 support documents.zip.

To import Technopedia data to Data Platform:

1. Create Imported Technopedia tables to store the data fetched from Technopedia APIs:
   • Open SQL Management Studio where Admin Console is installed
   • Run this SQL script against the BDNA_PUBLISH database: CreateImportTechnopediaDataTables.sql
2. Once the tables are created, download zip file: ImportTechnopediaGUIDData.zip
3. Extract the file onto the Admin Console machine.
4. Edit the ImportTechnopediaContent.config file to provide values for Access Token URL, Refresh Token, and API URL. These details can be obtained from IT Visibility in Flexera One. 
   

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <configuration>
     <appSettings>
       <add key="AccessTokenUrl" value="https://login.flexera.com/oidc/token" />
       <add key="RefreshToken" value="5O_OzllM10akqzxgTfTQHSIHT324fu6KJj77w9ydS9xqQuqM" />
       <add key="APIUrl" value="https://app.flexera.com/orgs/32722/landing" />
     </appSettings>
   </configuration>

5. Go to the path where above file is extracted, launch Command Prompt with administrator permission, and run ImportTechnopediaData.exe.

Now the Technopedia GUID import will start and write this data into BDNA_PUBLISH tables. It will take 10-15 minutes to finish this process depending on system internet speed and configurations.

NOTE: Logs can be seen under the extracted folder > Logs > BDNA.log file.

Migration Steps: Export Technopedia GUIDs and Data Platform Data to ServiceNow

To export Technopedia GUIDs and Data Platform data to ServiceNow:

1. Go to below path on Admin Console installed machine:
   C:\Program Files\BDNA\Data Platform\Bin
2. Backup the existing file, BDNA.API.SNOW.dll.config, on the Data Platform machine.
3. Replace the existing BDNA.API.SNOW.dll.config file with the version of BDNA.API.SNOW.dll.config included in the ZIP archive linked to this knowledge base article.
4. Get the process ID for existing ServiceNow task to which you have to export the Technopedia GUIDs, and run below command on the BDNA database
   

   select job_id from NBF_JOB_PROCESS where job_name = 'ServiceNowTaskName'​

5. Launch command prompt with administrator permissions and navigate to path from command prompt:
   C:\Program Files\BDNA\Data Platform\Bin
6. Run below command by passing job_id value fetched from step 4: 
   

   NormalizeCMD.exe -EXPORTTOSERVICENOW /PROCESS_ID=job_id​

7. Once the export of Technopedia GUIDs to ServiceNow is finished, replace the backup file from step 2 into C:\Program Files\BDNA\Data Platform\Bin.
8. Run Data Platform Normalize process to import “ALL” hardware and software records into your ServiceNow environment.
9. New Import run with Data Platform data will get imported into ServiceNow.

Migration Steps: Install Migration XML and Run the Fix Script in ServiceNow

Once Import run created by data platform is completed, install the Migration Update Set in your ServiceNow Instance. To install the update set, follow certain steps mentioned below.

NOTE: Files referenced in the instructions are available in this article's attached document: SS-249 support documents.zip.

To install migration XML and run the Fix Script in ServiceNow:

1. Go to the update set and import XML of SS-249 migration update set.zip into your instance.
2. Preview the loaded update set.
3. Once the update set is previewed, click the Commit Update Set button on banner to commit the XML.
4. Run all the below mentioned fix scripts to convert legacy IDs into Technopedia GUIDs.
5. Unplug Data Platform.
6. Run below mentioned fix script in “Flexera scope.”

• Technopedia Hardware ID Migration
• Technopedia HW Lifecycle ID Migration
• Technopedia Manufacturer ID Migration
• Technopedia Software ID Migration
• Technopedia Software Release ID Migration
• Technopedia SW Lifecycle ID migration

Migration Steps: Import IT Visibility Data to ServiceNow

To Import IT Visibility Data to ServiceNow:

1. Run ServiceNow Normalize task from ITV ORG in existing ServiceNow instance.
   This Normalize process will import “ALL” hardware and software records into customer’s ServiceNow environment.
2. New Import run with IT Visibility data will get imported into ServiceNow.
3. Once the Import run is completed, validate each class of data mentioned in the list below. Ensure end-to end data flow in the ServiceNow instance with data integrity. There should not be any duplicates created for these target tables:

• cmdb_ci_peripheral
• cmdb_ci_printing_hardware
• cmdb_ci_rack
• core_company
• x_fls_flexera_fnms_flexera_company
• x_fls_flexera_fnms_flexera_hardware_model
• cmdb_model
• cmdb_ci_network_adaptor
• cmdb_software_product_model
• cmdb_sam_sw_discovery_model
• samp_sw_publisher
• cmdb_sam_sw_install
• cmdb_sam_sw_discovery_model
• cmdb_hardware_model_lifecycle
• sam_sw_product_lifecycle
• x_fls_flexera_fnms_flexera_software_model
• x_fls_flexera_fnms_normalized_software_instances
• samp_sw_product

Post-Migration Steps

Perform the following steps once data migration is complete.

Completed state: IT Visibility org + ServiceNow scoped app 5.1.2.

To perform post-migration steps:

1. Revert back Migration Update set from instance. For reverting an update set need to follow these steps:
2. Go to local update set, search “SS-249 migration update set” in name.
3. Open the update set and click the Back Out button (available in the banner).
   Screen capture example:
   
4. Run new Normalization Task from ITV Org in the same ServiceNow instance.
5. Once the Import run is completed, test and validate IT Visibility data.

Known Issues

The following items are known issues related to the migration process:

1. Risk of creating duplicates. After migrating, once the migration update set has been reverted, if any scheduled job run from IT Visibility end to push the data that includes common data, inserted from Data platform into ServiceNow, then there are chances duplicates will be created. Therefore, all migration jobs should run during migration phase to import data into ServiceNow.
2. Some very old legacy IDs may not be able to be converted to a new GUID. As a result, you may see Data Platform legacy IDs in Technopdedia IDs if the legacy ID was not converted. This will only happen if the Data platform ID is too old, and our engine or script cannot find GUID in IT Visibility.
3. For very large datasets, the fix script may take a long time to complete or fail to convert all the IDs. We are recommending users run the fix script in batches using the setLimit() function and run the fix script in the background to limit its impact on performance.
4. Fix script migration failure may create duplicates. When the fix script fails to migrate IDs there is a risk of creating duplicates where the Technopedia ID is used as a “reference qualifier.”
5. Migration works only for standard, non-customized datasets. If your Data Platform instance has non-standard data, compared to IT Visibility, this migration process will not work.
6. Hardware data must have a serial number present. The migration process is using the hardware serial number as a reference qualifier in non-IRE transform maps.