More > Configuration Manager > Working with Configuration Manager > Policies > Policies User Interface > Policies Page

Policies Page

This page enables you to define and edit configuration policies.

To access Select Policies.
Important information The left pane contains an expandable list of the policies. The details pane displays details for the policy selected in the left pane.
Relevant tasks
See also Policies Overview

User interface elements are described below:

UI Elements (A-Z) Description
Add Policy Group. Enables you to define a new policy group.

Add Policy. Enables you to define a new policy. Select one of the following options:

  • Add Baseline Policy

  • Add Topology Policy

  • Add Similarity Policy
Delete. Deletes the selected policy or group.
Cut. Removes the selected policy or group from its current location and save it to the clipboard.
Copy. Copies the selected policy or group to the clipboard.
Paste. Adds the copied policy or group to the selected location.
Undo. Undoes the last action.
Save. Saves the changes made to the current policy.

Preview. Opens the Policy Preview dialog box, which provides a preview of the satisfaction level of the selected policy over the selected views.

In previews of baseline policies, you can select a CI and drill down to analyze its details.

Note Only views for which the user has View permission are sent to the server and are displayed in the preview results. If a user does not have View permission for a particular view and attempts to preview it, an error message is displayed.
Recalculate Policy Analysis. Recalculates the policy analysis for the selected policy.

Export Report. Enables you to choose the export format for the Policies Report data. The available options are:

  • Excel. The table data is formatted as an .XLS (Excel) file that can be displayed in a spreadsheet.

  • PDF. The table data is exported in PDF format.

  • CSV. The table data is formatted as a comma-separated values (CSV) text file that can be displayed in a spreadsheet.

The currently applied filters are taken into account when generating output for reports.
Refresh. Refreshes the policy list.
ClosedLeft Pane
Important information Click the arrow next to Policies (the root of the policies tree) to expand the tree. Click the arrow next to a policy group to expand the list of policies in the group.
ClosedDetails Pane
Important information When you select a policy group in the left pane, the group details appear in the Details pane. When you select a policy in the left pane, the policy details appear in the Details pane.

Details: <Policy> Section

User interface elements are described below:

UI Elements (A-Z) Description

Comparison Scope

(for Similarity policies)

This section is used to specify (and optionally, further filter) the main CI type to be compared for similarity.

The comparison scope CI type is automatically selected when you use the Grouping option.

Filter

(for Baseline and Topology policies)

This section is used to filter the CIs that are tested against the policy. This section includes:

  • The main CI type to be filtered for testing against the policy. Click the button to open the Select CI Type dialog box, which enables you to select the required CI type.
  • Properties selector for the main CI type. Click the button to open the Specify baseline for filter dialog box. For details about selecting properties, see Baseline CI Section.
  • An additional CI type that is related to the main CI type. Click the button to open the Select CI Type dialog box, which enables you to select an additional CI type.
  • An additional TQL query that further refines the selection. Click the button to open the Select TQL dialog box, which enables you to select the required filter TQL query.
General

This section includes:

  • Description. Enter the policy description.

  • Policy Name. Enter the policy name.

  • Categories. Categories are optional user-defined keywords that logically categorize the policy, and can be used for filtering. For example, if you create a baseline policy that validates that all lab computers have standard hardware, you might categorize the policy using the keyword ‘Standardization’.

    Click to open the Policy Categories dialog box, and then click to add the desired category. You can add multiple categories to a policy.

Grouping

(for Similarity policies)

This section is used to specify groups of CIs that need to be similar. CIs will be compared for similarity to each other only if they are located within the same group. The Enable grouping by CI type and pattern check box is selected by default. This section includes:

  • The main CI type to be used as the basis for a group for testing against the policy. Click the button to open the Select CI Type dialog box, which enables you to select the required CI type.

    After selecting a grouping CI type, the system folders are scanned and only those grouping patterns that are relevant to the selected CI type are displayed in the Select grouping pattern dialog box.

