How do I configure the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector?
Version: 3.6
Sample Windows Server to Monitor: crusvrwin10
Software Asset Management Enabled(Yes\No): Yes
SCCM Asset Intelligence Enabled(Yes\No): No
Mid Server used to connect to SCCM SQL Server Database: Yes
*Setup Method: Guided Setup
*Going forward, Service Graph Connector Central is the recommended method for setting up Service Graph Graph Connectors. (Please refer to this ServiceNow Configure Service Graph Connector for Microsoft SCCM using SGC Central Documentation page for more details on using SGC Central for configuring the SCCM Service Graph Connector)
The following topics are covered in this How do I configure the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector? Article:
A. Set up Windows Server to be monitored in Microsoft Configuration Manager
B. Analyze your Windows Server in Microsoft Configuration Manager
C. Installing & Configuring SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector on your ServiceNow Instance
D. Run SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Scheduled Data Import Jobs on your ServiceNow Instance
E. Analyze the CMDB Records created\updated by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector for your Windows Server in your ServiceNow Instance
F. Differences between SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Discovery and ServiceNow ITOM Visibility Discovery
G. SG-SCCM Software Usage Import Jobs - Relevant only when Software Asset Management Professional(SAM Pro) is enabled
H. SG-SCCM Software Edition Import Job - Relevant only when Software Asset Management Professional(SAM Pro) is enabled
A. Set up Windows Server to be monitored in Microsoft Configuration Manager
(i) Add the Windows Server to be Monitored to your Active Directory Domain.
Unlike a lot of the other Monitoring Applications like e.g. Dynatrace, AppDynamics, Tanium, that monitor Endpoints like Windows & Linux Servers, the Microsoft Configuration Manager Monitoring Application does not require you to install Agents on the Servers being monitored. Instead, when a Device like e.g. a Windows Server joins an Active Directory Domain, the Microsoft Configuration Client software is pushed to that Device which in turn communicates back to the Site configured in Microsoft Configuration Manager over the Network. Please refer to Microsoft's Fundamentals of managing devices with Configuration Manager Documentation Page for more details.
(ii) Create a SQL Server account on the SQL Server Database that the Microsoft Configuration Manager Site is configured to connect to and assign it the SQL Server 'db_datareader' role. Please refer to ServiceNow's Configure Service Graph Connector for Microsoft SCCM Documentation page for more details. You will be providing this Account Credentials as part of the (iv) Guided Setup step outlined in section C. Installing & Configuring SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector on your ServiceNow Instance further down.
B. Analyze your Windows Server in Microsoft Configuration Manager
Microsoft Configuration Manager discovers Devices in your network using the Discovery Method that you have configured for your Microsoft Configuration Manager installation, for example Active Directory Forest Discovery. It houses the data associated with the Devices that it discovers in the SQL Server Database that it connects to (configured at time of Microsoft Configuration Manager installation).
The SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector connects via JDBC to this SQL Server Database using the SQL Server account described above and ingests the data associated with the Devices stored in this database into your ServiceNow Instance CMDB.
(i) Navigate to Asset & Compliance, Devices to see the list of Devices stored in your Microsoft Configuration Manager installation. You should see a list of your Devices displayed. Below is an example of this for the 347 Devices in our Crucible Lab Environment, 334 of them being listed with Active Clients (Client=Yes)
(ii) Navigate to any of your Devices in the list. The bottom half of the screen will show a Device Summary Tab like the one below for the crusvrwin10 Windows Server we are monitoring.
(iii) Right click on the Device and select Start, Resource Explorer to bring up the Resource Explorer for the Device. You should see a screen like the one shown below for the crusvrwin10 Windows Server we are monitoring.
- The Hardware node in the Tree displayed in the Left hand pane represents the Hardware Inventory data for the Device that was collected by the Hardware Inventory Cycle that was run for that device.
- The Software node in the Tree displayed in the Left hand pane represents the Software Inventory data for the Device that was collected by the Software Inventory Cycle that was run for that device.
(iv) Clicking on the Hardware node for the Device will bring up a screen like the one shown below listing all the Hardware Entities associated with the Device that the Hardware Inventory Cycle run collected data for. The SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector ingests data from these Hardware Entities that are associated with the Device.
Disk Drives
(v) Click on the Disk Drives Entity to bring up the list of Disk Drives on your Device. Below is an example of this for our crusvrwin10 Windows Server where the list of Disk Drives on the crusvrwin10 Windows Server is displayed.
The data from this Entity is what's used by the SG-SCCM Disk Import Schedule (Will be described further down) to populate the Storage Devices Related List associated with the crusvrwin10 Windows Server in ServiceNow.
Network Adapter Configuration
(vi) Click on the Network Adapter Configuration Entity to bring up the list of Network Adapters on your Device. Below is an example of this for our crusvrwin10 Windows Server where the list of Network Adapters on the crusvrwin10 Windows Server is displayed.
The data from this Entity is what's used by the SG-SCCM Network Import Schedule (Will be described further down) to populate the Network Adapters and IP Addresses Tabs associated with the crusvrwin10 Windows Server in ServiceNow.
Serial Numbers
(vii) Click on the PC BIOS Entity to bring up the BIOS Record associated with your Device. BIOS Serial Number is one of the columns displayed. Below is an example of this for our crusvrwin10 Windows Server where the 8N1XXXX BIOS Serial Number associated with this Server is displayed.
