Gartner Technology Planner Smart Import Quick Start Guidetechplanner.gartner.com/GTPSmartImportQuickStartGuide.pdf · Smart Import Quick Start Guide. Smart Import Overview April 2015

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Gartner Technology Planner

Smart Import

Quick Start Guide

Smart Import Overview

April 2015 Smart Import Quick Start Guide 2

Smart Import enables rapid import of multiple servers into a Server Consolidation project, as an alternative to searching for and adding one server at a time. Smart Import reads a list of servers from an uploaded spreadsheet, typically exported from a server management tool or asset database.

Smart Import can upload a comma-separated text (.csv) or Excel (xls or .xlsx) file. The uploaded file does not need to follow any specific template, as long as the first row contains column headers, with each subsequent row representing a server.

Smart Import uses a five step process.

Step 1: Upload the file containing your list of servers

Step 2: Identify which columns in your file contain certain server parameters

Step 3: Exclude columns you don’t want displayed on the screen during the Match step

Step 4: Match your input data to Server Consolidation

Step 5: Actions to take, such as load data into Server Consolidation, export, or save your work.

You can move between these steps at any time using the tabs at the top of all Smart Import pages without losing any of your work. The following pages will provide details on each of these five workflow steps.

Smart Import uses a color coding system to identify the import status of your data. Smart Import auto matches your data when you select the Match page. An exact match to a server description is color-coded black, and needs no further attention to load into Server Consolidation. Blue entries have been successfully matched at the product model level, but need your attention to determine the unique, correct server description match. Red entries typically have some matched data which could include multiple possible product model matches, but need further attention, possibly involving additional source data being required.

Only unique match (black) and manually matched (green) items can be imported into Server Consolidation or IT Efficiency.

The ability to create unique (black) matches is highly dependent on the input data completeness. To achieve a high level of unique matches at first pass, Smart Import generally needs a product name + chip and or core counts + processor clock speed fields. However in the absence of some of these fields, Smart Input is as much about providing an effective way to help you refine blue and red matches to be a unique match as it is about finding unique matches automatically.

Step 1: Upload


Saved projects can be easily deleted.

Smart Import provides the facility to save your work on our server for later recall (See Actions).

Then click Upload to load the file into Smart Import.

Your most current uploaded data file is remembered even if you close your browser session. Resume reopens that work session.

The first action is to upload a file to process. Upload accepts .csv, .xls and .xlsx file formats.

Click Browse/Choose File (this button label can vary with the browser used) to locate your file on your local disk drive or a network drive.

Step 2: Identify


Identify tells Smart Import logic where the desired data can be found in the input file.

Smart Import analyses the data as it is uploaded and also checks the input column names against possible column name aliases held in Smart Import in order to assign columns to the desired data categories. You can accept these selections or make corrections and additional selections as required. These settings can also be changed at any time to fine tune the matching process.

Following is an example after a file upload:

The desired data categories for server matching are:

Manufacturer (vendor) examples are Dell, HP, IBM, Oracle

Family examples are ProLiant, PowerEdge, System x, SPARC Enterprise

Product models such as DL380, R910, x3655, M5000

Processor Type processor model number, such as Xeon E7450, Opteron 2212HE

Processor speed expressed in MHz or GHz

Chip count the number of processor chips (aka sockets)

Core count the number of processor cores

With Smart Import, it is not mandatory to be able to identify columns for all the desired data, and it is acceptable for data for any of the desired categories to be located in more than one column, and even for the same column to be used for more than one of the desired data categories.

HINT: If you have a single data column for processor or CPU count containing a possible mix of chip and core values, use the same column for both Chip count and Core count.

Step 2: Identify - cont


Click “more” to add additional column assignments if required.

A sample of the input file data is shown to assist you to review the automated selections and to make any alternate selections.

There are additional column selections available to identify utilization and memory data. While these additional columns aren’t used in the Smart Import Match process (step 4), this data can be very useful in the analysis functions within Server Consolidation and IT Efficiency.

Another additional column selection is available if each row in your import file represents multiple servers, and you have a column of data containing the number of servers.

Step 3: Exclude


Exclude allows you to suppress selected columns from display in Match.

The purpose of this feature is to help you make best use of screen width in the Match process, and also to reduce visual noise. This is particularly valuable when handling files generated by automated discovery tools which typically include many data fields that are not required by Smart Import.

