The ServiceNow® CMDB application stores data about the infrastructure of your organization. CMDB was enhanced and updated in the Vancouver release.

CMDB highlights for the Vancouver release

  • Increase the level of adoption of key CMDB features and application services by using direct links to explore, set up, and start immediately using those features, in the Insights view in CMDB Workspace.
  • Visualize the hierarchical map of CIs and the relationships between them by using the Unified Map feature in CMDB Workspace. Use the map to centrally see attributes, related items, changes, and application services related to CIs.
  • Expand the scope of a Find Gap CMDB 360 query by choosing multiple non-reporting discovery sources.
  • Drill down the Data mismatch tile in the CMDB 360 view in CMDB Workspace to the Multisource Data Preview page which is now implemented as a UI Builder (UIB) component. This page provides greater visibility into how discovery source attribute values are used to populate the CMDB.
  • Review the list of business services that you want to bulk-convert into application services before starting the conversion operation. This review helps prevent unintentional conversion, which then can't be undone.

See Configuration Management Database (CMDB) for more information.

Important information for upgrading CMDB to Vancouver

During upgrade, a fix script that re-parents the Reconciliation Definition Mapping [cmdb_reconciliation_definition_mapping] table, runs. The length of time that it takes this fix script to complete depends on the number of reconciliation rules in the upgraded instance and will typically add several minutes to the upgrade.

Re-parenting the Reconciliation Definition Mapping [cmdb_reconciliation_definition_mapping] table is necessary to ensure that data in that table is captured by update sets when exporting reconciliation rules between instances. After upgrading, any changes to reconciliation rules are fully captured by update sets and are properly ported to destination instances.

New in the Vancouver release

CMDB Workspace store apps
  • CMDB Workspace version 3.6:
    • The CMDB performance insights tile in the Insights view provides insights and recommendations about configurations that affect the performance of various CMDB features. Use the provided direct links to adjust settings that can improve performance of the CMDB.
    • The CMDB data adoption tile in the Insights view, now also checks for the adoption of the following features:
      • Synchronization of group assignment attributes to ensure that the managed_by_group attribute is synchronized for all CIs in a class.
      • Principal Class filter which limits the number of CIs that appear in list views, to improve performance.
    • The Cloud and non-cloud resources tile now provides the Application Services pie chart with details about cloud and non-cloud status of application services based on the status of their CI members.
    For more information about the Insights view in CMDB Workspace, see Insights view in CMDB Workspace.
  • CMDB Workspace version 4.0: Unified Map lets you visualize the hierarchical map of CIs including all the relationships between them, centered on a CI set as a home node. The Unified Map feature combines the capabilities of the legacy Dependency Views and Service Mapping into a single map with a unified look and feel experience. Use a map to see related items, changes, and application services related to a CI.
CSDM and the CMDB Data Foundations Dashboards (2.2.1) store app
  • Manage performance of the CSDM and the CMDB Data Foundations Dashboards by deactivating CMDB or CSDM metrics that you don’t need. Settings for deactivating metrics are preserved during upgrades.
  • The following two metrics are no longer available in the CSDM Data Foundations dashboard, under the Fly tab:
    • Information Objects Missing an App Service Relationship
    • Catalog Request Items Related to Service Offerings
IntegrationHub ETL (3.2) store app

  • Set a custom preview size value per transform map which overrides the value of the sn_int_studio.preview.size system property. The sn_int_studio.preview.size property globally applies to all ETL transform maps to determine the number of sample data records that are loaded for preview.

    You can improve performance by partially loading a schema for a transform map to generate the data structure for the map. In that case, the data structure for the map is generated based only on those sample records that were loaded.

  • IntegrationHub ETL automatically sets an ETL transform map to be in read-only mode if a map isn’t associated with an import set. In this case you can’t edit mappings or transforms in the map.
  • The list of ETL transform maps on the landing page of IntegrationHub ETL, by default, is now grouped by CMDB applications. You can expand or collapse each group, or ungroup the list.
Insights view in CMDB Workspace
Use the Insights view in CMDB Workspace to see and increase the level of adoption of key CMDB features and application services. Explore how tools and features can maximize the health and efficiency of your CMDB and use direct links to explore, set up, and start using features immediately.
Limiting the number of services in the CMDB Health service dashboard
Limit the number of service CIs that you want to appear in the CMDB Health service dashboard by setting the glide.cmdb.services_hierarchy_limit system property. This limit applies to any child class of the Application Services [cmdb_ci_service_auto] class.
Quick start tests for CMDB

After upgrades and deployments of new applications or integrations, run quick start tests to verify that CMDB works as expected. If you customized CMDB, copy the quick start tests and configure them for your customizations.