The Serial Number data from this Entity is what's used by the SG-SCCM Computer Identity Import Schedule (Will be described further down) to populate the Bios Serial Number Type record in the Serial Numbers Related List associated with the crusvrwin10 Windows Server in ServiceNow.
(viii) Click on the System Enclosure Entity to bring up the System Enclosure Record associated with your Device. System Enclosure Serial Number is one of the columns displayed. Below is an example of this for our crusvrwin10 Windows Server where the 8N1XXXX System Enclosure Serial Number associated with this Server is displayed.
The Serial Number data from this Entity is what's used by the SG-SCCM Computer Identity Import Schedule (Will be described further down) to populate the Chassis Serial Number Type record in the Serial Numbers Related List associated with the crusvrwin10 Windows Server in ServiceNow.
Installed Software
(ix) Click on the Installed Software Entity to bring up the list of Installed Software on your Device. Below is an example of this for our crusvrwin10 Windows Server where the list of Installed Software on the crusvrwin10 Windows Server is displayed.
The data from this Entity is what's used by the SG-SCCM Software Import Schedule (Will be described further down) to populate the Software Installations Related List associated with the crusvrwin10 Windows Server in ServiceNow.
C. Installing & Configuring SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector on your ServiceNow Instance
(i) Login to your ServiceNow Instance
(ii) Install the following Application from the ServiceNow Store:
Service Graph Connector for SG-SCCM: sn_sccm_integrate.
The following Applications are automatically installed when you install the Service Graph Connector for SG-SCCM Application
- Integrations Commons for CMDB: sn_cmdb_int_util
- CMDB CI Class Model: sn_cmdb_ci_class
SCCM Dependency:
- Windows MID server required for access to SCCM environment
(iii) Navigate to Setup under SG-SCCM in the Filter Menu
(iv) Go through all Guided Setup Steps as per the ServiceNow Documentation: Configure Service Graph Connector for Microsoft SCCM
Configuring the Connection and Credentials
Your ServiceNow Instance will be authenticating to the SQL Server Database associated with your Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation via a JDBC Connection. Specify the following in the Configure the Connection step:
(i) Click on the Configure button to the right of the Configure the Connection step to bring up the SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Tile screen in Workflow Studio. The below screenshot shows the SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Tile screen that you should expect to be brought to in Workflow Studio.
Note: If clicking on the Configure pushbutton brings you to the Workflow Studio Homepage instead of bringing you directly to the SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Tile then navigate to the Integrations Tab and click View Details on the SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials (Parent Connection & Credential Alias) Tile.
(ii) Click on the Configure button to the right of this OOTB SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Alias to bring up the below Configure Connection Dialog Box:
Top half
Connection Name: Prepopulated with the "SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials" Name associated with the Connection Record in the Parent SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Connection & Credential Alias.
Host: Populate with the Host that your Microsoft Configuration Manager\SCCM installation is hosted on.
Database name: Populate with the Database Name associated with the SQL Server Database that your Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation connects to.
Bottom Half
Use Mid Server: Turn on this checkbox to indicate that you will be connecting to your SCCM SQL Server Database via a Mid Server.
Mid Server: Select your Mid Server from the Mid Server Pulldown Menu
Username: Populate with the Username associated with the the SQL Server account you created in Step (ii) of the above A. Set up Windows Server to be monitored in Microsoft Configuration Manager section.
Password: Populate with the Password associated with the the SQL Server account you created in Step (ii) of the above A. Set up Windows Server to be monitored in Microsoft Configuration Manager section.
(iii) Click on the Configure Connection Push button. The following happens:
- The OOTB SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Connection Record & the OOTB JDBC Credentials Credential Record shown in the below SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Connection & Credential Alias Screen are updated with the Connection & Credential details that you provided in the previous step.
Note: Any Child Connection & Credential Aliases that may be created when you click on Add Connection from the SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Tile screen in Workflow Studio, for connecting to a different SCCM Instance, will be associated with this Parent Connection & Credential Alias and shown in the Child Aliases Tab of this Record.
- A set of SG-SCCM Data Sources and Scheduled Data Import Jobs prefixed with "SCCM JDB-" are created from the OOTB SG-SCCM Data Source and Scheduled Data Import Templates that are installed as part of the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector installation (described in the next Configure Data Source and Scheduled Data Import sub section).
Configure Data Source and Scheduled Data Import
SG-SCCM Scheduled Import Jobs will be run at the interval you specify to ingest data from the SQL Server Database that the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector connects to. The CMDB database on your ServiceNow Instance will be populated with this ingested data.
The SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector comes with OOTB SG-SCCM Data Sources and Scheduled Data Imports Templates, 14 for ServiceNow instances that already have Software Asset Management Installed, 11 for ServiceNow Instances without Software Asset Management. The OOTB Data Sources and Scheduled Data Imports are Templates that will be used for creating your own SCCM Connection Specific Data Sources and Scheduled Data Imports (described further down).
