7 Replies Latest reply on Jan 15, 2019 3:31 PM by Carl Wilson

    Can SRDs be imported to 18.x?

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      We have a customer that has been told that SRDs from older versions of SRM cannot be imported into 18.x.  I cannot find any documentation on this and actually I find totally the opposite because docs and communities talks about SRM and there is nothing that says a Service doesn't import.  The customer states that BMC told them this.  Just seems to go against the core values BMC has had for upgrade and migrations.  So if it is true that they cannot be imported or upgraded to the newer 18.05 or 18.08, please explain what architecturally has changed.


      If there isn't an official answer from BMC on this, if there is a customer that has upgraded from 8.1.02 or later and has been successful with SRDs (Standard not AIFs), please respond.

        • 2. Re: Can SRDs be imported to 18.x?
          Carl Wilson


          generally BMC will state that importing from a previous version is not supported as there are changes across the versions that can affect if a SRD/PDT/AOT and fulfilment working correctly and there have been changes and improvements made to the Export/Import console.


          If you have "basic" SRD's , then as you have found with other discussions that there is "generally no issue" in importing them to a later version - however, this is also dependent on how the export/import mechanism is implemented on the version you are wanting to import to e.g. you may be able to do this in 9.0, but not 9.1 or later due to the changes in the functionality.


          Going from 8.1.x > 18.xx would not be recommended due to the changes in the Export/Import functionality, which will be why BMC have responded as such.

          If you have upgraded the system to 18.xx, then wanted to Export/Import to a system with a similar version then this would be supported.




          • 3. Re: Can SRDs be imported to 18.x?

            Carl Wilson


            this answer doesnt seem to go along with the core values that Doug Mueller has upheld, where the code from older versions works in newer versions because we don’t delete anything.  Can you back up your statement with facts, evidence or anything that substantiates what you are saying?  18 is really just 9.1.5-8 so it is just a service patch release.  I’ve been exporting and importing SRDs from version to version for over a decade so why would 8.1 to 9.1 not work in the newer releases?  8.1.02 to 9.1 did work because I’ve done them first hand.   What was deleted in the newest releases/patch?  Seems like BMC Software would be cutting their legs off and forcing customers to Service Now, if they didn’t have a path forward for their customer; Some customers have 100s of services (right or wrong, they do)... you are telling people they cannot have those migrated to 9.1.05 (aka 18.05) or 9.1.06 (18.08)

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            • 4. Re: Can SRDs be imported to 18.x?
              Carl Wilson

              Hi Marie,

              I have explained why BMC may have made the statements that they have, based on certain functionalities that have changed over the versions.

              I don't feel I need to justify to why this may or may not be true as this is my opinion based on many years of experience with this product (as can be seen from the blog post and customisation's I have shared on the communities), and I don't work for BMC - so these are my observations and comments that do not reflect those of "official" BMC representation.

              Doug M or Peter A can comment accordingly if my explanation is not correct, or if it differs from what BMC have already mentioned to you.


              You can test things and see if they work for you or not. 

              I never said it "will not work", but explained why it may not and/or why BMC may defend their position on version to version migrations ....


              There are many differences in the 9.x (18.xx) versions, from previous versions, in the way BMC have updated the export/import (i.e. they include application templates and other supporting data), the way they deploy applications etc, based on what version you have installed i.e. from 18.05 onward, BMC use package deployments for the applications, which may affect the functionality and there are many big changes from 9.1 to the 18.xx versions (see the Wiki for enhancements, etc).


              You can test to see if this works for you, if it does happy days - if it does not then you may be able to understand why.




              • 5. Re: Can SRDs be imported to 18.x?
                Peter Adams

                There are a number of statements in this conversation that I'd like to comment on / correct

                1. Remedy 9.1.04 and 18.xx are Feature Releases, not Service Pack.  There's lots of valuable new features delivered in these releases. Only exception is 18.08 which was a bit smaller release due to short timeline. Feel free to review the blogs that describe the new capabilities, such as Remedy 18.05 Release: IT Service Management and Platform Administration Simplified. Clearly much more than a Service Pack, and that doesn't even reflect all the new ITSM value that we deliver via other products such as Digital Workplace, Chatbot, Cognitive Automation, Innovation Suite, ...   Yes, internally the versions that are denoted by time-based version numbers (e.g. 18.05, 18.08, 19.02) also have an internal version number such as 9.1.06, because we didn't want to destabilize the upgrade logic, but that doesn't mean these are Service Pack releases.
                2. Customers who use SRM today and have defined SRDs will generally be able to upgrade their system to latest Remedy version without having to re-define SRDs or to export/import SRDs. So, we are not leaving anyone hanging. As always, there are certain combinations where we support a direct upgrade. If you start upgrade from a super old version, e.g. SRM 7.5, you would have to do a two-step upgrade.  Now, for all the ITSM applications (incl. SRM), we have introduced a new approach to version upgrades via D2P packages that will make upgrades even faster in the future. But it does require 18.05 as a baseline. So, the flow for SRM 8.1.02 upgrade would be to upgrade first to SRM 18.05 via installer and then apply the D2P package to move to 18.08 or very soon to 19.02. 
                3. Export / import in general is not the recommend approach when you move from an older SRM version to latest version.  Simple upgrade is the standard approach. Is there a reason why this is discussed here?  And yes, there have been restrictions in the past, when it comes to export / import across versions.
                4. Remedy platform backwards compatibility still applies today as it has for past years. So, you can run Remedy AR System 18.08 with ITSM apps of earlier version. No change around this "core value" of Remedy platform.
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                • 6. Re: Can SRDs be imported to 18.x?

                  Thanks Peter Adams.  This is the expected answer And I’m glad to here that BMC Software is keeping their “core values”.  I’m not sure why BMC Software staff is misleading customers that they would have to completely rebuild standard SRDs.  I can only think that it is a communication issue and confusion between DWP, process designer DVM, business workflows, and SRM.  Just for example ... if you were wanting to stop building in SRM and use the Java DVM plugin and use the process designer then yes they’d have to be rebuilt because there isn’t a migration path.  Some people (especially in sales) think that SRM has been replaced by DWP or that configuration of a service has been replaced by the Java Swing graphical tool.  While these tools are create a better experience there is not anything that is forcing an immediate change; SRM still works and is still available.

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                  • 7. Re: Can SRDs be imported to 18.x?
                    Carl Wilson

                    Thanks Peter for the official explanation, as always appreciated where you clarify the BMC position.

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