CIS-Discovery Certified Implementation Specialist - Discovery Questions and Answers

The reconciliation process in ServiceNow refers to the method of ensuring data integrity and consistency in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) by allowing only designated authoritative data sources to write or update information at the CI (Configuration Item) table and attribute level. This process helps maintain accurate and reliable data in the CMDB by controlling how and from where data is sourced and updated. The other options describe different processes or aspects of CMDB management and are not directly related to the reconciliation process. References = ServiceNow CMDB documentation, particularly the sections on CI data management and reconciliation processes.

A MID Server needs to have access to the install.service-now.com domain to automatically stay up-to-date with instance versions. This domain hosts the MID Server upgrade files that are downloaded and installed by the MID Server when a new version is available. The MID Server checks for updates every 24 hours by default, or when the mid.upgrade.check_interval property is set12.

References:

• 1: ServiceNow Discovery Documentation, MID Server Upgrade section
• 2: ServiceNow Support Article, Connections to allow list for the MID Server

A Functionality Definition is a configuration record that defines what protocols to detect from within a Behavior. A Behavior is a set of Functionality Definitions that Discovery uses to identify and explore a device or application. A Functionality Definition specifies the order, type, and parameters of the probes that Discovery launches to gather information about a device or application12.

References:

• Functionality Definition
• Behavior

Pattern operations are the building blocks of patterns that define the logic and actions to perform on the target CIs. Some pattern operations query targets to retrieve information or execute commands, while others manipulate data or perform other tasks. WMI Query and Get Process are examples of pattern operations that query targets. WMI Query executes a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) query on a Windows target and stores the results in a variable. Get Process executes a command to list the processes running on a target and stores the results in a variable12.

References:

• Pattern operations - Product Documentation: Vancouver - ServiceNow
• Pattern operations - Product Documentation: San Diego - Now Support Portal

The Debug Identification Section in Debug Mode allows you to specify the identification attributes of a CI that you want to debug. These attributes are used to find the CI in the CMDB and run the pattern on it. The identification attributes vary depending on the CI class, but for infrastructure patterns, the common ones are IP and Host Name. These attributes are also used by the horizontal discovery to identify CIs. AWS Endpoint and PID are not valid identification attributes for infrastructure patterns.

References: The explanation is based on the following sources:

• Activate pattern Debug mode: This document explains how to activate the Debug mode and use the Debug Identification Section to debug a pattern.
• ServiceNow Exam CIS-Discovery Topic 6 Question 9 Discussion: This discussion provides a similar question and answer about the Debug Identification Section in Debug Mode.

 The Service Account for the MID Server must have the Log on as service right on the Windows platform. This right allows the MID Server to run as a Windows service and communicate with the ServiceNow instance. The Service Account does not need to have local or domain admin rights, as these are not required for the MID Server functionality. The MID Server User Role is a role on the ServiceNow instance, not on the Windows platform, and it is used to control the access and permissions of the MID Server on the instance.

References:

• Correcting MID Server Windows service account user and permissions
• What is a ServiceNow MID Server and how does it work?
• Configure Windows MID Server service credentials

 The WMI service is a Windows service that enables remote management of Windows devices using the WMI protocol. The WMI service is required for Discovery to access the configuration and status information of Windows devices using WMI queries. If the WMI service is not running on a host, it will prevent the discovery of Windows devices, as Discovery will not be able to communicate with the WMI Collector or execute WMI queries on the target device123.

References:

• How to resolve a failure to communicate with the WMI Collector during top-down discovery - Support and Troubleshooting - Now Support Portal
• Windows discovery without ‘domain admin’ or ‘local admin’ privileges ? - Support and Troubleshooting - Now Support Portal
• Discovery — ServiceNow Elite

A check is a part of Agent Client Collector that defines the osquery commands to run on a CI and the frequency of execution. A check can also specify the conditions for generating alerts or events based on the osquery results.

References1: Agent Client Collector - Product Documentation: San Diego - ServiceNow2: Agent Client Collector for Visibility - Product Documentation: San Diego - ServiceNow

When designing steps with operations requiring variables, it is best practice to query targets for variables1. This allows you to dynamically obtain the values of the variables from the target devices, rather than hard coding them or using scalar variables that may not reflect the current state of the target. Querying targets for variables also enables you to design for a dynamic environment, where the target configuration may change over time.