The Scheduled Data Import Table below shows all 14 OOTB Scheduled Data Import Templates that are installed on a ServiceNow instance that is enabled for Software Asset Management.
| Scheduled Data Import | Delta's Supported (Y/N) | Comment |
| SG-SCCM Computer Identity | Y | Parent Job that all of the other Child Jobs in this table run after. Populates Manufacturer and Serial Number related fields on the Computer CI Record that gets Created\Updated by the Service Graph Connector. It also populates the Most Recent Discovery field on the Computer CI Record. (Needs to be turned on, Active=true in the Set up Scheduled data imports step in Guided Setup). |
| SG-SCCM Computer OU | Y | Populates the Organizational Name field in the SG-SCCM Computer Related Related List (available from SG-SCCM Computer Related View) associated with the Computer CI Record that gets Created\Up by the Service Graph Connector |
| SG-SCCM Software | Y |
Software Asset Management(SAM) enabled
Populates the Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table with Software Install Records associated with Computer CI Record that gets Created\Updated by the Service Graph Connector.
Software Asset Management(SAM) not enabled
The Software Instances[cmdb_software_instance] Table is populated with Software Install Records associated with the Computer CI Records instead of the Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table. T he Software Packages[cmdb_ci_spkg] Table is also populated with Software Package Records with associated Install Counts and License Counts. |
| SG-SCCM Removed Software | N |
Software Asset Management(SAM) enabled
Removes Software Install Records, associated with Computer CI Record that gets Created\Updated by the Service Graph Connector, from the Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table
Software Asset Management(SAM) not enabled
The Software Install Records are removed from the Software Instances[cmdb_software_instance] Table instead of from the Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table. The Software Package Records are also removed from the Software Packages[cmdb_ci_spkg] Table. |
| SG-SCCM Processor | Y | Populates Processor related fields on the Computer CI Record that gets Created\Updated by the Service Graph Connector |
| SG-SCCM Operating System | Y | Populates Operating System related fields on the Computer CI Record that gets Created\Updated by the Service Graph Connector |
| SG-SCCM Network | Y | Populates Network Adapter and associated IP related data in the Network Adapter and CI IPs Related Lists associated with the Computer CI Record that gets Created\Updated by the Service Graph Connector |
| SG-SCCM Last Discovered Update | N | Populates the Most Recent Discovery field associated with ALL the Computer CI Record that gets Created\Updated by the Service Graph Connector. (It does a Full Pull of all Computer Records from SCCM that includes only Computer Resource ID and LastHWScan fields). The Computer Identity Import Job only updates Most Recent Discovery for the Computer CI's included in it's Delta Load |
| SG-SCCM Disk | Y | Populates Disk related data in the Storage Devices Related List associated with the Computer CI Record that gets Created\Updated by the Service Graph Connector |
| SG-SCCM Software Last Used | Y |
Only included when Software Asset Management Professional(SAM Pro) is installed. Populates Last Used data into the Software Usage[samp_sw_usage] table which is queried by Last Used Date Software Reclamation Rules (Software Metering needs to be enabled on Microsoft Configuration Manager ). It is turned off by default (Active=false). |
| SG-SCCM Software Edition | Y | Only included when Software Asset Management Professional(SAM Pro) is installed. If Microsoft Configuration Manager is setup to Track Software Editions, this Import Job can be used to populate the Edition Override field in the Software Install Records associated with the Computer CI Record that gets Created\Updated by the Service Graph Connector. It is turned off by default (Active=false). |
| SG-SCCM Software AI | Y | Use instead of the SG-SCCM Software Import Schedule if Asset Intelligence is enabled in Microsoft Configuration Manager. It is turned off by default (Active=false). |
| SG-SCCM SAMP Usage | Y | Only included when Software Asset Management Professional(SAM Pro) is installed. Populates Software Usage data into the Software Usage[samp_sw_usage] table which is queried by Total Usage Time Software Reclamation Rules. (Software Metering needs to be enabled on Microsoft Configuration Manager ). It is turned off by default (Active=false) . |
| SG-SCCM Removed Software AI | N | Use instead of the SG-SCCM Removed Software Import Schedule if Asset Intelligence is enabled in Microsoft Configuration Manager. It is turned off by default (Active=false ). |
Validate data sources
(i) Return to Guided Setup and Click on Configure to the right of the Validate data sources step to bring up the Data Sources[sys_data_source] Table with the SCCM JDB-SG-SCCM Computer Identity JDBC Type Connection Record being listed as shown in the below screen shot.
(ii) Open this SCCM JDB-SG-SCCM Computer Identity Record and click on the Test Load 20 Records Related link to Test the Connection.
If the Connection is successful you will see a Success Completion Code similar to the one shown in the below screen:
Reset 'Last run datetime' in test load data source
(i) Return to Guided Setup and Click on Configure to the right of the Reset 'Last run datetime' in test load data source step to being up the Data Sources[sys_data_source] Table with the SCCM JDB-SG-SCCM Computer Identity JDBC Type Connection Record being listed.
(ii) Open the SCCM JDB-SG-SCCM Computer Identity JDBC Type Connection Record and clear out the Last run datetime field value.
As part of validating the connection, the Test load populates the field with a Last run datetime with the current test run datetime. Clearing out this value will bring in all the data from the SG-SCCM Computer Identity data source during an import run without filtering any computer data based on datetime.
Set up scheduled data imports
(i) Return to Guided Setup and Click on the Configure button to the right of the Configure scheduled data imports step to bring up the Inactive SCCM JDB-SG-SCCM Computer Identity Scheduled Data Import Record associated with the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector as shown in the below screen shot.
(ii) Turn on the SCCM JDB-SG-SCCM-Computer Identity Scheduled Import Job (Parent Scheduled Import Job) job by changing the Active Field for this job from false to true.
(iii) The job is set to run Periodically at 1 day Repeat Intervals by default. If you want a different Repeat Interval specify at what Repeat Intervals that you want the Job to run.
