Synchronizing configuration items

Use the Synchronize CI dialog to synchronize some or all aspects of an authorized CI with the related actual CI. You can synchronize attributes, update relationships, and create new related CIs.

After you have created an authorized CI, its attributes or relationships can change. Also, you might decide to expand the attributes or child CIs in the template for a type of CI. In either of these cases, you might want to update the authorized CI by copying some or all of the updates from the actual CI.

Note: If a configuration item is in a protected state in its lifecycle, you must provide an approved change record in order to change the value of an attribute or the status of the CI. The change must be in Approved or In Progress state, and it must identify the CI as a target. You can enter the change number or select it from a list.

Synchronizing a CI in this manner gives you more granular control of the updates than using update promotion from the Actual Configuration Items application offers. You can use the check boxes to specify the details of the changes you want to make. You can also make one type of change and view the results before deciding whether to make another type of change.

To specify the changes you want to make, use these check boxes on the Synchronize CI dialog:

These boxes specify how the selected CI and existing related CIs will be processed:
Copy Attributes

If this box is checked, any attribute that is defined for the selected authorized CI but does not have a value will be updated with the value of that attribute from the actual CI.

Overwrite Existing Attributes

If this box is checked, all attributes defined for the selected authorized CI will be updated with the values from the actual CI, regardless of whether they had values. The Copy Attributes box must be checked in order to use this function.

Synchronize the Attribute Values of Related CIs

If this box is checked, all attributes defined for any CIs related to the selected CI will be updated with the values from the corresponding actual CIs. The Copy Attributes box must be checked in order to use this function.

Create New Relationships Between Existing CIs

If this box is checked, any new relationships that have been discovered between the selected CI and any related CIs, or that have resulted from a change to the promotion scope, will be created.
These check boxes determine how new CIs related to the selected CI will be processed:
Create Related CIs

If this box is checked, any newly discovered actual CIs that are related to the selected CI will be promoted to authorized CIs.

Copy Attributes

If this box is checked, attribute values for newly promoted CIs will be copied from the actual CIs.

After synchronizing CIs, you can review the changes that have been made. For a particular authorized CI, select View CI Relationship History or View Attribute Value History to view recent changes. You can also use Advanced Search from the List tab to search for any CIs that were modified between specified start and end dates.

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