Administer > Database administration > Data persistence > Database record auditing > Audit specifications file description

Audit specifications file description

The Format Control record associated with the auditspecs form executes a routine that validates entries in the Filename and Field Name fields. Format Control executes this validation routine when you add or update Audit Specification records. It prevents users from entering invalid fields or file values and controls unpredictable run-time results.

Field Definition
File Name The name of a valid Service Manager database dictionary upon which Audit is to be performed. This is a required field on the table.
Unique A–D Used to parallel data records in the Audit File to data records in the source file. Under most circumstances, the fields specified in Unique A through D are the same fields that are defined as Unique keys in the specified database dictionary file. These values need to be unique identifiers for the specific file. Unique A is the only required entry. Additional entries for Unique B through D are optional.

Do not use Nulls & Duplicates keys to define Unique A through D, because if the fields in the key are NULL, then Service Manager creates Audit records that do not relate to any records in the Source File.

You do not need to define the fields Unique A through D as keys in the Source File. However, you must ensure that any non-key fields are defined as unique identifiers, in order to avoid these errors.

When defining Audit Specifications for the Incident and Change Management files, parallel the number field.

It is not necessary to parallel the last or page fields. See database dictionary for information on identifying fields in files.
Field Name Defines the name of the field to be checked for modifications. The fields specified for Auditing can be of any data type except arrayed structures or fields within arrayed structures. You can specify any number of fields; however, Auditing overhead increases as the number of fields increase. Do not specify all fields within a file for Auditing. Rather, analyze the fields within the file to determine which are critical for the management of data records in the file.
The critical fields in the contacts file are:

  • contact.name
  • first.name
  • last.name
  • dept.name
  • email
  • location
The recommended maximum number of fields to audit is 20. Auditing more than 20 fields causes performance degradation. Under most circumstances, the recommended maximum will not impair the management of a file.
Alias Defines the alias of a field name used in the audit log. When Service Manager records entries in the audit log (audit.summ.g form), the default is to record the actual field name. You can override the default by specifying an alias. For example, if the widgets file has a field named fd.ast.no, it may be more meaningful to define the alias field name fixed asset (configuration item) number.

A one-to-one correlation exists between the Field Name and Alias input fields. Due to processing considerations, these are independent arrays. Therefore, you scroll one; you must also scroll the other to keep the definitions synchronized.

Related topics

Audit specifications file
Database record auditing
Audit log file
Audit processing

Add an audit specifications record
Define an audit specifications entry
Invoke auditing
Open the audit specifications table
Start database record auditing
Verify the field name