Creating Multiple SCCM connections - Not a specific Guided Setup step but instructions on how to create multiple SCCM connections for cases when you want to connect to multiple different SCCM Instances.
Creating SCCM Connection specific Data Source & Scheduled Imports is recommended for the following reasons:
- It is good futureproofing for cases where you may need to connect to a 2nd Data Source sometime in the future. For example a Microsoft Configuration Manager Data Source in a different Geographical location or a Microsoft Configuration Manager Data Source in a different company that is acquired through corporate M&A activity.
- It prepares you for future upgrades, where the SCCM Connection specific Data Source and Scheduled Data Import Records in the sys_data_source Table will not be marked as Skipped Records for Review by the Upgrade. It will allow you to focus on Skipped Records due to intentional Customization as oppose to Execution of the Out of the Box Scheduled Imports.
(i) Return to Guided Setup and Click on the Configure button for the Configure the Connection step to bring up the SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Tile in Workflow Studio.
Note: If clicking on the Configure pushbutton brings you to the Workflow Studio Homepage instead of bringing you directly to the SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Tile then navigate to the Integrations Tab and click View Details on the SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials (Parent Connection & Credential Alias) Tile.
(ii) Click on the Add Connection Pushbutton on the SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials (Parent Connection & Credential Alias) Tile to bring up the below Create Connection Dialog box:
Connection name: Enter a Name that will allow you to easily identity the SCCM Instance that you are connecting to, e.g. USA. This Name will be used as part of the naming convention for the newly created SCCM Connection Specific Data Sources & Import Sets as per below:
| SCCM Connection Specific Scheduled Import Jobs | Connection Name - Import Job Name |
| Connection Specific Data Sources | Connection Name - Data Source Name |
For the remaining Connection & Credential Fields on this Dialog box, populate them with the Connection & Credential information associated with the SCCM Instance being connected to.
(iii) Click on the Create Connection pushbutton.
- A new Child Connection & Credential Alias Record is created with the Connection & Credential values specified. This Child Connection & Credential Alias Record is associated with the Parent SCCM JDBC Connection Credentials Connection & Credential Alias Record as shown in the below screen shot. We specified USA for our example so USA is shown as the Child Connection & Credential Alias below.
- A new set of SCCM Connection specific Data Sources and Scheduled Imports are created that contain the Connection Name specified in the Create Connection Dialog Box. An example of SCCM Connection specific Data Sources and Scheduled Imports that get created is shown below, where USA was used to identify our SCCM Connection specific Scheduled Imports and Data Sources:
(iv) Return to Guided Setup and Click on Configure to the right of the Configure scheduled data imports step to bring up the newly created SCCM Connection Specific SG-SCCM Computer Identity Scheduled Import Job Record (Parent Scheduled Import Job) e.g. USA-SG-SCCM Computer Identity as shown in the below screen shot.
(v) Mark the newly created SCCM Connection specific SG-SCCM Computer Identity job as Active(true)
(vi) The job is set to run Periodically at 1 day Repeat Intervals by default. If you want a different Repeat Interval specify at what Repeat Intervals that you want the Job to run.
Customize Instance Data source SQL statement
The Connection Name associated with a set of SCCM Data Sources and Scheduled Data Import Sets is used to identify your Microsoft Configuration Manager Instance. An Instance Record with this Connection Name is stored in the SCCM Instances[sn_sccm_integrate_instance] table in your ServiceNow Instance. This Instance Record holds all of your SCCM Connection Specific Data Sources, the original OOTB Data Sources (Prime Data Sources) and a Custom SQL Statement Field for each of your SCCM Connection specific Data Sources that can be used for Modifying the SQL associated with your these SCCM Connection specific Data Sources.
For example, we specified USA as the Connection Name to identify our USA based Microsoft Configuration Manager Instance. Below is a screenshot of our USA Instance Record listing all of our SCCM Connection Specific Data Sources that are named with USA as part of their Data Source name:
If you need to modify any of the SQL statements associated with your SCCM Connection specific Data Sources that have been generated in the previous section, click on the Configure button to the right of the Customizing Data source SQL statement step. You will be brought to the SCCM Instances[sn_sccm_integrate_instance] Table on your ServiceNow Instance to allow you to change the SQL Statement/Properties associated with the SCCM Connection Specific Data Sources in question in their respective Custom SQL Statement fields.
Note: If you need to Modify your SCCM Connection specific Data Sources SQL at any other time after your initial Installation of the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector you should go to this SCCM Instances[sn_sccm_integrate_instance] table to do so.
N.B. When the Scheduled Data Import associated with an SCCM Connection Specific Data Source runs, it copies the SQL Statement from the Instance Member's Custom SQL Statement field to the corresponding Data Source's SQL Statement. This is why it's important to change a Data Source's SQL here as oppose to directly in the SQL Statement field in the Data Source Record. If you attempt to change the Data Source SQL Statement directly in the Data Source Record, it will get overwritten by the Prime Data Source SQL associated with the Data Source in the SCCM Instances[sn_sccm_integrate_instance] Table.
D. Run SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Scheduled Data Import Jobs on your ServiceNow Instance
Before running these Scheduled Data Imports, I would recommend enabling CMDB 360 by setting the glide.identification_engine.multisource_enabled system property to True in System Properties.
