Hi @chandrakumar,
Great question! In addition to the excellent resources shared by @Mannapuram and @Harish Bainsla, I wanted to share what we typically do in our organization for CI lifecycle management:
**Our CI Lifecycle Process:**
1. **Discovery/Initial Build** - When we build a new server, it's automatically scanned through ServiceNow Discovery with all details captured (hostname, IP, specs, etc.)
2. **Active State** - While the CI is actively being used for applications, we continuously:
• Keep it updated through regular discovery scans
• Track patching and maintenance activities
• Monitor ownership and support group assignments
• Update relationships as applications/services change
3. **Decommission/Retirement** - Once a CI is set for decommission:
• We mark it as "Retired" in ServiceNow
• Stop active monitoring and discovery scans
• Keep the record in CMDB for audit/history purposes (in inactive state)
• Maintain the data but it's no longer actively tracked
**Key Point:** We maintain CI records even after retirement for historical reference and compliance, but they're moved to an inactive/retired state so they don't clutter active CMDB views or impact reporting.
The Now Learning course mentioned above is excellent for understanding the governance framework around this!
Hope this helps!
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Thank you for your consideration.
Selva Arun
