Stop Discovery from updating "Assigned to"

[SuburbanGringo]

Hello,

We are running both ServiceNow discovery and SG-SCCM integrations in our environment (Tokyo release). We are currently running into an issue where discovery is updating the assigned to field in the CMDB for computer class CIs. This in turn, is breaking our asset management process. Is there a way to stop discovery from updating that specific field?

[Omkar Kumbhar]

Hello @SuburbanGringo ,

Please follow the below steps

you can achieve this through the reconciliation rules.

1. go to CI Class Manager

2. select respective class. ex: windows server

3. go to reconciliation rules and select the source as ServiceNow

4. add or remove the fields which you want to update.

Thanks,

Omkar

[CMDB Whisperer · Accepted solution]

There is an out of box property to disable this: glide.wmi.assigned_to_always_overwrite.  Also note that SCCM SGC and other similar connectors have similar features which do the same thing but are NOT controlled by this setting.  In my previous life I had a customization which enabled both Discovery and SCCM to leverage the same system property and sync their behavior, and I also changed it so that there was a preference to allow it to set the assigned to only when empty or turn it off entirely.

In any case I commend your bringing this up because it has worked this way forever and many people don't complain about it, and you are absolutely right that this is a bad practice from an asset management process perspective.  You should not allow this information to be set automatically.  Instead the information should be captured and stored in a separate field so that it can be reconciled against the assigned to field by the asset management team as needed.  Assigned to means you are the custodian of the device.  It means you have an official responsibility (e.g. from an ISO perspective) related to the physical care of the asset.  Assigning someone this role is a transactional event.  It's not "discoverable data".  While it's expected to be true that the most recently logged in user is the user it's assigned to, they are not implicitly the same!

[SuburbanGringo]

Thank you, your entire second paragraph is the issue I am running into. The assigned to field is being updated on the asset, but not the associated user's location, company or department. So we have a total data mismatch in our asset database because of it. 

Could you please provide the out of box property to disable this? I don't want discovery to be updating that field under any circumstances.

[CMDB Whisperer]

Yes, it is glide.wmi.assigned_to_always_overwrite.  Updated the post above.  Please click Accept Solution if this resolves your issue.