Data dictionaries
Data Manager is included in all Service Collection Premium and Enterprise plans.
What are data dictionaries?
The data dictionary is a feature that allows you to standardize the terminology from multiple data sources by comparing it against a list of normalized values when an import is run.
Data dictionaries use a specific type of attribute called a computed attribute. These attributes get data from a data source and compare it with a list of possible dictionary values. If a dictionary value is found that matches the source data, it will populate itself with the normalized value, it is often the name of the dictionary group. If a new or unexpected value is found, the data will not be changed, but this information will be sent to data dictionary issues to be reviewed.
In Data Manager, there are default data dictionaries and custom data dictionaries.
Default data dictionaries include values for each default computed attribute in some default object classes. The data dictionaries for each default object class are listed in the topics for each default object class. Learn how to configure default data dictionaries.
Custom data dictionaries are created manually and stored in your instance. They hold extra information that you want to normalize in your system. Learn how to configure custom data dictionaries.
How can data dictionaries be modified?
Data dictionaries can be modified in the following ways:
Manual updates – Both default data dictionaries and custom data dictionaries can get data by being manually updated. Users with the appropriate permissions can use Data Manager to modify the data dictionaries, data dictionary groups, and data dictionary values to manually add new values, or edit or delete existing ones.
Data dictionary issues – Both default data dictionaries and custom data dictionaries can get values through data dictionary issues. When data dictionaries are used to normalize data during the merge operation, any discrepancies found between the dictionary and your data will appear in data dictionary issues. For each issue, you can choose to ignore the new value or update an existing dictionary.
Which attributes are provided with the default data dictionaries?
Data dictionary | Usage | Source attribute/s | Destination attribute |
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Compute Object Class |
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OSVersion | Used to normalize the various operating systems into one clean label.For example, our data source might contain values like WinXP, OS_WinXP, and Windows XP Professional x64, three separate values that actually refer to the same thing: Windows XP. | OperatingSystem | OSVersion |
Platform | Used to group the OSVersions into platforms like: Windows, Linux etc | OSVersion (Computed) | Platform |
InfrastructureType* | To enable grouping of end points into a type like: Physical , Virtual or Cloud Servers, Containers, Laptops or Desktops, etc | Manufacturer, ModelName | InfrastructureType |
Network Object Class |
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IsVirtual* | Identifying if a network device is virtual or physical | Manufacturer, ModelName | IsVirtual |
InfrastructureType* | To enable grouping of end points into a type like: Physical, Virtual or Cloud Servers, Containers, Laptops or Desktops, etc | Manufacturer, ModelName | InfrastructureType |
Peripheral Object Class |
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InfrastructureType* | This allows you to group your peripherals into major categories of Print / Scan, Audio Visual, Consumables and Other. | DeviceType (Computed) | InfrastructureType |
DeviceType* | To enable grouping your peripherals into more granular groups that sit below the InfrastructureType. | Manufacturer, ModelName |
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Raw values for these data dictionaries are not provided, but the data dictionary fields are set up. Upon your first merge, the system will generate the data dictionary issues, which will then require mapping.
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