In the ever-complex world of IT infrastructure, a healthy Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is the foundation of excellence. However, a CMDB is only as strong as your ability to query and understand the data that it contains. ServiceNow, a leading company in the IT Service Management (ITSM) market, has two outstanding tools for this query and understanding: the CMDB Query Builder and the Unified Map. This blog post will examine both tools, providing a complete guide to their functionality and how they work together to offer unprecedented visibility into your IT world.
The CMDB Query Builder: Your Key to Detailed Information
The CMDB Query Builder is an incredibly powerful and intuitive tool that enables you to build complex queries against your CMDB without needing to write a single line of code. The drag-and-drop functionality of the CMDB Query Builder gives anyone, regardless of technical expertise, the ability to pull specific data sets.
Key Features of the CMDB Query Builder
- Drag-and-Drop Canvas: Build queries visually by dragging CI classes and other tables to the canvas and establishing relationships between them. [1]
- Non-CMDB Tables: Use your queries to access data from any table in the ServiceNow platform, giving you a complete view of your IT and business data.
- Complex Relationship Support: Handle many-to-many relationships easily, and use features such as "Optional" relationships to execute the SQL equivalent of an outer join, as explained in our previous guide on how to execute a full outer join. [2]
- Dynamic Filtering and Column Selection: Filter each class in your query to your specifications and choose the columns you want to see, so you can be sure your results are exactly what you need.
- Saved Queries and Reporting: Save your queries for later use and use them to drive dynamic reports that update automatically with the latest information from your CMDB.
When to Use the CMDB Query Builder
The CMDB Query Builder is particularly useful when you want to retrieve particular, tabular information from your CMDB. Some typical examples of this include:
•Creating reports for compliance and audit purposes.
•Finding orphaned CIs or CIs that lack certain relationships.
•Constructing data sets for data quality analysis and repair.
•Laying the groundwork for complex reports.
The Unified Map: Visualizing Your IT Universe
Although the Query Builder is the best tool for data retrieval, the Unified Map offers a very detailed and visual representation of your CMDB. The Unified Map integrates the functionality of both Dependency Views and Service Mapping into one seamless experience, allowing you to view a hierarchical map of your CIs and their complex relationships. [3]
Main Characteristics of the Unified Map
•Hierarchical and Graphical View: Offers a top-down, hierarchical view of CIs and their relationships, which helps to easily see the effect of a CI on other parts of the infrastructure. [4]
•Home Node Selection and Exploration: Begin your exploration from any CI and successively expand the map to view upstream and downstream relationships.
•Integration with CMDB Workspace: The Unified Map is an integral part of the CMDB Workspace and offers a modern and intuitive way of managing the CMDB.
•Real-time Impact Analysis: Easily see the potential effect of a change or an outage by viewing the dependencies of a CI.
When to Use the Unified Map
The Unified Map is the best tool for exploration and impact analysis. It is especially useful for:
•Change management: Evaluating the possible impact of a change on other services and infrastructure.
•Incident management: Rapidly determining the cause of a problem by following dependencies.
•Service mapping: Understanding the parts that comprise a business service and how they are interrelated.
•Architectural reviews: Visualizing the current state of your IT environment to identify opportunities for optimization and improvement.
CMDB Query Builder and Unified Map: Better Together
Although both tools are very powerful on their own, they are even more useful when used in combination. For instance, you can use the CMDB Query Builder to build a set of CIs that match complex criteria, and then use the Unified Map to analyze the relationships between those CIs. This way, you can easily transition from data analysis to data visualization, giving you a complete understanding of your IT infrastructure.
Conclusion
The CMDB Query Builder and Unified Map in ServiceNow are tools that every organization should use to get the most out of their CMDB. By learning how to use these tools, you will be able to gain an unprecedented understanding of your IT infrastructure, which will help you make better decisions, mitigate risks, and achieve operational excellence. Whether you are a CMDB expert or a business analyst, these tools will help you unlock the full potential of your CMDB data.
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