This white paper article provides general information and best practices on how to use Data Connector to import data into the Symantec Management Platform database (Symantec_CMDB). (Data Connector can also export data out of the Symantec Management Platform database, however, this is not discussed in this article.) For more information on how to use Data Connector, refer to the user guide:

About Data Connector

How Data Connector Works

What You Can Do with Data Connector

Part 1: The user's data.

The user provides their own data that they want to import into Altiris. This includes any data classes and associations that they want to populate for the specific resource type.
 
Data can be saved to a .CSV formatted text file, to an Excel spreadsheet or be in a database. (There are several other data format types that can be used, such as .XML, however, these are not discussed in this article). An example .CSV formatted text file may look like the following:

Name, Serial Number, Location
PC1, 111A, Los Angeles
PC2, 222B, New York City

Row one includes column names which are not processed as data. Row two is the first record, computer PC1, with its serial number data class of 111A and its location association of Los Angeles. Row three is the second record, PC2, with its serial number data class of 222B, and its location association of New York City.

Note: It is recommended to use column names when using a data file. This makes it easier to configure data classes and associations in the import rule, and if the column name matches the data class name, these will then automatically be configured.

Part 2: Create a Data Connector data source.

After the user has their data ready in a file or a database from Part 1, a Data Connector data source needs to be created to access it. Refer to the following articles to create and configure the data source, depending on the data format used from Part 1:

How to create a Data Connector data source that accesses data in a .CSV formatted text file

How to create a Data Connector data source that accesses data in an Excel spreadsheet through OLEDB

How to create a Data Connector data source that accesses data in a database through OLEDB

How to create a Data Connector data source that accesses data in a Microsoft SQL Server database through an ODBC System DSN


Part 3: Create a Data Connector import rule.

Create a Data Connector import rule to use the data source from Part 2. The user then configures any data classes or associations that they want to populate for the specific resource type. Refer to the following article to create and configure the import rule:

How to create a Data connector import rule that creates or updates resources

How to troubleshoot import issues when using a Data Connector Import Rule