Doing this allows the following for CI's that are Created\Updated by the Scheduled Data Import Jobs:
1. For CI's that have Reconciliation Rules, see Proposed Values for Lower Priority Discovery Sources that were Rejected
2. For CI's that allow more than 1 Discovery Source to update them (i.e. No Reconcilation Rules or Reconcilation Rules with same Priority), Identify the Source of an Attribute and see the Proposed Values for that Attribute from the other Discovery Sources.
Refer to the ServiceNow CMDB 360/Multisource CMDB documentation page for more details.
(i) Navigate to Scheduled Data Imports under SG-SCCM in the Filter Menu. 14 Scheduled Data Imports should be listed, with 9 of the 14 being marked Active as shown below. (5 of the Scheduled Data Imports are marked as Active=false as indicated in the Scheduled Data Import Table shown in the above Configure Data Source and Scheduled Data Import Section)
(ii) Open your Computer Identity Parent Scheduled Data Import record, for example the USA-SG-SCCM Computer Identity Software Scheduled Data Import Job and click on the Execute button
(iii) Navigate to Concurrent Import Sets in the Filter Menu.
- Wait for all of your 9 Active Scheduled Data Import jobs to finish.
Aside from the USA-SG-SCCM Remove Software Scheduled Import Job, all these Active Scheduled Import Jobs have an associated Robust Import Set Transformer record in the Robust Import Set Transformers[sys_robust_import_set_transformer_list] Table that contains the definition for how the Data pulled in by these jobs get Transformed by the Robust Transformer Engine(RTE). More specifically, these Records define a One-to-One Relationship between the Scheduled Import Job Staging Table and the Transformer Definition that is used by the Robust Transformer Engine(RTE) for Transforming the Data in the Scheduled Import Job Staging Table. Each of these Transformer Definitions can be modified by using the InformationHub ETL Application.
The screen shot below shows all the SG-SCCM Robust Import Set Transformer Records in this Robust Import Set Transformers[sys_robust_import_set_transformer_list] Table:
E. Analyze the CMDB Records created\updated by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector for your Windows Server in your ServiceNow Instance
There are 3 types of Records created by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector in the CMDB:
- CMDB CI[cmdb_ci] Records
- Software Installation[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Records - If Software Asset Management(SAM) enabled
- Software Instance[cmdb_software_instance] + Software Package[cmdb_ci_spkg] Records - If Software Asset Management(SAM) not enabled
- Serial Number[cmdb_serial_number] Records
CMDB CI Records
(i) Navigate to cmdb_ci.list in the Filter Menu
(ii) Group by Discovery Source
(iii) Navigate to the SG-SCCM Discovery Source and double click on its Discovery source:SG-SCCM(n) link where n represents the Number of CMDB records(entities) Created\Updated by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector.
(iv) Group By Class
A List of CMDB CI Records Created\Updated by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector will be displayed grouped by Class. The screen shot below shows all of the Class Records displayed in this Class List for the data that was ingested by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector for our Microsoft Configuration Manager installation:
Note: For ServiceNow Instances that do not have Software Asset Management(SAM) enabled, you would see an extra Software Class listed for representing all the Software Package[cmdb_ci_spkg] Records that would have been populated by the SG-SCCM Software Scheduled Data Import Job (as referenced in the Scheduled Data Import Job Table from section C. Installing & Configuring SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector on your ServiceNow Instance above).
- The 334 Active Devices from our Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation (Shown in the Microsoft Configuration Manager Devices Screen Shot in step (i) of section B. Analyze your Windows Server in Microsoft Configuration Manager above) are listed as 9 Computer CI's and 325 Windows Server CI's.
The SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector makes a distinction between Windows Desktop Devices and Windows Server Devices with the Windows Desktop Devices being classed as Computer CI's and the Windows Server Devices being classed as Window Server CI's. It checks the System Role associated with the Device (coming from Microsoft Configuration Manager). If it is either null or a Role that is not the "SERVER" role, it considers the Device to be a Windows Desktop Device. Windows Desktop Device's are classed as Computer CI's in the ServiceNow Platform
Note: For Windows Server\Computer CI's with Old Most Recent Discovery Dates, check your Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation to see if they are Active (being scanned) by Microsoft Configuration Manager (The Microsoft Configuration Manager WorkstationStatus_DATA.LastHWScan field is the Source field for the Windows Server\Computer CI Most Recent Discovery field). Active Devices in Microsoft Configuration Manager are listed with Client=Yes in its Devices Entity. Devices listed with Client=No indicate that these Devices are no longer Active (being scanned). Generally these are Devices that have been removed from your Active Directory Forest. Eventually these Devices will stop showing up in your Microsoft Configuration Manager Devices Entity altogether.
- The Disks, Network Adapter's and IP Addresses associated with each of these Computer\Windows Server CI's are listed as Disks, Network Adapter's and IP Address CI Classes respectively. These were populated in turn from their corresponding Disk and Network Adapter Entities in Microsoft Configuration Manager (Shown in the step (v) and (vi) Screen Shots respectively in section B. Analyze your Windows Server in Microsoft Configuration Manager above).
The screen shot below shows all the Windows Server specific fields that were populated by the connector for the crusvrwin10 Windows Server CI created by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector, along with the Storage Devices(2), Network Adapter(5) and CI IPs(5) Tabs that were populated with the Disks, Network Adapters and CI IPs records associated with the crusvrwin10 Windows Server CI respectively. For example \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE0 shown in the Microsoft Configuration Manager Disk Entity Screen Shot for the crusvrwin10 Windows Server (in step (v) of the B. Analyze your Windows Server in Microsoft Configuration Manager section above) is shown in the Storage Devices Tab below.
