Designing DNS Record Documentation and Relationships in ServiceNow CMDB

fabricebles
Tera Contributor

Friday

Context
We are implementing an automated process for managing DNS records through ServiceNow.
Our automation uses PowerShell scripts via the MID Server to create or update DNS entries (A and CNAME records).
The results are then stored in ServiceNow, and we would like to properly document and link these DNS records within the CMDB data model.

 

Current Setup

We currently leverage the following tables:

  • dns_record_a: Stores technical information about A records (hostname, IP address, TTL, zone, etc.)
  • dns_record_cname: Stores CNAME alias mappings
  • cmdb_ci_ip_address: Represents the IP address CIs linked to infrastructure (via cmdb_ci)

The PowerShell script inserts data into dns_record_a, and we have added a relationship (Depends on) between dns_record_a and cmdb_ci_ip_address to model the technical dependency:

dns_record_a → (Depends on) → cmdb_ci_ip_address → (Belongs to) → cmdb_ci

Observation
While the relationship entry in cmdb_rel_ci is created successfully and works for logical/flow-based processing, it does not appear in the Dependency View or other CMDB visualizations.

After inspecting the data model, it seems that:

  • The dns_record_* tables do not extend cmdb_ci,
  • Therefore, ServiceNow does not treat DNS records as Configuration Items (CIs),
  • The ip_address field in dns_record_a is a string, not a reference to cmdb_ci_ip_address.

This makes it difficult to visualize or analyze DNS dependencies within the CMDB UI.

Goal
We would like to design a clean, CMDB-compliant way to document DNS records (especially A and CNAME records) and link them to IPs and related CIs.

Ideally, we want:

  • DNS records to be visible in dependency maps / CI relationships
  • A clear linkage between DNS name → IP → CI
  • The model to stay compatible with Discovery, IPAM, and CSDM principle

 

I would be very thankful if someone could help me with this question:)



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Mathew Hillyard
Mega Sage

Friday

Hi @fabricebles 

From this link it seems the DNS records are CIs: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-servicenow-platform/page/product/configuration-managem...

 

I’ve confirmed this in my PDI. DNS Zone A Records and DNS Zone CNAME tables extend DNS Resource, which itself extends Configuration Item. They’re all installed as part of the CMDB CI Class Records application.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Mat

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