References:

• 1: Define discovery steps

Variables are used in discovery patterns to store and manipulate data that is collected or calculated during the discovery process. There are three kinds of variables used in discovery patterns12:

• CI attributes: These are variables that correspond to the attributes of the configuration item (CI) type that the pattern is discovering. For example, name, serial_number, manufacturer, etc. CI attributes are used to populate the CI record in the CMDB with the information gathered by the pattern.
• Temporary: These are variables that are created and used within the pattern, but are not stored in the CMDB. For example, $result, $output, $user_var, etc. Temporary variables are used to store and manipulate data such as the output of a command, the value of a parameter, or the result of a calculation.
• Global: These are variables that are defined in the global scope and can be accessed by any pattern. For example, $mid, $target, $ip_address, etc. Global variables are used to store and access data that is common to all patterns, such as the MID Server, the target device, or the IP address.

References:

• 1: ServiceNow Discovery Documentation, Pattern Variables section
• 2: ServiceNow Discovery Overview, page 11

The Discovery Dashboard provides a summary of the Discovery status, including the number of active discovery errors, the number of devices discovered, and the number of credentials used. Each error has a help link that provides more information about the cause and possible solutions.

References:

• Discovery Dashboard
• Discovery troubleshooting | Error messages

Hardware Models are templates that define the attributes and default values for a specific type of hardware configuration item (CI). Hardware Models can have a one-to-many relationship with the following entities:

• Assets: An asset is a tangible or intangible resource that is tracked and managed by the organization, such as a laptop, a license, or a contract. A Hardware Model can be associated with multiple assets that share the same characteristics and specifications.
• Configuration Items: A CI is any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service, such as a server, an application, or a user. A Hardware Model can be associated with multiple CIs that share the same characteristics and specifications.
• Model Categories: A model category is a classification of Hardware Models based on their function, such as network, storage, or server. A Hardware Model can belong to one or more model categories that define its scope and usage.

References:

• Hardware Model
• Asset
• Configuration Item (CI)
• [Model Category]

The Pattern Designer is a graphical tool that allows users to create and edit horizontal discovery patterns. The Pattern Designer has three main sections: the left section shows the CI type and the pattern type, the middle section shows the pattern steps and the flow diagram, and the far-right section shows the details of the selected step or operation. The far-right section can display the following tabs, depending on the type of step or operation selected12:

• Operations: This tab shows the list of available operations that can be added to the pattern, such as Execute Command, Parse File, Set Parameter Value, etc. Operations are the basic building blocks of a pattern that perform specific actions on the target device or the MID Server.
• CI Attributes: This tab shows the list of attributes that can be set or updated for the CI type of the pattern, such as name, serial number, manufacturer, etc. CI attributes are used to populate the CI record in the CMDB with the information collected by the pattern.
• Temporary Variables: This tab shows the list of temporary variables that can be created or used by the pattern, such as $result, $output, $user_var, etc. Temporary variables are used to store and manipulate data within the pattern, such as the output of a command, the value of a parameter, or the result of a calculation.
• CMDB Dashboard: This tab shows the CMDB dashboard that displays the CI record and its related lists, such as relationships, identification rules, sensors, etc. The CMDB dashboard is used to preview and verify the outcome of the pattern on the CI record in the CMDB.

References:

• 1: ServiceNow Discovery Documentation, Pattern Designer section
• 2: ServiceNow Discovery Overview, page 11

A horizontal pattern is a type of Discovery pattern that discovers configuration items (CIs) and their relationships by moving across the network from one device to another. A horizontal pattern can use the Change user operation to switch from the default credentials to any other appropriate credentials for a specific device or application. This operation allows the pattern to access different types of CIs with different authentication methods.

References:

• Discovery patterns
• Change user operation

CMDB Health measures the quality of the data in the CMDB by testing it against predefined rules and metrics. One of the categories of these rules is Correctness, which tests the data against data integrity rules such as identification rules, orphan CI rules, and stale CI rules1. These rules help identify and flag the existing CMDB relationships that are not compliant with the suggested relationships2.

