Storing custom data as name-value pairs in the entityDetails table

The entityDetails database table is a default topology database table. You can add custom data to this table by inserting it as name-value pairs. This method is easier than creating new database tables, but less performant if you need to select entities based on the data.

To discover custom data and store it as name-value pairs, you need to discover the data, ensure that the data persists over multiple discoveries, and configure how the data is added to the DNCIM discovery database.

The data flow for discovering custom data and storing it as name-value pairs is as follows:

1. The data is retrieved from the source (flat file, EMS, or other source) by a discovery agent, collector, or Finder.
2. The name-value pairs are inserted into the workingEntities.finalEntity database table.
3. The ncp_disco process uses the dbModel.entityDetails discovery database table to populate the entityDetails table in the DNCIM discovery database with the information from the workingEntities.finalEntity table.
4. The data in the entityDetails table in DNCIM is automatically copied to the entityDetails table in NCIM and the ncimCache.entityData table.
5. From the ncimCache.entityData table, the data is available to the Event Gateway for event enrichment. If events are enriched with the data, the information is available in the Event Viewer.
6. From the NCIM topology database, the data is available to the Structure Browser.

The following table shows an example of the kind of data you might add to a device as name-value pairs.