Notice how the count shown in the Storage Devices, Network Adapter, and CI IPs Tabs matches the Disks and Network Adapter (includes the IP Addresses associated with the Network Adapters) Entity count shown for the crusvrwin10 Windows Server in the Screen shots in steps (v) and (vi) of section B. Analyze your Windows Server in Microsoft Configuration Manager above.
Software Installation Records
Software Asset Management(SAM) enabled
For ServiceNow Instances that have Software Asset Management(SAM) enabled, the Software Install Records associated with Created\Updated Computer CI's will be ingested into the Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table.
Software Asset Management(SAM) not enabled
For ServiceNow Instances that do not have Software Asset Management(SAM) enabled, the Software Install Records associated with Created\Updated Computer CI's will be ingested into the Software Instances[cmdb_software_instance] Table along with associated Software Package Records being ingested into the Software Packages[cmdb_ci_spkg] Table.
Note: All that is needed to enable Software Asset Management is the free SAM Foundation plugin. Installing this plugin triggers the Software Install Records being populated into the Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table. Installing this free SAM Foundation plugin is a recommended Best Practice for customers that believe that they may be using Software Asset Management Professional (SAM Pro) in the future. These customers would then not have to migrate Software Records from the Software Instances[ cmdb_software_instance] Table to the Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table at the point in time that they would be installing Software Asset Management Professional (SAM Pro).
The Use Case outlined in this Article is for a ServiceNow Instance with Software Asset Management(SAM) enabled, so to see the Software Install Records associated with Computer CI's that were Created\Updated by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector, the steps below direct you to navigate to the Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table:
(i) Navigate to cmdb_sam_sw_install.list in the Filter Menu
(ii) Group by Discovery Source
(iii) Navigate to the SG-SCCM Discovery Source and double click on its Discovery source:SG-SCCM (n) link where n represents the Number of Software Install Records Created\Updated by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector.
(iv) A List of Software Install Records Created\Updated by the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector will be displayed. The screen shot below shows the Software Install Records displayed in this List for all the Devices in our Microsoft Configuration Manager SQL Server Database.
(v) The screen shot below shows the Software Install Records displayed in this List for crusvrwin10 Windows Server (Installed on=crusvrwin10).
You will notice that the 18 Software Records (out of 68 in total) shown in this screen shot are the same as the 1st Set of Software Records shown in the Software Installations Entity for the crusvrwin10 Windows Server in the Screen shots in step (ix) of section B. Analyze your Windows Server in Microsoft Configuration Manager above. (The 2 Intel(R) Chipset Device Software and 2 Intel(R) Network Connections software records shown in the crusvrwin10 Windows Server Software Installations Entity screen shot are normalized to 1 single Intel(R) Chipset Device Software and 1 single Intel(R) Network Connections software record respectively before being populated into the ServiceNow Software Installations CMDB Table).
Serial Number Records
(i) Navigate to cmdb_serial_number.list in the Filter Menu
(ii) A List of all the Serial Number Records in your ServiceNow Instance will be displayed like the one shown in the screen shot below:
(iii) To see the Serial Number Records associated with any of your Devices from Microsoft Configuration Manager, type it's name into the Configuration Item Search Field in this list. The screen shot below shows the Serial Number Records associated with our crusvrwin10 Windows Server.
The bios and chassis Serial Number Records above were populated from the BIOS Serial Number and System Enclosure Serial Number Entities shown for our crusvrwin10 Windows Server in the Screen Shots in steps (vii) and (viii) of the B. Analyze your Windows Server in Microsoft Configuration Manager section above.
F. Differences between SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Discovery and ServiceNow ITOM Visibility Discovery
The key differences between SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Discovery and ServiceNow ITOM Visibility Discovery are listed below:
- Mechanism used by each Application to populate the Device Records in the CMDB
- How each Application populates Related Items in the Configuration section of the Device Records in the CMDB
- How each Application populates Software Record data in the CMDB
Mechanism used by each Application to populate the Device Records in the CMDB
Discovery interrogates Device components Real Time using the ServiceNow Discovery Pattern mechanism before populating the Device Records in the CMDB. On the other hand, the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector imports Static Device data that was previously collected by Microsoft Configuration Manager's configured Discovery Method, e.g. Active Directory Forest Discovery. For this reason there may be discrepancies in discovered data between the two Applications.
How each Application populates Related Items in the Configuration section of the Device Records in the CMDB
The SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector does not populate Related Items in the Device Records. In other words, you can think of the Device Record that the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Creates\Updates as being a Flat Structure that doesn't have any related Child Records. The screen shot below shows our crusvrwin10 Windows Server that was discovered by SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector with no Related Items in the Configuration Section.
On the other hand, the ServiceNow ITOM Visibility Discovery application populates Related Items in the Device Records. The screen shot below shows our crusvrwin10 Windows Server that was discovered by ServiceNow ITOM Visibility Discovery with all the Related Items that Discovery populated in the Configuration Section.
These are Child Relationship records of our crusvrwin10 Windows Server Record that can be found in the CMDB CI Relationships[cmdb_rel_ci] table. The screen shot below shows all the crusvrwin10 Windows Server Record Child Relationship records in the CMDB CI Relationships[cmdb_rel_ci] table where crusvrwin10 is shown as being the Parent in the Parent-Child Relationship.
