Asset Importer

This how-to article will help Technicians to bring in asset data into TDNext and TDAdmin using the Asset Importer. The user must have the Asset Import Utility as well as the Assets app inside TDNext.

Overview

If you use a tool such as SCCM where asset data is stored, this utility can be used to import that data into TDX. This is different than the excel based imports where you have more raw data that just needs imported into TDX, vs a more enterprise tool such as SCCM.

Importing Assets with the Asset Import Utility

For detailed information regarding the asset importing process, refer to the Developing Asset Importer Configurations PDF attached to this article. It provides a guide to writing the XML configuration file needed to perform an asset import. The import process itself is executed by a command line application running on a client's machine. This asset synchronization tool can be downloaded from the Downloads application in TDNext.

At a high level, within this process:

  1. The command line application loads up the configuration from the specified XML file.
  2. The application runs a query against an external database.
  3. Each returned row is mapped over to an equivalent application programming interface (API) asset instance.
  4. The resulting assets are separated into batches and each batch of items is submitted to a representational state transfer (REST) API method, which will create, update, or ignore assets as appropriate.

Importing with the Asset/CI Application Import Wizard

Users within an Assets/CIs Application can use the import wizard to import assets, contracts, product models, vendors, locations, location rooms and configuration items from an Excel file.

To import items using the wizard:

  1. In TDNext, go to the Assets/CIs Application and click the Import link on the toolbar.
  2. From the dropdown, select the type of import you’d like to do.
  3. A new window will open with instructions on how to run the import. Each of the import wizards offers the option to download a template file, which will include lookup values specific to the Asset/CI Application. Either use the template file or generate your own Excel import file, and select that file in the Upload field, then click the Next button. 
  4. Select the desired worksheet in the Excel file and specify if the file contains headers in the first row.
  5. Click the Next button. 
  6. Review the mappings between Source Column and Map To. If you used the template file, you should not need to change these options.
  7. Click the Next button. 
  8. Review the preview data and the number of rows that will be imported, then click Import and click the OK button to confirm. 
  9. Review the import results page, then click the Finish button or close the window. 

Importing Assets Demo Video

To successfully import assets, you will need to:

  • Have an inventory source of your data in an Excel format with the following:
    • A Serial Number or Name
    • Status
    • Duplicate Checking
      • Service Tag
      • External ID
  • Configure Products, Locations, Suppliers, Models and Vendors in TDX including the following:
    • How to add a new location
    • How to add new Types & Subtypes
  • Ensure that you consult the related knowledge base article for further information
  • Know the standard attributes before doing the import

This video walks through the process of importing assets, and by the end you should understand the import pre-requisites and know how to use the Excel-based asset import tool.

Duration: 26 minutes

 

Gotchas & Pitfalls

  • It is common to struggle with knowing exactly what data needs pulled from a tool like SCCM. It is unlikely that all SCCM data would be pulled into TDX, so internal discussions are needed to sort this out.
  • It is important to import the data into sandbox first before taking the data to prod to make sure it is set up correctly.
  • If you run the previewer and data is being pulled back, but all of the rows are red, it is likely that something is malformed in your XML document. The most common cause is that your XML tags aren't cased correctly (e.g., you're using <NameMatchColumnID> instead of <NameMatchColumnId>).

Examples

  • Attached is a sample XML file that is more detailed than the XML file in the zip file.
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