What is the significance of credentials in Discovery Process?

[Hrishabh Kumar]

Please explain the following questions as well.

1) What are credentials?

2) In what phase of discovery credentials are used?

3) How are credentials used ?

4) What is credential affinity ? explain with an example.

[Sathya Prakash]

1. Credentials in ServiceNow are a set of security information used to authenticate and authorize access to various modules and features of the platform. They typically include a username and password, but can also include other information such as security tokens or certificates.

2. Credentials are used in the Discovery phase of ServiceNow to identify and catalog IT resources within an organization. During Discovery, credentials are used to access and gather information from the various devices and systems on the network.

3. Credentials are used to establish a secure connection between the Discovery tool and the target devices and systems. The Discovery tool uses the credentials to authenticate and authorize access to the target systems, and then collects information such as software and hardware inventory, network topology, and configuration data.

4. Credential affinity in ServiceNow is the concept of associating a particular set of credentials with a specific device or system. This is often used in environments where different devices or systems require different sets of credentials, or where certain credentials are only valid for specific devices or systems.

For example, in ServiceNow, an administrator may have a different set of credentials for each domain or instance, such as development, testing, and production. Credential affinity allows the platform to use the appropriate set of credentials for each instance, ensuring that accurate information is collected during the Discovery process. This also helps to prevent unauthorized access to instances or systems that may have sensitive information.