SCRM 2006 Data Sources

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The SCRM data source is typically a server and database from which data is transferred into the SCRM database. However, you can also use manual processes to add business context data to SCRM 2006. Valid MOM and SMS data sources are the MOM 2005 SP1 OnePoint database and the SMS 2003 SP2 site database. You create and schedule DTS jobs to transfer data from data sources to the SCRM server. For more information about configuring data sources, see the Getting Started Guide for SCRM 2006 Administrators.

MOM 2005

MOM data includes the following types of information:

  • Central reporting information from multiple Management Groups

  • Performance and availability data

The following processes occur to transfer data from MOM to SCRM:

  1. A scheduled task is created to run MOMDTS.exe.

  2. MOMDTS.exe launches MOM.Datawarehousing.DTSPackageGenerator.exe to generate the DTS package on the SCRM server.

  3. The DTS package retrieves the data from the MOM operational database, transforms the data, and inserts it into the SCRM SystemCenterPresentation database.

The recommended MOM configuration for SCRM 2006 is a MOM server without a clustered database. The recommended security context for MOM DTS jobs is to use the Local System or Network Service account. For more information about the security context required for MOM data sources, see Configuring SCRM 2006 Data Sources.

SMS 2003

SCRM 2006 supports multiple SMS data sources; however, SCRM 2006 cannot support two SMS data sources from the same branch in an SMS hierarchy because the higher-level site contains duplicate data about the lower-level site's clients. SMS data includes the following types of information:

  • Software update

  • Asset management (hardware and software inventory)

  • Software distribution

When data is transferred from SMS to SCRM, the following processes occur:

  1. You add an SMS data source in the SCRM Administrator console to install the SCRM SMS data source component on the SMS site server.

  2. You enable the SMS DTS jobs in the SCRM Administrator console, and you configure the scheduled start times. During this process, a schedule file is copied to the Outbound directory of the Staging share.

  3. The SCRM SMS Site Service on the SMS site server retrieves the schedule file from the Staging share and creates a SQL Agent job scheduled to run at the scheduled time.

  4. The SQL Agent job runs at the scheduled time and enters the schedule into the SMS site database.

  5. Another SQL Agent job, which is created when the data source component is installed, runs every 5 minutes and retrieves the schedule from the database. This job then runs SQL BCP commands to extract data from the SMS sites database.

  6. When the data is extracted from the SMS site database, the SCRM SMS Site Service on the SMS site server copies the files to the Inbound directory of the Staging share on the SCRM server. A message file is sent, indicating that the file copy has completed.

  7. A SQL Agent job on the SCRM server runs DTS packages to perform the following ETL (extraction, transformation, load) processes:

    1. Extracts the data from the BCP files in the Inbound directory and copies the data into the SystemCenterStaging database.

    2. Transforms data, as required.

    3. Loads the data into the SystemCenterPresentation database.

  8. A watermark file is copied to the Outbound directory of the Staging share. The file is retrieved by the SCRM SMS Site Service and the watermark information is added to the SMS site database.

The SQL Agent Job, ProcessDWJob, adds SMS data to the data warehouse (ETL process). The account used for this job must be a member of the SC DW Administrators group.

The recommended SMS configuration for SCRM 2006 is to have the fewest number of SMS data sources as possible, such as a single central site instead of multiple lower-level sites. SMS policy, such as client settings, advertisements, and collections, should be administered from this site. For information about estimating SCRM 2006 performance, see SCRM 2006 Performance Considerations. It is recommended that you use the computer account of the SMS data source computer to transfer SMS data to SCRM

Business Context Data

Business context data provides relevant business environment informaton about resources such as users and computers. You can import this data from Active Directory or other external sources. SCRM provides an Excel spreadsheet that you can use to populate the database. SCRM also provides sample scripts that you can use to import business context data directly from an Active Directory source. For more information about adding business context data to SCRM 2006, see Loading Business Context Data into SCRM 2006.