Manage automated data imports

Learn how to manage automated data imports in Snow License Manager.

Configure automated data imports

You can use the Snow License Manager File Import Service for automated and regular imports of data. The service is configured on the Import Service tab of the Web Configurator.

1. Open the Windows Start menu, and then select Web Configurator.

2. In Snow License Manager - Web Configurator, select the Import Service tab.

3. In the Settings section, do the following:

   1. To change the default Import Root (full path) folder, click and then select a new folder. The default folder is created during the installation of Snow License Manager.

      If the folder you select is not empty, all sub-folders and files will be deleted. The folders Backup, ErrorRows, and Import are automatically created in the new folder. If sub-folders are added to the Import Folder, these sub-folders are automatically replicated to the folders Backup and ErrorRows.

   2. In File Transfer Wait Limit (minutes), select for how long the system should wait before cancelling an import. The default value is 60 minutes.

4. In the Logging section, do the following:

   1. Select a Path to where you want to save the logs.

   2. Select which log Level you want to use:

      • ALL: Shows all logged information.

      • DEBUG: Shows detailed information mainly intended for internal use.

      • INFO: Shows all the steps taken in the process.

      • WARN: Shows that something is wrong, but the performance of the system is not affected.

      • ERROR: Shows that something has stopped working, but the system is still up and running.

      • FATAL: Shows that the system has stopped working.

      note

      The ALL log level shows information from the levels DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR, and FATAL. The DEBUG log level shows information from the levels INFO, WARN, ERROR, and FATAL, and so on.

   3. Optionally, if a new organization is created during an import, the created organization nodes can be logged to a separate file. Whether new organizations should be created is defined by the Create missing organizations option, see the Configuration tab, under Organization.

      To enable logging and define settings for the organization log, do the following:

      1. Click Organization log settings.

      2. Select Enable.

      3. Click , and in Path, select the folder where you want to save the logs.

      4. In Max File Size (MB), select the maximum size of the log file. Rows are appended to the log file until the specified maximum size is reached, at which point the file is backed-up and a new log file is created.

      5. In Backup Count, select the number of log files to keep.

      6. Optionally, select Include date stamp.

      7. Click OK to save the settings and close Organization Log.

   4. Optionally, when importing computer data, actions taken for obsolete computers can be logged to a separate file. An obsolete computer is a computer that exists in the Snow License Manager database but not in the import file. If the setting Obsolete computer action is set to DoNothing, nothing will be logged.

      To enable logging and define settings for the computer log, do the following:

      1. Click Computer log settings.

      2. Select Enable.

      3. Click , and in Path, select the folder where you want to save the logs.

      4. In Max File Size (MB), select the maximum size of the log file. Rows are appended to the log file until the specified maximum size is reached, at which point the file is backed-up and a new log file is created.

      5. In Backup Count, select the number of log files to keep.

      6. Optionally, select Include date stamp.

      7. Click OK to save the settings and close Computer Log.

5. In the Import Folders section, review the existing import folders identified by Path and import Type.

   To add a new import folder, do the following:

   1. Click Add.
      The Import Folder dialog box appears with the two tabs Configuration and Field Mapping.

   2. On the Configuration tab, in Import settings, do the following:

      1. Optionally, under the default import root folder, enter a Subfolder to import files from.

      2. For Service Provider Edition (SPE) platforms, select Customer.

      3. Select Type of import.

   3. On the Configuration tab, in Additional import settings, do the following:

      1. For Computer metadata imports, in Obsolete computer action, select how to handle computers that exist in the Snow License Manager database but not in the import file: DoNothing, Inactivate, Archive, or Delete. For more information, see Import data manually, section Import settings.

         To restrict the obsolete computer action to certain computers in the database, enter the client Configuration names. For more information, see Computer import.

      2. For License imports, in Primary key mapping, select which field you want to use when mapping licenses to applications: Name, PartNumber, StockkeepingUnit.

      3. For License assignment imports, in Assignment action, select which action to take: Add or Replace.

      4. For custom Object imports, select Object type. Available types are the ones created in the web user interface of Snow License Manager.