How each Application populates Software Record data in the CMDB
When both Applications, i.e. Discovery and SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector, are enabled to run on a scheduled basis on the same ServiceNow Instance, there can be discrepancies in discovered data between the two Applications (as mentioned by the Mechanism used by each Application to populate the Device Records in the CMDB section above).
For Software Records, a Windows software is SCCM managed (glide.discovery.software_sccm_managed) property is available to be set if you want Software Records to be managed by SG-SCCM only. If you do not want Discovery to update Software Records that have already been Created\Updated by SG-SCCM set this property to Yes.
Refer to the ServiceNow Discovery and SCCM together documentation page for more details.
G. SG-SCCM Software Usage Import Jobs
If you have Software Asset Management Professional (SAM Pro) activated on your ServiceNow Instance, the following 2 SG-SCCM Software Usage Scheduled Import Jobs are installed with your SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Installation:
- SG-SCCM Software Last Used
- SG-SCCM SAMP Usage
When you specify the Connection Name for the SCCM Connection that you are creating for connecting to your SCCM Instance (as part of the Creating Multiple SCCM Connections step of the C. Installing & Configuring SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector on your ServiceNow Instance section above), 2 SCCM Connection Specific versions of these Scheduled Import Jobs are created. The screenshot below shows the 2 SCCM Connection Specific versions of these jobs that were created for our ServiceNow Instance:
Both these Scheduled Import Jobs are scheduled to run Monthly on the 2nd day of the Month. You need to have Software Metering enabled on your Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation for the Products that you want to capture Software Product Usage data for (Refer to Microsoft's Software metering in Configuration Manager documentation page for details on how to do this). Both Scheduled Import jobs pull the previous Month's Usage data from your Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation.
They populate the Software Usage[samp_sw_usage] Table with your Software Product's previous Month's Usage Data but in order for them to do so, you need to have Reclamation Rules setup for the Software Products that you want to capture Usage data for (Refer to Create a reclamation rule to import Microsoft SCCM usage data ServiceNow Documentation Page for more details). Both jobs are disabled by Default (Active=false). In order to enable them to run Monthly you need to change their Active=false setting to Active=true.
For our Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation we have enabled Software Metering for the following software products:
- Notepad++
- Chrome
- SQL Server
The screenshot below shows Software Metering being enabled for these products in our Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation.
SG-SCCM Software Last Used
The SG-SCCM Software Last Used Import Job captures the last time a Software Product was used during the Previous month by a User and on what Device (Windows Server\Computer CI). For all Product Executable records in the SG-SCCM Software Last Used Staging Table, it checks the Reclamation Rules[samp_sw_reclamation_rule] Table for Last Used Reclamation Rules. A Last Used Reclamation Rule is required for each Software Product that you want to capture Last Used Usage data for. For every Product Record that it finds a Last Used Reclamation Rule for, it populates the Software Usage[samp_sw_usage] Table with Last Used Usage data for that Product.
The screen shot below shows Last Used Software Usage data for our Notepad++ Product that has been set up for Software Metering in our Microsoft Configuration Installation (Shown as enabled in the above Software Metering Screen shot). The User and Email columns have been redacted for privacy reasons.
Note: Unlike the 8 Active Scheduled Import Jobs referred to in the D. Run SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Scheduled Data Import Jobs on your ServiceNow Instance section above, the Payloads pulled in by this Import Job do not get processed by the Robust Transformer Engine(RTE) where they each have an associated Transformer Definition that can be modified by using the InformationHub ETL Application. Instead its Payloads get processed by the SG-SCCM SAMP last used Transform Map before having their data populated into the Software Usage[samp_sw_usage] Target Table.
SG-SCCM SAMP Usage
The SG-SCCM SAMP Usage Import Job captures the Total Usage Time for a Software Product during the Previous month for a User and on what Device (Windows Server\Computer CI). For all Product Executable records in the SG-SCCM SAMP Usage Staging Table, it checks the Reclamation Rules[samp_sw_reclamation_rule] Table for Total Usage Time Reclamation Rules. A Total Usage Time Reclamation Rule is required for each Software Product that you want to capture Total Usage Time data for. For every Product Record that it finds a Total Usage Time Reclamation Rule for, it populates the Software Usage[samp_sw_usage] Table with Total Usage Time data for that Product.
The screen shot below shows Total Usage Software Usage data for our 2 Notepad++ & Chrome Products that have been set up for Software Metering in our Microsoft Configuration Installation (Shown as enabled in the above Software Metering Screen shot). The User and Email columns have been redacted for privacy reasons.
Note: Unlike the 8 Active Scheduled Import Jobs referred to in the D. Run SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Scheduled Data Import Jobs on your ServiceNow Instance section above, the Payloads pulled in by this Import Job do not get processed by the Robust Transformer Engine(RTE) where they each have an associated Transformer Definition that can be modified by using the InformationHub ETL Application. Instead its Payloads get processed by the SG-SCCM SAMP Usage Transform Map before having their data populated into the Software Usage[samp_sw_usage] Target Table.
