More about synchronization

Automated synchronization keeps key attributes in synch between linked assets and CIs.

What triggers the synching?

Initial synchronization, when enabled, is accomplished as soon as an authorized asset is linked with an authorized CI. Synchronization can be set up to initially synch the attributes of an authorized asset with its corresponding CI, or the other way around. Following this initial synchronization, further synchronizations are triggered by an attribute change to either the authorized asset or the CI—whichever one changes first.

With synchronization enabled, if an attribute change is made to an authorized asset or CI, the equivalent attribute for its linked authorized CI or asset is likewise changed to match it. Synchronization occurs at the time a key attribute is updated:

In the Assets, Configuration Items, or Changes application of the UI
From the integration framework
By promotion

If an asset and CI are not linked, they will not be synched.

What attributes are synched?

The key attributes that can be synchronized include location, site ID, and organization ID, as well as common specification attributes—attributes that vary by asset or CI classification. In addition, serial number, which is a static attribute for assets but is a common specification attribute for CIs, can be synchronized when applicable to a linked asset and CI. For Service Provider Edition users, the primary customer and all associated customers are also synched.

When authorized CIs and assets are linked and synched, certain attributes and their values (including null values) are copied from the CI to the asset, or from the asset to the CI, in accordance with the initial synchronization setting (“Copy from asset to CI” or “Copy from CI to asset”) in the Organizations application. Any of the following attributes that are available in the "copied from" object are copied to its linked counterpart:

Location
Site ID
Organization ID
Serial number
All common specification attributes (a common specification attribute has precisely the same name for both the asset and CI)

When automated synchronization is enabled and an authorized asset is linked with a new, automatically created, authorized CI (called a generic CI), the attributes listed above are copied from the asset to the new CI. Similarly, when an authorized CI is linked with an automatically created (generic) asset, the attributes are copied from the CI to the new asset.

If a CI that belongs to a linked asset-CI pair is in a protected state (as defined in the CI Lifecycle application) and is not the target of a change request with Approved or In Progress status:

You cannot modify any of the key attributes for either linked resource
Synchronization does not occur
An error message is displayed, saying that the asset cannot be updated because it is linked to a CI that is in a protected state

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