Overview
This knowledge article provides supplemental information based on practical implementation experience with Nutanix Acropolis discovery in ServiceNow. It builds upon the comprehensive official documentation to address specific challenges encountered during a real-world migration from VMware vCenter to Nutanix.
Introduction
The official ServiceNow documentation for Nutanix Acropolis discovery offers excellent guidance for standard implementations. This article aims to complement that documentation by sharing additional insights from a specific implementation experience, particularly focusing on troubleshooting scenarios not extensively covered in the standard guides.
Environment Details
- ServiceNow Instance: Development environment (dev)
- Nutanix Environment:
- Production Prism Central: 10.87. XXXX
- Test Prism Central: 10.87.XXXX
- Nutanix API version: v3 support
- MID Servers: SNOWMIDDEV01 and SNOWMIDDEV02
Implementation Notes
Certificate Management Considerations
In addition to the standard certificate installation process outlined in the official documentation:
- We found it beneficial to restart MID Server services after certificate installation
- This simple step prevented several connection issues during our implementation
MID Server Properties Adjustment
When working with larger Nutanix environments:
- Consider proactively adjusting these properties:
- mid.parsing.max_field_size: Set to 7,000
- mid.sm.discolog.max_object_size: Set to 10,000
- These adjustments can help prevent parsing errors with larger JSON responses
Encountered Issues and Resolutions
JSON Parsing Error (PRB1915266)
We encountered an issue where the discovery pattern failed at Step 5:
Symptoms:
- "Custom strategy, JSON File, failed due to incorrect text highlighting" error
- Empty prism_element variable
- Subsequent steps failing due to missing data
Resolution Path:
- Identified as known issue PRB1915266
- Applied temporary fix via update set provided by ServiceNow support (sys_remote_update_set_42fc1c8f97ee2290074cbe4e6253af47.xml)
Important Note: This is a temporary workaround. Revert to out-of-box configuration after the fix is included in the "SR - ITOM - Discovery and Service Mapping - 202512" release.
Additional Best Practices
For Migrations from VMware
When transitioning from VMware to Nutanix:
- Consider running VMware discovery before Nutanix discovery
- This helps maintain relationship mapping between systems
- Update service maps accordingly after transition
Testing and Verification
After implementation:
- Verify CI creation in the CMDB
- Check relationship integrity between components
- Test event-based discovery functionality
Related Information
- ServiceNow KB: KB1178940
- Known Issue: PRB1915266 (to be fixed in "SR - ITOM - Discovery and Service Mapping - 202512")
- Temporary Fix: Update set available through ServiceNow Support
Conclusion
While the official ServiceNow documentation provides comprehensive guidance for standard implementations, this supplemental information may be helpful for specific scenarios. I hope these additional notes from our implementation experience contribute to the success of your Nutanix discovery configuration.
Author's Note: This knowledge article was created based on actual implementation experience to provide practical guidance beyond what's available in standard documentation. The intention is not to duplicate existing material but to supplement it with real-world troubleshooting insights.
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Selva Arun
