Configuring Mappings in XML File Policies

The Mappings page enables you to map XML elements and attributes to custom variables.

To access

• In the Operations Connector user interface, click in the toolbar. Then click Event > XML File.

• In the Operations Connector user interface, click in the toolbar. Then click Metric > XML File.

Click Mappings to open the policy Mappings page.

Mappings overview

A custom mapping definition consists of a map name (variable), an optional input data property (XML element or XML attribute), and one or more source and target value pairs. For example, you can assign the XML element Severity to the map name mapSeverity, and add a source value of serious. You can then assign the target value critical to the variable so that Operations Connector inserts the value critical into the event in all places where the variable is used.

XML properties use the following syntax: <$DATA:/<XMLProperty>>

<XMLProperty> is the path from the root XML element of XML data to a specific XML element or attribute within that data. XML path uses slashes (/) as the path delimiters.

For example, the custom definition with the mapSeverity map name has the input data property of <$DATA:/PerformanceAlert/Severity> where Severity is a child element of PerformanceAlert.

XML properties are optional. If you do not assign an input data property to a map name (variable), you must add the source value directly to the variable when you insert the variable in an event attribute.

The Sample Data tab is empty if no sample data has been loaded into the policy or if the sample data does not match any specified XML tags.

The Sample Data tab shows the following information if sample data is available:

• XML Properties

  If sample data is available, the XML Properties section of the Sample Data tab shows all XML elements and attributes that match an XML tag.

  The XML Properties section by default shows the short path to the XML property or value. To view the full path, click . The full path begins with the XML tag specified in the Source tab.

  The items in the XML Properties section are by default sorted alphabetically in ascending order.

  To search for an XML property or value, type the search string in the Search Properties box. The list changes as you type; only matching items appear.

• Values for <XMLProperty>

  This section displays the values of an XML property selected in the XML Properties section. If a value appears more than once, click to show or hide duplicate values. To find values that belong to more than one XML property, select the value and click . The XML Sample Data window opens and shows all XML properties that have the selected value.

When you drag an XML element or an XML attribute from the XML properties list and drop it on the Default Value Mapping list, Operations Connector automatically adds the default prefix map to the map name and inserts the correct path to the XML property. You can then drag one or more XML source values from the XML values list and drop them on the Source Value list. You then finally only have to type the target values.

Tasks

How to configure XML mappings

This task describes how to map XML elements and attributes to custom variables.

1. Create one or more custom variables.

   If you are working with sample data, drag the XML elements or attributes from the XML Properties list to the Map Name column. Operations Connector automatically adds the default prefix map to the map name and inserts the correct path to the XML property.

   Alternatively, click above the Map Name column and type the variable name in the map name field. XML properties are optional. If you do not assign an XML property to a variable, you must add the source value directly to the variable when you insert the variable in an event attribute.

2. Add source and target value pairs to each custom variable.

   • If sample data is loaded in Operations Connector, drag a value from the Values for '...' list to the Source Value column, and then type the target value in the corresponding field.

     Alternatively, c Click above the Source Value column and type the source and target values in the corresponding fields.

   • Optional. In the Indicators tab, add indicators to the source or target value fields. After loading the indicators from the OMi server, the Indicators tab shows a hierarchy of configuration item types.

     To insert an indicator in a source or target value field, drag the indicator state (for example, HTTPServer:Normal) from the Indicators tab and drop it on the corresponding field.

   • Optional. In the Policy Variables tab, add policy variables to event or metric attributes. Operations Connector replaces the variables with the appropriate values in the generated event or metric.

     Use quotation marks to surround variables, for example "<$MSG_NODE>" or "<$MSG_GEN_NODE>", at least for those variables whose values can contain space characters.

Related tasks

• How to Collect Event Data from XML Files

UI Descriptions