Columns that you select to suppress from display are not deleted, and you can return to this step at any time to change your exclusion selections.

It is not necessary to exclude columns that were not selected in Identify. In fact, typically you will want certain other columns visible in Match as they may assist you in both the manual server matching process and also to use as filter criteria for displaying the data items or to load data into Server Consolidation or IT Efficiency.

Following is an example after a file upload. A sample of the input file is displayed to assist with exclusion selections.

Select relevant check boxes to exclude those columns from display in Match. You can also use manual selection or deselection to modify exclusions made by clicking the “Exclude all columns not used in Identify” button.

A short cut is provided to suppress all columns not selected in Identify.

Step 4: Match


The Match step shows you which servers from the uploaded spreadsheet that Smart Import has successfully identified, and which servers require additional information in order to import. Tools are provided to help you provide the missing information.

When you visit the Match page, Smart Import automatically attempts to match each server listed in your uploaded spreadsheet to the server descriptions in the Server Consolidation database. Smart Import intelligently searches its large database of server names, aliases, descriptions, part numbers, specifications, and other data in order to make this match.

The results of this automated initial match are shown in the function panel. Each row from your uploaded spreadsheet is assigned to one of five color-coded match categories, based on whether the row was successfully identified or requires additional information.

The definition of each match category is:Unique match – black The row has been fully matched to a specific server description in the

Server Consolidation databaseProduct match – blue The row has been matched to a specific product model, but now needs

intervention to determine the specific server description match Manually matched – green Items in this category have been manually matched to a specific

Server Consolidation server description manually by the user, typically by the user

using the “Find” actionUnmatched – red Smart Import has been unable to identify the product described in these

rows, although it may have identified some characteristics of the serverExcluded – gray This means the item was excluded automatically by Smart Import, or you

have manually excluded it. Examples may include PCs or storage device

Examples of how this input data is presented are:

The first column is generated by Smart Import, and shows the elements of the input data that have been identified as relevant to identifying the server

SeparateSeparate is the default selection, and displays your input data in its original line item form. This allows you to treat each line item separately, while also allowing you to use the clone selection feature in Find to apply a selection to like line items when required. Refer to the Find section of this guide following for information on using Find.

CombineSelecting Combine compresses the input data display by grouping like items and showing the quantity of items in that grouping under a new heading titled Clones. The act of grouping like items also changes the color code scorecard mode to count by grouped line items. The purpose of Combine mode is to simplify and expedite processing of input data lists with many like items, allowing one Find operation to automatically act on multiple items. It is similar to using the clone feature in Separate mode, but has the benefit of providing more clarity on the overall size of the data matching task, which items are being cloned, the time the overall process will likely take and also minimizes the need for paging the data.

Step 4: Match - cont


Match mode provides you with two options for working with your input data:

Undo/RedoThe Undo feature appears as a button beneath the Match Mode selections whenever you make a change to the match status of an item or items. Examples of such changes would be an action in Find, or using the Mark feature to select multiple items for exclusion. Undo is a single level undo function that reverses the previous match action taken, including an Undo itself, in which case the button label changes to Redo.

When Combine mode is selected, an additional column titled Clones is automatically added to show the quantity of combined like items.

Step 4: Match - cont


Match also provides you with options to control the input data display to assist with the matching process.

In the example below, selections have been made to focus the display on only product matched items (blue) from a particular vendor and sort the products in ascending order by model name.

HINT: Your Show selections are initiated and refreshed when you click Apply. If, for example, you decided you wanted to alter the column selections in Identify, when you return to the Match page the auto match process will be repeated but for your new Identify settings, and your Show selection will be remembered but not refreshed until you click Apply again. This is deliberate to allow you to see the effect the changed Identify settings had on that same data set.

Select actions to perform on your Marked items.

Find opens a window providing features to assist with refining blue and red matches. See following page for details on Find.

Add Note enables you to add a text note to an item, which appears both on screen and in the file export you can initiate in Actions. The purpose is to assist with any further data collection needed to complete file processing.

Show only product matches from a particular vendor

Your filter and sort selections are shown here, clicking on the “X” will delete that setting.

