Software discovery models

Software discovery models can be used to help normalize the software you own by analyzing and classifying models to reduce duplication.

Software discovery models are stored in the Software Discovery Model [cmdb_sam_sw_discovery_model] table. There is a distinct difference between software models and software discovery models.
  • A software model is a specific version or configuration of software.
  • A software discovery model is a model created when Discovery runs and identifies software.
Software discovery models cannot be created manually. The ServiceNow platform uses any of the following field combinations to match the new software discovery model to an existing software model.
  • Display Name, Publisher, and Version
  • Display Name and Version if the Publisher field is empty
  • Display Name only if the Publisher and Version fields are empty

When analyzing version numbers, the ServiceNow platform always searches for an exact match first, but rounds down to a major version number if an exact match is not found. For example, if no match is found for version number 8.0.4, but version 8.0 is found, then version 8.0 is used in the Software model field.