Integrating Using the File Integration System

Owned by Former user (Deleted)
Last updated: Oct 01, 2014 by Thomas Watson
2 min read

Audience

The purposes of this document are:

  • Describe how AssetTrack’s file integration system works.
  • Specify the TSV formats that are required to feed the file importer.
  • Provide guidance on configuring AssetTrack to publish custom data files needed by your remote system.

The intended audience

  • Technical personnel that will be producing the TSV data files to be imported into AssetTrack
  • Coders who will create XSLT scripts to customize AssetTrack file output for remote systems.
  • Operations personnel who will be administering the import process on an ongoing basis. 

Overview

The File Integration System (internally known to AMI as "FIS") enables AssetTrack to integrate with any system using text files.  This is handy when needing to integrate AssetTrack with a product other than our out-of-box supported products, ServiceNow, HP Asset Manager or CA IT Asset Manager/Service Desk.

How the AssetTrack File Integration works

High level process

  1. Source repository exports referential data nightly

  2. AssetTrack imports referential data

  3. AssetTrack users capture asset updates

  4. AssetTrack exports update file(s) to source system

  5. Source repository imports asset updates

  6. Lather, rinse, repeat….


Looking at the diagram above, you can see the sequence of events for loading data into AssetTrack:

  1. Text data files are exported from your repository and delivered to a handoff location (a file share that is accessible to both systems).
  2. The AssetTrack Import Service reads these files and imports the data into the AssetTrack database on a schedule you define.
  3. AssetTrack users collect asset information using various devices such as smartphone, scanners, RFID readers, spreadsheets, or using the AssetTrack upload API.
  4. AssetTrack publishes asset update files to a configured location using the AssetTrack XSL Publisher
  5. The remote system imports the asset updates to apply changes to the master database.

Import and Publishing

The File Integration System has two primary components:

File ImporterFile Publisher

The AssetTrack File Import Service (FIS) imports data from text files on a scheduled basis. This system synchronizes the AssetTrack database with a third party repository, ensuring that AssetTrack has the latest and greatest data from the source system. FIS uses your Windows Scheduled Tasks to automate import.

See Importing Data into AssetTrack Using the File Import Service for details on setting up and using the File Import Service.

AssetTrack's XSL Publishing Handler creates custom output files as asset data is collected and published. Virtually any file format can be produced using XSLT, so you can create any file type needed by any system. You need developers capable of creating XSLT templates to transform data published by AssetTrack. AMI can assist.

See Publishing Custom Data Files using the XslHandler for information on how to customize AssetTrack to export custom data files to remote systems.