H. SG-SCCM Software Edition Import Job
If you have Software Asset Management Professional (SAM Pro) activated on your ServiceNow Instance, the following SG-SCCM Software Edition Scheduled Import Job is installed with your SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Installation:
- SG-SCCM Software Edition
When you specify the Connection Name for the SCCM Connection that you are creating for connecting to your SCCM Instance (as part of the Creating Multiple SCCM Connections step of the C. Installing & Configuring SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector on your ServiceNow Instance section above) an SCCM Connection Specific version of this Scheduled Import Job is created. The screenshot below shows the SCCM Connection Specific version of this job that was created for our ServiceNow Instance:
This Scheduled Import Job pulls in Edition data associated with the Software Products in your Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation and populates the Edition Override field associated with the corresponding Software Install Records in your Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table. You need to have the ServiceNow - Gather Edition for Products Package installed and setup in your Microsoft Configuration Manager Installation in order for this Scheduled Import Job to be able to ingest this Edition data. Please refer to the ServiceNow Custom solution to gather editions in SCCM documentation page for details on how to do this. This Scheduled Import job is disabled by Default (Active=false). In order to enable it you need to change the Active=false setting to Active=true.
The screenshot below shows the Edition Override being populated by this Scheduled Import Job for our SQL Server Installation Records in our Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Table.
Note: Unlike the 8 Active Scheduled Import Jobs referred to in the D. Run SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector Scheduled Data Import Jobs on your ServiceNow Instance section above, the Payloads pulled in by this Import Job do not get processed by the Robust Transformer Engine(RTE) where it has an associated Transformer Definition that can be modified by using the InformationHub ETL Application. Instead its Payloads get processed by the SG-SCCM Update Software Install with Edition Transform Map before
having their data (Edition data) populated into the Software Installations[cmdb_sam_sw_install] Target Table.
Hi RT,
The answer to your "I meant SG-SCCM is inserting/updating Server and Computer CIs. I want to stop insert/update server CIs here." question is below:
- To stop SG-SCCM from Inserting Server and Computer CI's you should create an IRE Data Source Rule for the SG-SCCM Data Source by doing the following:
- Navigate to IRE Data Source Rules in the UI Filter Navigator
- Click on the New Button to bring up the IRE Data Source Rule - New Record Screen
- Populate the Applies To field on this screen with the Computer[cmdb_ci_computer] Class Record
- Populate the Data Source field on this screen with the SG-SCCM Data Source
- Click on the Insert not allowed check box to set it to Insert not allowed to True
- Click on Submit
The screen below shows an example of this IRE Data Source Rule.
- To stop SG-SCCM from Updating already existing Server and Computer CI's you should create Reconciliation Rules for each Discovery Source that populates your CMDB with Server and Computer CI's with the SG-SCCM Discovery Source being given the Lowest Priority. Once a Discovery Source with a Higher Priority than SG-SCCM Inserts or Updates a Computer\Server CI, SG-SCCM will not be able to make Updates to the Computer\Server CI. (Please refer to the Create a CI reconciliation rule ServiceNow Documentation Page for more details on how to create Reconciliation Rules).
So this will mean that the SG-SCCM Discovery Source will only be able to Update Computer\Server CI's that it Inserted and that have not been Updated by other Higher Priority Discovery Sources (If you create the IRE Data Source Rule for SG-SCCM as outlined in 1. above, this scenario should never happen).
Hoping this helps,
Thanks,
Anne-Marie
Hi V_ivey,
Out of the Box, the SG-SCCM Service Graph Connector takes the u_manufacturer (Manufacturer Name) and u_model (Model Name) fields coming in the SG-SCCM Computer Identity Feed for a particular Resource ID and generates the model_id field associated with the Target Computer CI using the below Transforms which you can analyse using the IntegrationHub ETL Tool:
In essence, the Cleanse manufacturer Transform calls a Cleanse Hardware Model Operation which in turn calls a sn_cmdb_int_util.CmdbIntegrationHardwareModelUtil().cleanseModelAndCompany(manufacturer_in, model_in)Script Include function (as per the ServiceNow RTE transforms template scripts included within the Integration Commons for CMDB app Documentation Page). This CleanseModelAndCompany Script Include function looks up the Model in the Hardware Model[cmdb_hardware_product_model] Table using the u_model (Model Name) and u_manufacturer (Manufacturer Name) fields that came in the Computer Identity Feed and returns the Model ID associated with Model Record it finds in this Table using this Query. The below screenshot shows the Cleanse Manufacturer Transform in the IntegrationHub ETL Tool. Model ID (Model Sys ID) found by the Cleanse Manufacturer Transform is shown highlighted in the below screen shot.
When you say that you are "bringing in the model number from SCCM" can I assume that you modified the Query associated with the SG-SCCM Computer Identity Data Source (Using the Custom SQL Statement Field) to bring in this SCCM Model Number?
Assuming that your answer is yes, if you want to ensure that a new Model Record is created in the Hardware Model[cmdb_hardware_product_model] Table using the Model Number that comes in the SG-SCCM Computer Identity feed, you can use the Cleanse Hardware Model with Model Number Transform(referenced in the ServiceNow RTE transforms template scripts included within the Integration Commons for CMDB app Documentation Page) instead of the Cleanse Hardware Model Transform. This Transform takes Model Number as a parameter so you can provide the Model Number that comes in your feed as the parameter for this field.
Note: You will need to delete the already existing Cleanse Manufacturer Transform (calls the Cleanse Hardware Model Operation) & Split Manufacturer Transforms shown above. You will instead be replacing them with a new Cleanse Manufacturer Transform & associated Split Manufacturer Transform that calls the Cleanse Hardware Model with Model Number Operation and manipulates the data produced by this Operation instead.
Hoping this helps,
Thanks,
Anne-Marie