• Duplicate relationships are those that have more than one relationship of the same type between the same two CIs3. For example, if a server CI has two relationships of type “Depends on” with the same network CI, it is a duplicate relationship.
• Stale relationships are those that have not been updated for a specified period of time3. For example, if a server CI has a relationship of type “Runs on” with a virtual machine CI that has not been discovered for more than 60 days, it is a stale relationship.
• Orphan relationships are those that are missing a defined relationship within the CMDB3. For example, if a server CI has no relationship of type “Depends on” with any network CI, it is an orphan relationship.

References: 1: CMDB Health - Customer Success - ServiceNow 2: CMDB health Dashboard: “Relationships not compliant with suggested relationships” calculation - Support and Troubleshooting - Now Support Portal 3: Maintain a healthy CMDB - ServiceNow

 Reconciliation rules are used to determine which data sources can update CI attributes in ServiceNow. Reconciliation rules can be static or dynamic, and they can be applied to specific CI classes, attributes, or discovery sources. Reconciliation rules can also specify the actions to take when there are unmatched values, such as removing, ignoring, or updating them1.

References:

• 1: Reconciliation rules - Product Documentation: San Diego - Now Support Portal

The deletion strategy ‘Mark as absent’ means that when a related CI that was previously discovered by a pattern is no longer found, the install_status attribute of that CI is set to Absent. This indicates that the CI is missing or removed from the network. The main CI (in this case, the Linux Server CI) is not affected by the deletion strategy of the related CI (in this case, the Disk CI)12.

References1: Set a deletion strategy - Product Documentation: San Diego - ServiceNow2: Network adapter status setting to “Absent” in EMC … - ServiceNow …

To launch any pattern, you need to specify the CI classification and the CI type. The CI classification determines the table where the discovered CI is stored in the CMDB, and the CI type defines the specific attributes and relationships of the CI. For example, if you want to discover a Windows server, you need to select the CI classification as cmdb_ci_win_server and the CI type as Windows Server. These choices are mandatory for any pattern, as they enable Discovery to identify and classify the CIs correctly.

References: Patterns and horizontal discovery, Available discovery patterns

On the ECC Queue, sensor records have a Queue value of output and probe records have a Queue value of input. The ECC Queue is the connection point between the instance and the MID Server, and it displays the input and output messages from and to the MID Server1. A probe is a message that the instance sends to the MID Server to request information from a device or application2. A sensor is a script that the MID Server runs to process the results returned by the probe3. When a probe is created, it is inserted into the ECC Queue with a Queue value of input, which means that it is waiting to be picked up by the MID Server4. When a sensor is created, it is inserted into the ECC Queue with a Queue value of output, which means that it is waiting to be processed by the instance.

References: 1: ECC Queue - ServiceNow 2: Probes - ServiceNow 3: Sensors - ServiceNow 4: How the ECC Queue table records get processed: from output ready to input processed - Support and Troubleshooting - Now Support Portal : [ECC Queue Processing and Debugging, with “Discovery - Sensors” used as an example - Support and Troubleshooting - Now Support Portal]

 CI reclassification is the process of changing the class of a CI in the CMDB based on the discovery data. It can be done manually or automatically, depending on the configuration settings. CI reclassification can result in data loss if the new class has fewer or different attributes than the original class, and the existing attribute values are not preserved or mapped to the new class. This can happen when a CI is switched to a different class hierarchy, such as from a Linux Server to a Windows Server, or when a CI is downgraded to a less specific class, such as from a Database to a Software Instance. Therefore, switching and downgrading have a higher chance of leading to lost data during CI reclassification.

References:

• CI reclassification
• Reclassify CIs
• Configure automatic CI reclassification

The default thread count for a MID Server is 25. This means that the MID Server can run up to 25 worker threads simultaneously to execute the jobs assigned to it by the ServiceNow instance. The worker threads are divided into different thread pools based on the priority of the jobs. The MID Server can also adjust the thread count dynamically based on the system resources and the workload. The thread count can be configured by changing the MID Server parameters in the ServiceNow instance12. References = 1: MID Server Max Threads - Worker Groups - Priority and Queues - ServiceNow 2: Product Documentation | ServiceNow

 A scheduled job is a background process that runs at a specified time or interval to perform a specific task1. It is not a method for deleting specific CIs that are not discovered in 30 days. The other options are methods for deleting or updating CIs based on discovery data. A UI policy is a script that can dynamically change the behavior of a form or list2. A service mapping is a process that creates a map of the relationships between CIs that support a business service3. A data policy is a rule that enforces data consistency and accuracy by validating the data entered into a record.

