Questions on CMDB Ingest in CIS Data Foundation Course

[Shashank_Jain]

Hello Community!!!

I am currently preparing for the CIS – Data Foundation course, and one of the topics I am studying is CMDB Ingest. This topic mainly covers how data is populated into the CMDB, whether it comes from Discovery, Agent Client Collector, Service Mapping, IntegrationHub ETL, or Data Sources and Transform Maps.

I wanted to understand the perspective of other members regarding this topic. Since there isn’t much hands-on practical work involved, my questions :

1. Do we need to thoroughly study these topics from a theoretical point of view—understanding what each component does and the role it plays in CMDB ingestion—or is there any way to get some practical exposure to these concepts? 

2. How are questions asked in the CIS Data Foundation exam? Is a theoretical understanding of CMDB ingest sufficient?

Also, if anyone has created short, crisp notes for these topics, that would be greatly appreciated. I would be happy to review them.

Thanks in advance!

#cmdb

[Prathmeshdagade · Accepted solution]

Hello @Shashank_Jain 

Do I need to study CMDB Ingest theory vs practical?
For the CIS – Data Foundations (CMDB & CSDM) exam, what you really need is a solid theoretical understanding of how CMDB ingestion works, not deep hands-on config. You should know:

• What CMDB Ingest means – how CI data is brought into the CMDB.

• Main ingestion methods such as Discovery, Service Mapping, Agent Client Collector, Service Graph Connectors, IntegrationHub ETL, Import Sets plus how Identification & Reconciliation (IRE) handles duplicates or updates.
  Practical experience is helpful but not required — the exam focuses on concepts and use cases, not clicking through the platform.

          If you want light practical exposure, you can try:

• Creating a sample Import Set + Transform Map and see how IRE works.

• Logging into a personal sandbox to browse CI Class Manager, Data Manager, and CMDB workspace — just to link theory to real UI.
  How questions are asked in the CIS exam?
  CIS – Data Foundations exam questions are mostly scenario-based multiple choice, often phrased like “What would you do if…?” or “Which method should be used when…?”

  Exam format :

  • ~90 minutes, ~60–75 questions.

  • Domain weights include Ingest ~19% of the total.
    Typical Exam Focus:
    • Choose correct ingest method by scenario.
    • Understand what IRE does.
    • Differentiate discovery vs mapping vs connectors.
    If this response proves useful, please mark it as Accept as Solution and Helpful. Doing so benefits both the community and me. 👍🙂

[Prathmeshdagade · Accepted solution]

Hello @Shashank_Jain 

Do I need to study CMDB Ingest theory vs practical?
For the CIS – Data Foundations (CMDB & CSDM) exam, what you really need is a solid theoretical understanding of how CMDB ingestion works, not deep hands-on config. You should know:

• What CMDB Ingest means – how CI data is brought into the CMDB.

• Main ingestion methods such as Discovery, Service Mapping, Agent Client Collector, Service Graph Connectors, IntegrationHub ETL, Import Sets plus how Identification & Reconciliation (IRE) handles duplicates or updates.
  Practical experience is helpful but not required — the exam focuses on concepts and use cases, not clicking through the platform.

          If you want light practical exposure, you can try:

• Creating a sample Import Set + Transform Map and see how IRE works.

• Logging into a personal sandbox to browse CI Class Manager, Data Manager, and CMDB workspace — just to link theory to real UI.
  How questions are asked in the CIS exam?
  CIS – Data Foundations exam questions are mostly scenario-based multiple choice, often phrased like “What would you do if…?” or “Which method should be used when…?”

  Exam format :

  • ~90 minutes, ~60–75 questions.

  • Domain weights include Ingest ~19% of the total.
    Typical Exam Focus:
    • Choose correct ingest method by scenario.
    • Understand what IRE does.
    • Differentiate discovery vs mapping vs connectors.
    If this response proves useful, please mark it as Accept as Solution and Helpful. Doing so benefits both the community and me. 👍🙂

[Dr Atul G- LNG · Accepted solution]

Hi @Shashank_Jain 

1. Do we need to thoroughly study these topics from a theoretical point of view—understanding what each component does and the role it plays in CMDB ingestion—or is there any way to get some practical exposure to these concepts? 

Atul: Yes, experience says that theoretical concepts must be very clear. For practicals, I think labs are the only way—go through the lab work word by word and move forward step by step.

Follow the knowledge check in training , that give more insights.

2. How are questions asked in the CIS Data Foundation exam? Is a theoretical understanding of CMDB ingest sufficient?

Atul: From what I heard from seniors and colleagues, it’s more of a scenario-based exam. The questions are given in the form of situations, and we need to answer them. The core focus is understanding the concept behind each scenario, so we need to prepare thoroughly.