Difference between revisions of "BulkOperations"

Revision as of 08:27, 15 April 2016

Bulk Data Operations

There are three bulk load operations (as of version 4.3) that will allow you to quickly enter data from an Excel Spreadsheet. No other formats are accepted.

Import New Devices

The function to Import New Devices is just that - it is only for adding new devices into the database. If you are attempting to relocate a device that is already in the database, you should use the Process Bulk Moves function for that, instead.

There is a brief screen asking for a file to upload and you can choose from anywhere that your local client (browser) can access. After hitting the Upload screen, you will then need to map columns in the spreadsheet to various columns in the import process. Columns may be in any order, but if you want to save time simply use the same order listed below and you won't have to map them.

The following fields may be imported, with fields requiring pre-existing values being in bold. The importer uses case insensitive searches (Server01 is the same as SERVER01).

• Data Center ID - The name of the data center (not the numeric key).
• Cabinet - The name/location of the cabinet (not the numeric key).
• Position - The position within the cabinet. No collision checking is performed.
• Label - The name to give the device.
• Height - Zero is allowed, but there must be a column and value for every row.
• Manufacturer - The name of the Manufacturer of the equipment.
• Model - The model name of the device. A Device Template matching the Manufacturer + Model must already exist in openDCIM.
• Hostname - The hostname or IP address of the device.
• SerialNo - The Serial Number for the device.
• AssetTag - The property number or asset tag for the device.
• HalfDepth - A value of y, Y, or 1 will set this to true, indication that this device only takes half of the depth of the cabinet.
• BackSide - A value of y, Y, or 1 will set this to true, indicating that this device is mounted from the rear of the cabinet.
• ESX - A value of y, Y, or 1 will set this to true, indicating that this device is a VMWare ESX Hypervisor that should be polled for VM clients.
• InstallDate - The date of the installation. Any valid date format should work (not US locale specific).
• Reservation - A value of y, Y, or 1 will indicate that that this isn't physically installed, but it simply a reservation for a future installation.
• Owner - The name of the department that is the owner of this device.
• PrimaryContact - The name of the Primary Contact, given in LastName, FirstName format.

After mapping the spreadsheet columns to the fields, hit the Validate button and the page will run a pre-processing validation script. If you are submitting a large spreadsheet, this could take several seconds. It will go through the entire spreadsheet as if it were going to insert values, but not actually do so, as it is checking to ensure that all of the pre-existing data requirements have been met. If not, it will let you know what values need to be added to openDCIM before proceeding. If all requirements are met, there will be a Process button. Once you hit that button, data will be inserted into openDCIM. If any errors are encountered in the import, they will be displayed on the final screen.

Import Network Connections

The page for importing network connections works very much like the bulk importer, with a few basic exceptions. First and foremost, all of the devices and ports must match in the database. Secondly, any existing connections on the indicated ports will be overridden.

As with the Bulk Import operation, the first screen after uploading the import file will allow you to map columns of the spreadsheet to required fields.

To uniquely identify the devices, you may choose one of four fields to act as your key:

• Label
• Hostname/IP Address
• Serial Number
• Asset Tag

In addition to specifying which field will be searched for the devices (a selection on the import screen), the following fields must be mapped:

• SourceDevice - The uniquely identifying value for the Source Device
• SourcePort - The uniquely identifying port name for the Source Device
• TargetDevice - The uniquely identifying value for the Target Device
• TargetPort - The uniquely identifying port name for the Target Device
• Media Type - If a value is present, must be a valid MediaType in openDCIM
• Color Code - If a value is present, must be a valid Color Code in openDCIM
• Notes - Free form text that can be applied to the Notes field

Once you hit the Process button, the page will make the connections and display any rows of the spreadsheet that may not have been able to process correctly. Unlike the new device import operation, there is no validation check for the network operations.

Process Bulk Moves