  • The grouping pattern for the main CI type. Click the button to open the Select grouping pattern dialog box.

    Grouping patterns are specific TQL queries (defined in UCMDB). These TQL queries must define only a compound link from the desired Grouping CI type to the desired Compared (main) CI type – and nothing else.

    For Configuration Manager to correctly identify the Grouping CI type and the Compared (main) CI type, the elements in the TQL query must be named Grouping and Compared, respectively.

    These grouping TQL queries must be located in UCMDB in the following location: Modeling Studio > Resources tab (select Queries as the resource type) > Configuration Manager > Grouping Patterns folder. If the Grouping Patterns folder does not already exist, create it.

    Selecting a pattern automatically selects the CI type for the Comparison Scope section.

  • Properties selector for the grouping CI type. Click the button to open the Specify baseline for filter dialog box. For details about selecting properties, see Baseline CI Section.
  • An additional CI type that is related to the grouping CI type. Click the button to open the Select CI Type dialog box, which enables you to select an additional CI type.
  • An additional TQL query that further refines the selection. Click the button to open the Select TQL dialog box, which enables you to select the required filter TQL query.

For additional details about grouping, see Configuration Manager Similarity Policy - Use Cases.

Similarity Criteria

(for Similarity policies)

This section is used to specify the CI type and attributes to be tested against the policy. By default, all components and attributes in the selected CIs are included. If you do not want a specific component to be included, clear the check box next to that component.

When you remove a component from the similarity criteria, all of its attributes are automatically removed from the scope as well. You can include a component, but remove all of its attributes from the scope by clearing the check box in the title bar next to Attribute Name, or you can remove selected attributes by clearing those check boxes.

The comparison scope CI (to which the similarity criteria apply) is automatically selected when you use the Grouping option.
Validity This section is used to specify the scope of the policy's validity. Click the calendar buttons to select the dates and times for the beginning and end of the period.
Views The Assign policies to views field lists the views to which this policy applies. Click the button to open the Select Views dialog box, which enables you to select the views to which the policy applies.

Baseline CI Section

User interface elements are described below (unlabeled elements are shown in angle brackets):

UI Elements (A-Z) Description

Select predefined configuration. Enables you to select one of the following options:

  • Create baseline from a managed CI. Enables you to select an existing CI from the view to serve as a baseline CI.

  • Create baseline from existing configuration model. Enables you to select a model from the Configuration Analysis module to serve as a baseline CI.
Add CI class type to baseline. Enables you to select a CI type to add to the baseline definition. (When no baseline is defined, this is called Create Baseline.) You can add multiple CIs of the same type using the CI count feature.

Remove selected Item from the baseline. Deletes the selected CIs from the baseline definition.
<Check box column> Select the check boxes next to the attributes you to include in the baseline definition. You can select all of the attributes by selecting the check box in the column header.
<Comparable column>
  • If the comparable column is blank for a selected attribute, the attribute is not relevant for comparison.
  • If a icon appears in the column for a selected attribute, the attribute is relevant for comparison.
  • If a icon appears in the column for a selected attribute, the attribute is relevant for comparison and is assigned a rank in the system's matching algorithm.
Attribute Name column The names of the attributes for the selected CI.
Attribute Value column

The values of the attributes for the selected CI.

  • If the attribute is of the type Enum, select a value from the drop-down list or use free text for a new value.

  • If the attribute is of the type string_list, you can add multiple values by clicking the button and using the Attribute Name dialog box.
CI Type

Select a CI type from the baseline. The attributes for this CI type are displayed in the table.

Note It is possible to select more than one CIT of the same type in the baseline. This is known as Common Definition mode. In this mode, any changes you make to one of the selected CITs apply to all of them.
Consider additional internal CIs as breach When you select Consider additional internal CIs as breach, the CI being compared to this baseline is considered in breach of the policy if it has additional internal CIs.
Operator column Select an operator defining the relationship between the attribute and its value. For details, see Attribute Operators.