Sorted by model in ascending order

Mark is used to select items for multiple excludes and undos

Step 4: Match - Find


To refine Product matched (blue) and Unmatched (red) items to a unique server match, you use the Find function for that particular item.

Select this check box to have your manual selection cloned to all other like items in the input data. A similar function is provided to clone a form factor (rack/tower)selection.

Processor speed uses a fuzzy match to cater for discovery tool variants from published processor values. The default match is +/-2%,, but if no matches were found, Smart Import then attempts at +/-5% and finally +/-10%. A unique match outside the +/-2% search is left for user confirmation even if only one server is returned.

Find search criteria is auto populated with the data that has been matched so far. In this case, there was enough match data to narrow the choice to two server descriptions. Other cases may not provide a short list of possible server descriptions or the correct server description depending on the input data, in which case you can vary the search criteria to locate the desired match.

Click on a server description to select it as a manual match (green) and thus enable it to be imported into a Server Consolidation or IT Efficiency project.

Step 4: Match – Bulk Find


Bulk Find is a feature that will help when you're importing a large inventory of servers that consists of just a list of server product names, with no configuration details like the type and quantity of processors installed on each one.

Bulk Find can add a text note to any rows that it processes. This is helpful if you later want to distinguish rows that were automatically found, or found with Bulk Find.

Select the criteria that Bulk Find should use to pick one configuration. For most criteria, you can direct Bulk Find to choose the highest, lowest, or the median value.

For items in the product match category, Bulk Find will automatically pick one configuration of that product for you.

When you open the Bulk Find Wizard, you can instruct Bulk Find what criteria to use to select the configuration. For example, you can tell Bulk Find wizard to choose the configuration with the highest RPE2 (performance) ranking, or the configuration with the newest (most recent) launch date.

Select this option if you want to ensure Bulk Find selects a configuration that has all of the server’s sockets populated

HINT: When using RPE2 as the Bulk Find criteria, the additional options of “High -1” and “High – 2” can be used to select the second-highest and third-highest performing configuration, respectively.

HINT: After Bulk Find has been run, you can use the “Undo” button on the Match phase to revert rows processed by Bulk Find to their original status.

When you click “Run Bulk Find”, the Wizard will attempt to select the configuration according to the criteria you selected. Rows matched this way will then be placed in the “Unique match” category.

When Bulk Find selects a configuration, it will honor any chip count, core count, or other specification that Smart Import has identified from your imported spreadsheet.

Step 5: Actions


Actions enables you to import selected server items to a new Server Consolidation project, load into IT Efficiency, export to a spreadsheet or save your full work file on our server.

In Actions your Show, Filter and Sort selections in Match are carried over, along with the current match status table. A sample of data from the input file is displayed, according to your filter and sort options.

Initiates a new Server Consolidation project and populates it with uniquely matched and manually matched servers. This process consolidates identical servers into a single entry with quantity shown. Check “Use current filters” to limit the import to your Show and Filter selections.

Exporting to a spreadsheet will typically be a normal part of Smart Import operation, as well as for backup or file sharing. Export allows you to gather additional data for reprocessing the complete input file, or to gather additional information for a subset of it. In the later case, the assumption is you will manually use that data in Find to complete the matching process.

You can save work files on our server for later recall. Enter a name and click Save. Saved projects can be reopened from the Upload page. Note: Smart Import retains your most recently uploaded file, even if you close your browser session. However, this will be overwritten by your next upload.

Transfers your matched server list to IT Efficiency for further analysis.

Help and Support


Smart Import includes comprehensive help and support features.

Help and Support includes this Quick Start Guide, an on-line User Guide with context sensitive access, and email based support for data queries and “how to” usage queries on Smart Import operation.

A Feedback option invites your comments or suggestions for improving Smart Import.

This Quick Start Guide is accessible via this link at the top right hand side of all Smart Import pages.

Click the Help icon at the top right on any page to open the context sensitive on-line User Guide

Contact Us from the main menu provides access to the Support and Feedback channels.

Click the support link to send an email support request to Gartner support staff.

Feedback provides an email channel for you to make suggestions regarding current features of the product, or offer suggestions for enhancements.

Documents

Gartner Technology Planner Smart Import Quick Start Guidetechplanner.gartner.com/GTPSmartImportQuickStartGuide.pdf · Smart Import Quick Start Guide. Smart Import Overview April 2015