Changed in this release

Data retention policy for the Audit Results table in Data Certification
Data archiving in the Now Platform adds an archive policy to the Audit Results [cert_audit_result] table that archives any records created more than two years ago. Archived records are stored in the ar_cert_audit_result table for seven years, after which they are destroyed. For more information, see Data archiving.
Choose multiple non-reporting discovery sources in a Find Gap CMDB 360 query
Extend the scope of a Find Gap CMDB 360 query in CMDB Workspace by choosing multiple non-reporting discovery sources.
Multisource Data Preview page in CMDB 360 view in CMDB Workspace is implemented as a UIB component

Visualize data reported by multiple discovery sources by viewing the Multisource Data Preview page. Highlighted discovery source values that were used as the current attribute values in the CMDB show how discovery sources are used to populate CMDB attributes.

Track progress of CMDB Data Manager tasks
Review details about task CIs and task progress, which can be especially helpful in troubleshooting a task, such as an Archive task, that isn't completing as expected.
Review the list of business services before converting them to application services
Prevent unintentional bulk conversion, which can't be undone, by selectively choosing and then reviewing the final list of the business services that you want to convert into application services. At the final review, you can still add or remove items from the list before starting the conversion operation.
Intelligent Search for CMDB
Use of Intelligent Search for CMDB provides the following benefits:
  • Ability to search for a specific CI by entering the full or partial CI name.
  • Automatic addition of conjunctions missing from utterances. For example, in English, the word "with" is added between some keywords.
  • Improved validation for utterances related to non-CMDB tables.
Default value of application service property changed
The default value of the sa.service.population.stop_expasion_under_ci_classes property has changed from cmdb_ci_service to "cmdb_ci_service_discovered. By default, if an application service belongs to a CI class that extends the cmdb_ci_service_discovered class, then the system doesn't insert CIs under this application service during manual update of the application service with CMDB changes.
Bi-directional synchronization of the Teams related list
When you modify a Teams related record, where Group type corresponds one of the group assignment fields in the CI, the change is synchronized with the CI corresponding field. Group assignment fields include the Approval Group, Change Group, Managed by Group, and Support Group.
Label on the CMDB Group Contains Encoded Query form is renamed to CI Overview Condition
The field label Simple Condition (and corresponding attribute label) on the CMDB Group Contains Encoded Queries form is renamed to CI Overview Condition. For more information see CMDB groups.

Deprecations

  • CMDB Search is now deprecated and no longer supported or available for new activation. For details, see the Application/Plugin Deprecation Process [KB0867184] article in the Now Support knowledge base. Instead, use CMDB Intelligent Search which is embedded in the CMDB Workspace (5.0.5) store app.
  • Starting with the Vancouver release, the ServiceNow hosted Service Graph Connector for Extrahop is being prepared for future deprecation. It will be hidden and no longer activated on new instances but will continue to be supported. The Extrahop hosted Service Graph Connector for Extrahop provides the latest experience for this functionality. For details, see the Deprecation Process [KB0867184] article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

Activation information

CMDB is a Now Platform feature that is active by default with the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) plugin (com.snc.cmdb).

Related ServiceNow applications and features

Common Service Data Model (CSDM)
Common Service Data Model (CSDM) provides prescriptive guidelines for service modeling within CMDB and is the standard for all ServiceNow products that use the CMDB. CSDM provides a framework for mapping data from your IT services and other products to the CMDB. Following the CSDM framework ensures that the required data for your ServiceNow application maps correctly to the appropriate CMDB tables.
Service Graph Connectors
Use predefined ServiceNow® Service Graph connectors to import data from third-party applications, such as Microsoft SCCM, into your CMDB. In addition, you can use the IntegrationHub ETL store app to create and manage custom ETL transform maps so that you can integrate third-party data into the CMDB without compromising its integrity.
CMDB Workspace
Use CMDB Workspace to search, explore, and gain insights into the CMDB. The CMDB Workspace is a store app that provides a central place for working with the CMDB. In CMDB Workspace you can examine health and recent activity, and access various CMDB dashboards and tools to support tasks in your organization.