ServiceNow: Identify computer and Server CIs when CI gets repurposed

[RahulY00040]

Hello everyone,

We have an Identification Rule defined at the Hardware level, which is inherited by the Computer class. We also have a separate Identification Rule at the Server level.

Here’s the issue:
When a device is first discovered, it is created as a Computer CI. Later, when the same device is repurposed as a Windows/Linux Server, the Server-level Identification Rule does not match the existing CI and instead creates a new CI in the Server class.

Our expectation is that the same CI should be updated (upgraded/downgraded to Server) rather than creating a new one.

The challenge seems to be that Identification Rules defined at the Computer level apply to child classes (like Server), but Server-level rules do not look up to the Computer class. Because of this, a duplicate CI gets created in the Server class.

Has anyone experienced this scenario? Any suggestions or best practices to handle this?

Thanks,

Rahul

[fknell]

Hi @RahulY00040,

I would recommend one of these patterns, depending on how strict your Server‑vs‑Computer split needs to be:

1. Use a single, shared identifier across Computer/Server

- Define a common identification rule at the Hardware level (or on Computer) that can match both Computer and Server based on attributes like name, serial_number, and ip_address.

- Let Discovery change the CI class (Computer → Server) via the CI Class Manager or a post‑processing script, rather than relying on a separate Server‑level identification rule.

2. Remove or relax Server‑level inclusion rules

- If you have an inclusion rule on the Server class (e.g.,  os_version = 'Linux' ), consider removing or loosening it so the existing Computer CI can still be matched when the device is repurposed.

- This avoids forcing the IRE to create a new Server CI when it should instead update the existing one.

3. Add a reconciliation / de‑duplication step

- Run the Duplicate CI or CMDB de‑duplication utilities periodically to merge Computer and Server duplicates and keep one authoritative CI.

- You can also add a scheduled job that detects pairs of Computer/Server CIs with the same  name / serial  and merges them, then updates the class to Server.

Hope this helps...