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Rule Sets
How a product category rule set controls the fields and relationships available on its configuration items.
A product category's rule set is the single most consequential setup choice in the CMDB: it decides which fields exist on the products and configuration items beneath the category, and what those configuration items can be linked to.
Where a rule set is set
You choose a rule set when you create a Product Category. Every Product in that category, and every Configuration Item linked to those products, inherits the rule set. You do not set it on the configuration item directly, and it cannot be treated as cosmetic: it permanently shapes field availability and linking behavior for everything underneath the category.
The seven rule sets
| Rule set | Typical use | Field behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Asset | Laptops, monitors, network gear, peripherals | Serial number, location and site, warranty and financial fields |
| Server | Physical or virtual servers | Adds hardware specifications such as RAM and number of cores |
| Software | Applications, operating systems, SaaS | Version and edition fields; no per-user ownership fields |
| Software Distribution Package | Deployable installers and images | Similar to Software |
| License Certificate | Purchased licenses and entitlements | License type and quantity; set by the system for license certificates |
| Logical Asset with Financial Data | Non-physical assets you depreciate or cost-track | Financial fields enabled |
| Logical Asset without Financial Data | Everything else worth tracking | Minimal field set |
What each rule set can link to
The rule set also governs relationships. This matters most for hardware and software:
| Rule set | Users | Service instances | Other CIs | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Asset / Server | Multiple | Exactly one | Multiple | Yes |
| Software / Distribution Package | None | Multiple | Multiple | Yes |
| License Certificate | Multiple | None | None | No |
In practice:
- Hardware (Physical Asset, Server) links to its assigned users and to exactly one service instance. The single-service-instance rule is deliberate: it keeps incident routing and affected-SLA logic unambiguous when an event references the configuration item.
- Software never links to users. Model per-user entitlement through License Certificate configuration items, which link to users, or through the service instance's user list, not by relating a person to the software configuration item.
Before you create configuration items
Because the rule set determines which fields are visible and editable, validate your category design against the field guidelines before loading data. See Product Category Fields and Configuration Item Fields for the per-field utilization tables, which show how visibility changes by rule set.
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