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Attribute Precedence is where we determine which Management Agent is authoritative for which attribute.  It is important, because you could see attributes:

è Not getting updated when they should be

è Getting cleared out when they should not be

è Have a status Skipped – Not Precedent in a Preview of an object

For these types of issues, it is a good idea to check the precedence of the attribute to determine what management agent has precedence, and is it really the correct management agent that should have precedence. 

FIM 2010 brought about the much requested Equal Precedence.  This allows for the authority to change between Management Agents.  In Single Valued attributes, the last one wins.  In a Multi-Value attribute, more of a merge occurs allowing for the information to remain in sync.

You can review the settings of Attribute Precedence on an attribute through the following steps:

1. In the Synchronization Service Manager select Metaverse Designer
2. Select the object type that you need.  (In this example, we will be using the Person attribute.)
3. From the list of attributes at the bottom, select the attribute in question. (For this example, we will use the displayName attribute.)
4. From the Actions menu, select Configure Attribute Flow Precedence

1. In the Configure Attribute Flow Precedence Window, you will see the list of Management Agents that have Import Attribute Flow configured for this particular Management Agent.  In this example, I have two Management Agents.  Management Agent 1 is Authoritative for this attribute.  This means, that if the displayName attribute is modified on the Management Agent 2 side, it will be changed back to reflect what is in Management Agent 1.

1. If the goal is to have Management Agent 2 to be authoritative, then it needs to move to the top by using the arrows on the right.

1. If the goal is to have both Management Agents be authoritative, then Use equal precedence needs to be checked.  Equal Precedence will allow changes from either side.   

In conclusion, it is important to understand Attribute Precedence, as it will help with a lot of issues to where you may or may not understand what is happening with an attribute.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Utilize the Contents and Index under Help for more information on Attribute Flow.