Managing Internet Domains with ServiceNow and CSC Domain Manager

Jeff Benedict

One of my recent clients wanted to source ServiceNow with their managed list of registered domains as well as use ServiceNow orchestrate the management of these domains with their registration company.

Domain registrations were being requested through emails, status updates were coming from the registrator’s self-service portal, and there was limited visibility into what domains existed, who owned them, or where registration activities stood.

The Challenge

Most organizations view domains as a purely technical concern handled by infrastructure or security teams. In reality, domains are business assets. They have owners, incur costs, and can introduce operational or security risk if they are not governed consistently.

The client wanted a solution that could provide:

Visibility into existing domains
A repeatable process for new domain registrations
Tracking of domain registration orders
Controlled updates to domain information
Integration with established ServiceNow governance processes

Rather than building an isolated process, we integrated the CSC Domain Manager APIs directly into ServiceNow.

Reference: CSC DomainManager API v2 documentation

The Solution Architecture

At a high level, the architecture was designed around a simple principle:

Users work in ServiceNow. ServiceNow communicates with CSC.

The resulting solution consisted of:

A reusable ServiceNow Script Include to centralize CSC-related configuration and helper functions
Flow Designer actions and a Data Stream for API interactions
A new CMDB CI class for domain records
Catalog-driven registration requests
An Import Set and Transform Map process
Order retrieval and individual status checks

Domain lifecycle capabilities

Discover

Register

Track orders

Update

Check status

Key Use Cases

Synchronize existing domains

Retrieve the client’s domain portfolio from CSC and store the records in a new CMDB CI class.

Register a new domain

Initiate a new domain registration from a Service Catalog request.

Retrieve orders in process

Provide visibility into orders that are currently being processed by CSC.

Update an existing domain

Send changes to custom fields or name-server configuration back to CSC.

Check a specific order

Retrieve the current status of an individual CSC order.

Building Domain Visibility in the CMDB

The first requirement was understanding what domains the organization already managed. To establish that visibility, we created a dedicated CI class in the CMDB for internet domains and synchronized the existing portfolio from CSC.

The integration uses an IntegrationHub Data Stream to retrieve the domain portfolio. The configuration shown in the supporting screenshots includes a page-size input, pagination variables, a REST step, a splitter, and a script parser. The REST request calls the domains resource and supplies page and size query parameters.

Why a Data Stream?

The domain response is paginated. A Data Stream provides a structured way to request each page, split the response into individual records, parse those records, and pass them to an import process.

The implemented pattern:

Requests domain records by page
Determines whether another response page exists
Splits and parses each response
Loads the parsed records into a staging table
Uses a Transform Map to populate the domain CI class

Figure 1. CSC Domains Data Source using an IntegrationHub Data Stream, staging table, and Transform Map.

Registering Domains Through Service Catalog

Once visibility was established, the next challenge was domain registration. Instead of relying on email and manual coordination, we created a catalog item through which users can request a new domain while following existing review and approval processes.

The catalog request gathers the business information needed for registration. After approval, the integration constructs the CSC request payload and submits the domain order.

The Script Include reads the configured payload template, applies the CSC business unit, merges additional request attributes, and supports separate demo configuration values. The catalog item focuses on user intake while the integration layer focuses on CSC-specific requirements.

Tracking Orders in Process

Submitting a registration is the beginning of the process. Users and administrators also need visibility into what happens after the order reaches CSC.

To support that need, we implemented two related capabilities: retrieving orders currently in process and retrieving the status of a specific order. This allows ServiceNow workflows to follow the transaction after submission and present the result in the same platform where the request originated.

Updating Existing Domains

The integration also supports sending updates to CSC when authorized users change custom fields or name-server information in ServiceNow.

This pattern creates a clear separation between the user experience and the vendor API. Users work through controlled ServiceNow processes, while the integration translates approved changes into the CSC request.

Designing for Reusability

One design goal from the beginning was avoiding CSC-specific logic scattered across flows, catalog scripts, and business rules. We centralized common configuration and helper functions in a reusable Script Include.

The Script Include manages:

Connection alias and base URL resolution
API key and access-token retrieval
Production and demo configuration
Business-unit configuration
Registration payload construction
User email and location country-code lookup
WHOIS masking lookup from the related registration request

The connection URL is read from the configured connection alias when available, with a default CSC API base URL as a fallback. Environment-sensitive values are retrieved from system properties rather than being embedded throughout the implementation.

Lessons Learned

Domains Belong in Governance Processes

A domain portfolio benefits from ownership, request, approval, inventory, and change-management controls just like other technology assets.

CSC Environments Are Limited

CSC has two environments, production and demo. Production holds all your production registered domains you own whereas demo is as the name implies used for demo purposes. Do not expect demo to have the same business constructs, data or rules of the production environment. We learned this the hard way.

Separate Intake from Integration Logic

The catalog item captures business intent. The Script Include and Flow Designer components handle CSC-specific configuration and payload construction.

Design for Both Portfolio and Transaction Use Cases

Synchronizing the CMDB creates broad visibility, while registration, updates, and order-status checks support day-to-day operational work.

Keep Configuration Externalized

Connection aliases and system properties make endpoint and environment changes easier to manage than values embedded in each flow or script.

Resources

Resource	Location
CSC DomainManager API	API v2 documentation
ServiceNow Script Include	CSCDomainManager_ScriptInclude.txt (attached)

Final Thoughts

This project started as an API integration but evolved into a broader domain-management capability on ServiceNow. By connecting the catalog, Flow Designer, IntegrationHub, import processes, and the CMDB to CSC Domain Manager, the client gained a consistent way to discover, request, update, and track domains.

Hope this is helpful for those looking to connect CSC Domain Manager with ServiceNow.