      5. For Custom compare values imports:

         1. In Primary key mapping, select which field you want to use when mapping the value: Name or PartNumber.

         2. Select Custom Compare Value Type. Available types are the ones locally created in the web user interface of Snow License Manager.

   4. On the Configuration tab, in Import File, do the following:

      1. If the import files have headers, select Has headers.

      2. In Type, select the file type: Csv, Xls, or Xlsx.

      3. For file type Csv, in Delimiter, select which delimiter you use between the data fields in the import files: Comma, Semicolon, or Tab.

   5. On the Configuration tab, in Import File Backup, do the following:

      1. To enable backup of import files, select Enable.

      2. In Days, select the number of days to keep the files.

      3. In File count, select the number of backup files to keep.

   6. On the Configuration tab, in Organization, do the following:

      1. In Separator, enter the character you use between the levels of the organization structure in the import files. For example, enter “/” if the organization information is in the format: “ROOT/IT/Support”.

      2. To allow the import to create organizations that exist in the file but not in the Snow License Manager database, select Create missing organizations.

      3. If you want to use capital letters in the friendly name of the organization, for example FINANCE, select Use upper case for friendly names.

   7. On the Field Mappings tab, in Mappings, the target fields for the selected type of import appear.

      To define mapping of the fields in the source file to the target fields in Snow License Manager, do one of the following:

      • To manually define the mapping:

      1. Double-click the corresponding row of the target field. The Mapping dialog box appears.

      2. In Source (file header or index), enter the column name or position (index) of the field in the import file.

      3. To enable index mapping, select Map by index.

      4. Optionally, in Default value, enter a value to import if there is no value in the source field.

      5. Optionally, in Prefix, enter a text or a number to be added in front of all imported values. This can be used to separate computers from different sites. For example, SE_ can be added in front of all computers located in Sweden.

      6. For updates of existing items in the database, in Empty value action, select how to handle empty values in custom fields of the source file:

         • Do not update: No change to the value in the database

         • Remove value: The value in the database will be empty after the update

         note

         If you have specified a Default value, there will be no empty fields and the Empty value action will not apply.

      7. To remove any spaces in the beginning or end of a data value, select Trim leading/trailing white-spaces.

      8. Click OK to save the settings and close the Mapping dialog box.

      9. Repeat for all target fields.

      10. Click OK to save the mappings and close the Import Folder dialog box.

      • To automatically define mapping based on an existing import file:

        1. Click Auto map from file.

        2. Select the import file that represents the contents of the imports you plan to make.
           In Mappings, the result of the automatic mapping appears.

        3. In Mappings, manually add the mappings that are missing or incorrect.

   8. To save the settings and mappings, and close the Import Folder dialog box, click OK .
      The import folder Path and import Type appears in the Import Folders section.

6. To save the new import folder configuration, click Apply.

   note

   Rows that for some reason cannot be imported are logged to file in the ErrorRows folder. Review these logs to find and correct any erroneous field mappings or import settings.

7. To close the Web Configurator, click Close.

Example: Automated imports of license purchases

Scenario: The license import file is a comma-separated .csv file with column headers. You want to use the application name when mapping the licenses to the applications. You want to use the License folder under the default import root as the import folder.

1. Start the Web Configurator.

2.  In Snow License Manager - Web Configurator, select the Import Service tab.

3. Click Add.

4. In Import Folder, on the Configuration tab, do the following:

   1. In Subfolder, browse for and select the License folder.

   2. In import Type, select License.

   3. In Primary key mapping, select Name.

   4. Select Has headers.

   5. In file Type, select Csv.

   6. In Delimiter, select Comma.

5. In Import Folder, on the Field mapping tab, do the following:

   1. Click Auto map from file.

   2. Select the import file.

   3. For each field, verify that the automatic mapping suggested in the Mappings list is correct. If not, do the following:

      1. Double-click the row with the incorrect mapping

      2. In Mapping, enter the correct Source file header

      3. Click OK

6. When you have completed the mapping, click OK.
   The new License folder appears in the Import Folders section.

7. To save the new import folder configuration, click Apply.

8. To close the Web Configurator, click Close.