Is SysID Conflict a real thing?

[vishnukelam]

Hi Community,

I am working on a merger project in which we need to consolidate foundational data to support CMDB consolidation across two independent production instances.

My concern is about sys_id conflicts, since both instances have been running independently for years and there is a real chance the same sys_id exists on both sides, pointing to completely different records.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Specifically:
- Is sys_id conflict a real risk when migrating foundational data via IDR or Import XML?
- How did you approach identifying and resolving conflicts at scale?
- What mechanism did you use for CMDB/foundational data merger and why?

Any real-world experience or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[GlideFather]

Hi @vishnukelam,

the sys IDs are always unique and it's impossible that (simplified for explanation) sys ID 1234 in one instance would be different record than sys ID 1234 in a different instance.

It's always unique and the scenario what you describe cannot happen, on the contrary you will have to be careful to decide what sys ID to choose if one and the same CMDB item has two different sys IDs (one per instance) as both can be linked to incidents, assets, notifications, ownership, .... 

[vishnukelam]

We’re talking about two different companies using ServiceNow for 5 years. 

my understanding is sysID is unique only with in one organisation instances?

[GlideFather]

@vishnukelam I understand what you are saying but it's not possible, see the official SN Docs: Unique record identifier (sys_id)

"When created within the application, sys_id values are unique. The ServiceNow AI Platform and database should manage all operations on sys_id values. The same sys_id value is never generated twice, which ensures that every record created in every table in every instance in the world has a unique identifier. If two records have the same sys_id value, it occurs as a result of the following situations:

• If a record with the sys_id was copied to the other at the database level outside of the ServiceNow AI Platform.
• If a record with the sys_id was copied using an Update Set or via XML, its sys_id is the same."

With this being said, you really don't need to worry about a single sys ID would be represented in two different records. 

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @vishnukelam 

Sys id is unique in each servicenow instance, and when you say merger means you are being one instance data to another one and In that case sysid can be same it is natural the reason is there is no integration at all between these 2 instance. It is very risky if you blindly merge in this case.and also it is very difficult to find out which sys id is conflicting. 

The best approach merger the tables one by one and sys id conflict then take a note and then create that data manually don't merge it.