References: 1: Scheduled Jobs 2: UI Policies 3: Service Mapping : Data Policies

In ServiceNow Discovery, most properties related to the Discovery module start with the prefix 'glide.discovery'. This naming convention is part of ServiceNow's system property design, where 'glide' typically indicates system properties and 'discovery' specifies that the property is related to the Discovery module. Properties are used to configure various aspects of the Discovery process, such as behavior, timeouts, and performance settings.

 File Based Discovery is used to discover file paths to recognize the signature of installed software. File Based Discovery helps to identify what software is running on Windows and UNIX servers and devices by scanning the file system for specific files or directories that indicate the presence of a software product1. File Based Discovery can also check the file size, version, and checksum of the discovered files to verify the software installation2. File Based Discovery can be configured using file signatures, which are patterns that match the file paths of software products3.

References: 1: File Based Discovery - Support and Troubleshooting - Now Support Portal 2: Use file-based service discovery to discover scrape targets | Prometheus 3: How File based discovery can be used to populate software record running on Linux host. - Support and Troubleshooting - Now Support Portal

The MID Server parameters like 'mid.ssh.session_timeout', 'url', and 'mid.windows.management_protocol' can be modified through the ServiceNow platform UI under the MID Server configuration settings. These parameters control various aspects of the MID Server's operation, such as timeout settings for SSH sessions, the URL for the MID Server to communicate with the ServiceNow instance, and the management protocol to use for Windows servers, respectively. The 'name' of the MID Server, however, is not typically a parameter that can be changed through the UI as it is a unique identifier for the MID Server within the ServiceNow instance. Once a MID Server is registered with a name, that name is usually persistent and not intended to be modified through configuration settings.

Discovery finds and maps dependencies for the following types of storage devices: Direct-attached storage (DAS), network-attached storage (NAS), or storage area network (SAN)1. NAS or SAN storage that is discovered via a Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) and Common Information Model (CIM) is also supported2. Discovery collects information about storage area networks from specialized devices, such as storage arrays and Fibre Channel (FC) switches, and creates specific references between the tables in the SAN3. Discovery does not support Multiple area network (MAN) or Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) as types of storage devices.

References:

• 1: Storage device discovery
• 2: Storage Discovery via SMI-S and CIM
• 3: Discovery of storage area networks (SAN)

• A is true because the target table $cmdb_ci_web_server is a ServiceNow CMDB table that stores information about web servers1.
• B is true because the merge table operation is typically used for application patterns, which are horizontal patterns that discover applications and their dependencies. The condition on the process.executablePath variable suggests that the operation is looking for a specific application (mongoose) running on the web servers.
• D is true because the merge table operation requires at least one matching field value between the two source tables1. In this case, the process.executablePath variable is the matching field, and it must contain “mongoose” for the operation to run.

References:

• 1: Merge tables - Product Documentation: San Diego - Now Support Portal
• 3: Product Documentation | ServiceNow
• [4]: Discovery Patterns - Product Documentation: San Diego - Now Support Portal

The Automation Error Messages list displays the errors that occurred during the execution of Discovery automation scripts. From this list, you can view the details of each error, such as the script name, the error message, the device, and the time. You can also perform actions on the errors, such as retrying the script, ignoring the error, or creating an incident. To do so, you can use the options on the right navigation pane, which are categorized as follows1:

• SELECT ALL: This option allows you to select all the errors in the list.
• SELECT ONE: This option allows you to select one error in the list by clicking on the checkbox next to it.
• ACTION ON SELECTED: This option allows you to perform an action on the selected errors, such as Retry, Ignore, or Create Incident. You can also choose to perform the action on all the errors in the list by selecting the All option from the drop-down menu.
• ACTION ON ALL: This option allows you to perform an action on all the errors in the list, regardless of the selection. You can choose from the same actions as the ACTION ON SELECTED option.

References:

• Discovery error messages: This article explains the different types of error messages and warnings in Discovery, and how to access and manage them.